Shooting at a Small Target with Your Bow from a Great Distance? Try Using Bow Sights

How do Bow Sights Work  

Bow sights are devices in the shape of an inverted letter T, which you attach to your bow and with the help of a sight - the so-called pin - you aim at the target. In addition, you can adjust the sight according to the shooting distance. You can also use it to determine how high or which side to set the bow at the moment the string releases. When used correctly, it refines your shooting significantly and you're more likely to hit the centre of the target. 

What Types of Bow Sights Are There?

There are two basic types of bow sights that you can choose from:

1. With a fixed pin. Uses a fixed pin for aiming, with a fixed position that you can't change. There are also sights with one or more pins. In the case of multi-pin sights, you choose the sight according to the distance you shoot. You usually only need more pins than three when shooting at a distance over 35 metres.
2. With an adjustable pin. You can adjust this sight yourself up and down or to the sides. The sight is equipped with a scale, which you can use to orient yourself when shooting at different distances. Before shooting, you have to take a moment to set the distance, which will extend your reaction time.

Although shooters often disagree on which type is best, you'll no doubt shoot more accurately with any sight rather than without one. Some prefer the simplicity of a single-pin sight without adjustment, others prefer an adjustable distance. 

The shape and size of the sight are also important. The larger the pin, the more visible it will be in poor visibility, but it reduces your accuracy over longer distances.

How to Refine Your Shooting with a Sight 

To take full advantage of the sight, you need to fine-tune you technique. Your position and the point of string's tension (the place on your face where you always pull the string) must be consistent. Your hand must always stop at the same place, your posture must be the same every time you shoot a bow. 

Why? 

If the length of the tension or the direction of the position changes with each shot, the place the arrow impacts also differs every time. In that case, the sight is useless to you. 

Once you shoot consistently, adjust your sight. Follow your arrows. Move the sight where the arrow goes. If the arrows fall under the target, move the sight lower, if it moves more to the right, move the sight to the right. 

Refine Your Shooting and Save at the Same Time 

When choosing a sight, think about the type of bow you use, and the target you normally aim at. For sport shooting, different sights are suitable than for hunting (not only for real shooting, but for example for 3D archery and shooting at artificial targets and shooting at a moving target. Fixed-pin sights are usually recommended for beginners. Also focus on the type of bow - for compound bows you need a different type of sight than, for example, for sports. 

If you shoot at a distance over 5 metres, you'll definitely appreciate the benefits of the sight. It can also save you money on lost arrows when shooting in the wild or on damaged tips and lost bolts. Despite the frustration of constantly missing targets. 

If you're interested in archery, read our next article on archery as an elegant art and a demanding sport.