Axcel Accutouch

jmez

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
7,404
Location
Piedmont, SD
I bought one of these last winter to try out. I got the 5 pin model. I was using a CBE Tek Hybrid 5 pin prior to that. I didn't have any troubles with the CBE. I bought this sight for a couple of reasons. I prefer tool less micro adjustment of the individual pins. The CBE doesn't have that. You have to loosen the pins and manually slide them up and down. The last two pins are tucked in behind the sight body and a real PITA to get to and adjust. That is really my only complaint with the sight. 4 seasons including backcountry trips and never a failure or issue.

The Accutouch. Like all of their products it is well made and very precise. I didn't really understand how the Accuclicks worked until I got the sight. IMO they are a gimmick. When you set them you can then only dial the sight to those set yardages. Say you set them at 20, 30 and 40. You can't stop the sight in between any of those distances, it stops at 20, 30, and 40. I see no real point in having an adjustable sight which then you set up to limit the adjustibility. I took them off as you don't need to use them. With them off it adjusts like any other slider.

Got the sight mounted and sighted it in like I have my other sliders. I use the bottom pin as the slider. When I sight in I sight in the pins at 20-60. Then I set up the sight tape. For 20 yards I have the top pin and the adjustable head as high as possible so that I get the maximum distance out of the sight. I can shoot out to about 120 yards with my set up this way and avoid fletching contact.

I had a fair amount of trouble getting sighted in. My vertical impact was changing constantly. After a lot of trial and error I figure out that you can not leave the elevation lock unlocked on this sight, the head moves very easily if you do. I rarely ever locked my CBE, it never moved. There is a big difference between the tension on the head in these two sights. So much so that I sent an email to Axcel to ask if mine may be defective. I never got a response from them. The elevation tension on the Axcel can be increased. In the instructions it says it may need adjusted after heavy use. I didn't consider coming from the factory heavy use, hence the reason I emailed them. I reset and increased the tension as the instructions said and it made no difference. I just left it locked unless adjusting from this point and it was good. In the meantime I emailed Axcel again and got a second no response. Odd as I have have good luck with them on other products until this issue.

Got it sighted in and got my sight tape set. After I got the tape selected and in place I was shooting at different distances to check accuracy. I find that I can only adjust the slider up to 38 yards. That is as high as it will go before running out of adjustment. With the CBE I can run it all the way up to 20. Not a huge deal as the slider is primarily for longer distances but a sight that cost this much should have a full range of adjustment IMO.

Went to MT for 10 days elk hunting. Long and heavy packs bow goes on the back of the pack. I always put the sight head down toward the pack so it isn't sticking out to get caught on things. About the third day of the hunt I'm looking at the bow and notice that the indicator on the sight tape is at 70 yards. It is supposed to be on 60 yards unless you move it. I hadn't moved it nor unlocked the site. Since I haven't unlocked it I start wondering if I mistakenly set it up wrong. I didn't have any judo heads with me and was going to move the next day so I dialed it back to 60 and locked it again.

Packed out and then into a new spot the next day. Took a judo point with me. Put up a cow pie at 20 yards, told my buddy to watch the arrow so I didn't lose it. Didn't check the sight, mistake. I shoot, he says wow that was way high, like 3 feet high. WTF? I look at the sight the indicator arrow is at 96 yards. Still locked. It is obviously moving when locked riding on the pack. I set it back to 60 and just going to have to check it throughout the hunt.

The elevation moved several times during the hunt. It moved every time I had the bow on the pack and also a few times when carrying it by hand. I had to reset it a few times every day.

When I got home, I once again increased the tension on the elevation as per the instructions. Once again it made no difference. If you unlock the sight you can just lightly jiggle the bow, not even shake it, and the sight head drops. There is a ton of play and slop in the head. I'm pretty sure that mine has to be defective as bad as it is. Since Axcel isn't concerned, I'm not either. I'm going to sell it and go back to the CBE.

Not impressed. The sight is very precise but won't hold up on a back country hunt. If considering a slider I would not recommend this sight. It would probably be ok for a tree stand WT hunter but I don't even trust it for that anymore. I don't want to have to check the thing every time I'm going to shoot it. Pretty disappointed for a sight that cost this much money.
 

Boreal

WKR
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
356
Location
Anchorage, AK
Thanks for the review. I certainly didn't have the trouble you had with your accutouch, but I also switched my hunting bow back to my CBE Tech Hybrid. Kept the Accutouch for my 3D bow and backup hunter.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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jmez

jmez

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
7,404
Location
Piedmont, SD
I'll post the follow up after I get in touch with Axcel on this issue. I'm not going to sell the sight if it is defective. I'll send it back to be repaired/replaced and then sell it. If they bother to back to me this time.
 

icb12

FNG
Joined
Mar 21, 2017
Messages
29
Location
AK
Yours must be defective.

Mine stays locked, and I've rallied it through the SEAK brush. actually mine stays in position when its not "locked"


The accuclicks are interesting. I took off all of them but 2. I have one set at my "home" position, and I have one set at the lowest point I can go before fletching contact. The accuclicks would be nice with a single pin slider. But somewhat useless with the multi pin.

If you sighted it in with the head all the way up... how do you have ANY upward adjustment?
 
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jmez

jmez

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
7,404
Location
Piedmont, SD
Set the top pin all the way up, set the sight housing all the way up and then use the gang adjust to sight in the 20 yard pin. There is still upward adjustment there.
 
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jmez

jmez

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
7,404
Location
Piedmont, SD
Follow up on the sight. I emailed them after season and got a response this time. Got an RA number and sent it back in. Just got the sight back today. They replaced the slider rail, windage GIB, and slider third axis block.

It definitely tightened up the slider bar, there isn't near as much play as there was but it still isn't tight when unlocked. Unlocked, I lightly tapped it on my hand and it just walked down. I think it is just in the design. In their defense it isn't meant to be unlocked. It is just handy to be able to leave it unlocked when in a treestand or when shooting in the yard from various yardages. You can just dial it that way without locking and unlocking it every time you want to move the sight. My CBE never moves unless you turn the knob. I just prefer than design.
 
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