One thing that can often be frustrating even to veteran archers is getting a bow perfectly sighted in, especially at longer ranges. I used to spend a lot more time than was necessary until I came across a very simple solution that makes the process much easier and faster.
There are a few different things that can make this difficult, including lack of accuracy, trying too hard and expecting results too quickly. The normal procedure followed by most people is to shoot a group of three to five arrows, see where they are in relation to the center and then move the sight accordingly. This procedure is repeated as many times as necessary to get the arrows in the center of the target.
The problem arises as the archer concentrates so hard on getting the arrow perfectly centered that they fail to do just that. The arrows may group somewhat well and eventually the group may move to the center, but unless every arrow lands in the same hole dead center, it’s hard to tell how perfectly the sight is set.
So what is the answer? Concentrate on only one thing at a time; focus the mind on doing one thing perfectly.
What I like to do is to break down the process by forgetting about hitting the very center of the target and just worrying about either a vertical or horizontal line. By doing this, it makes it much easier to fixate on just the line itself. It’s surprising just how much easier and consistently you can hit a single line rather than and center point.
The following images show my actual sequence of sighting in with a new setup. I took one shot at 15 yards to make sure things were halfway close enough to begin from twenty yards. The first three arrows show a decent group from twenty, but they are neither lined up vertically or horizontally.
After the initial shots at the target, I began to sight in on the vertical and horizontal lines. The next four images show the arrows as they zeroed in on the lines and ultimately hit close to dead on. For the vertical alignment I got a bit lucky and it only took one adjustment. Horizontal alignment took a few more ends to dial in.
Shooting at a single point
Shooting at the horizontal line to sight in vertically
Hitting the vertical mark after a single adjustment, a bit lucky!
A bit off the mark horizontally
Three ends later, things are looking good
The results speak for themselves
This method of sighting in has made it very easy and quick for me to get dialed in. It eliminates any guessing and ensures that the vertical and horizontal alignments are dead on. When sighting in at longer distances where groups begin to grow larger, the advantages of this method are even greater. Give it a try!
Loading ...
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice tip – I’ll put it to good use sighting in a new bow.
This sure makes a lot of sense, I shoot a lot at 100 yards for pure fun and often am not sure what is working or not working as arrows scatter at the slightest deviation at tht distance.
I will set up like this at 20, move to 50-70 to straighten things out and at least know that the following errors at 100 are my own release errors or other problems.
Thanks
Montreal, Canada
My step dad is very old-fashioned so he believes in jus shootin at a circular target but I took my un-sightenedin z7 mathews out an did what this article said to do an it cut the time nearly in half
I’m glad it worked out well for you! For me it not only cuts time, but ends up being more accurate overall.
Michael,
Are you shooting with both eyes open? Does the distance matter?
Thomas,
Depending on the lighting, I try to shoot with both eyes open when possible. I don’t have a dominant eye and so there are times when I have to squint or close my left eye.
The distance should not matter. I have used this method from 10 to 100 yards with success.
Hello There. I found your blog using msn.
This is an extremely well written article. I’ll be sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I will certainly return.