Premium sights, what to look for?

I've been shooting a Cobra sight that probably ran me $60-70 bucks several years ago. Its worked fine but I'd like to go to a 5 pin sight, probably after season this year. I like to upgrade parts as I can but I'm not sure what to look for in a premium site. Cruising Cabela's website you can find 5-star rated sights from $70-250. What features should I be looking for that I may not know to notice?

One specific question i have is if any of you use a sight that can extend out in front of the riser several inches, do you always extend it? If you use one like that is the option to easily remove it a must?

Microadjust, 1st 2nd and 3rd axis leveling, gang adjust on the pins I do have an extension bar. Lets you dial it in with your peep among other things, as well as easily remove. Make sure you get it back in the same spot every time. They are heavier though.

BTW...mine was quite a bit more than $250 (Axcell armortech Pro 7 pin, .010 pins) and that was 5 years ago. You can spend a lot more than that too if you really want to.

I use the Spot Hogg Real Deal on my current bows. "Back in the day" I used Hoyt Micro-Elite sights, which I still have mounted and use from time to time.

For me, in a sight I first look for all metal construction. You'll see sights with "composite" or "polymer" parts and that's "plastic."

I do like micro-adjust, but don't get carried away on that. If a sight looks like a nautical navigation tool with all the dials, pointers, and levers, that's a lot going on and a lot to keep track of and worry about hunting. I've had my sight caked in mud, packed with snow and banged off rocks and tree branches. I want as few a number of dials and knobs to worry about and check in the field. It's also more to break.

I like a shorter sight that doesn't extend too far beyond the bow, if at all. I actually like my sight to sit inside the dimensions of the bow; meaning, if I were to set my bow down on it's front edge, it would sit on the limb pockets, and not the sight. That way, when my bow falls, or I fall and tumble (like happened last fall, with my bow on my pack) my sight is somewhat protected by the bow itself. A lot of guys like long extension bars, and that's fine. I just don't want to mess with carrying that in the field, and the increased sight radius for me, isn't worth it unless I'm worrying about 10 rings in competition.

Fiber optic pins used to be pretty fancy and now they're pretty much standard. They do come in different diameters and that's up to you. Smaller can be harder to see, but they don't cover up as much of the target (animal) as do the larger ones....but the larger ones show up like a traffic light.

I'm not anti-3rd axis, but I don't have any sights with it and I don't worry about it. I think it's just another feature to mess with and sell sights and I shoot just fine to 80 yards without it. Not to mention I was competing and killing animals since the 90's without it.

And I'm not a minimalist by any means. I just think there's too much emphasis on equipment these days. I've shot metal, micro adjust, and fiber optic for all this time and it's done me fine. It's the shooter and the practice that makes the shot. For hunting, get a quality sight that is easy to adjust and you can see in low light...end of criteria as far as I'm concerned.

And I always remember this--- this guy shot better than many or all of us here and he did it with equipment that we'd not even consider using today.

They say Spott Hogg on them. I'm shooting a Tommy Hogg and I have yet to find something I really don't like about it. That said several other companies make great sights. My buddy shoots an Accutouch, it's a killer sight. Here's what I look for:
1. Simplicity. I love micro adjust, but it has to be simple and bomb proof. Has to be completely rattle free, and simple to operate. Spott Hogg's large dial wheel is a home run for me. If I can't drop my sight and not worry about it, it doesn't belong on my hunting bow.
2. Ease of use. It should be easy to sight in, adjust etc. Gimmicks suck. Simple, proven features get stuff killed. Again, this is why I love my Hogg. Everything is quick and easy to use, and doesn't interfere with my quiver or anything else. My buddy used a Trophy Ridge React for a couple weeks before going quickly back to a Hogg; it was gimmicky and difficult to use quickly.
3. Long range accuracy. I like dovetail sights (the ones that extend out forward from the riser) because they increase the distance between your peep and sight, thereby decreasing error between the two. That said my current sight doesn't have one, I don't think it's entirely necessary. You can slide them off, keep them in your pack, and put them back on when you're ready to hunt. I like small pins (.010, .019 is good too). Lots of adjustment in the dial is great too. I like single pins but multi pin sliders are great too. This is personal preference based on your hunting style, shooting ability, and just what you think works better.

What type of sight are you looking for exactly? Fixed multi pin or some kind of slider? Where and what do you mostly hunt? What distances do you hunt and practice at?

Im picking up my new bow today and it is getting a Black Gold Revenge sight put on it.. I will give ya a bit more of a review after trying it out!

They say the new trophy ridge react pro sight are really good. You set two pins and the three other pins fall right into place without tuning them

Spott Hogg, or MBG for hunting sights.

These two manufacturers make premium quality, durable and solid sights.

If durability is a main concern, spott Hogg. If bright pins and having something a little lighter is your concern MBG is where it is at (there still plenty durable)

Currently on my main shooter is a MBG rush with a 4 inch dovetail. Gives me everything I want, not their premium sight but it's simple, light and solid.
I have gone back and forth with spott Hogg and MBG. Can't say iv ever not been pleased with either. I think I'll go spott Hogg for my next.

If I were in the market for a new 5 pin, and I am, currently have one bow that it sight less. I would go with a MBG revenge, w/ 4 in dovetail. Custom pin assortment (I prefer, top 2 in green .019, middle yellow .019 and last 2 green .010). Or a spott Hogg hunter with the same pin assortment.

Btw, s and s is not only a sponsor of this site, but the best place to buy a spott Hogg or MBG. They allow you to customize your entire setup. Iv used their site to order quite a few sights, even before they were a sponsor here and have always been pleased.

No need for any particular brand, as most "premium" sites are of similar quality. Brand loyalty serves little here, with the exception of excellent customer service.

Look for these things in selecting a durable sight:
1) fully protected fibers, any exposed fiber optic will surely be destroyed
2) similar to the above, make sure the protection comes from a metal tube that creates the pin itself
3) all metal housing and a deep "scope" to further protect the individual pins
4) large allen bolts or similar hand tuned bolts used to move the sight, anything plastic or abnormally small will break or get stripped

Basically, just look at it and see if there is any plastic (other than that used to store the fiber optic spool used for light gathering). The more metal, the better. Having said all that, I'm pretty fond of my axcel sight and have yet to destroy it.

I have the new Pure Gold 75 single pin on my Nitrum, really like it.

Another vote for Spot Hogg. Having bells and whistles doesn't mean squat without reliability. I've had numerous brands and none of them made it a full season before I got rid of them. Some plastic piece would break, pins would get bent, broken fibers, come out of adjustment, etc. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a Spot Hogg-- Hogg It with a wrap and custom pin sizes and colors. I've been using that sight for years now and haven't had one single problem with it. I even dropped my bow (rope broke) 20+ feet out of a treestand and it landed directly on the sight. I cleaned the mud out of it and it was good to go. They're pretty much bomb proof IMO.

MGB Pure Gold series made with 7075 T6 Aluminum, very strong, super bright bomb proof pins.

Thanks for all of the great comments. When I was at the archery shop the other day I was looking at the Schaffer sights. The air sight is very light, removable and gets great reviews. My neighbor has used it for years so I might try that.

I use the trophy ridge react and like it but there are some things I've noticed I'd like to do different. I don't need the 3rd axis leveling, so no problem there. I wish the pins could be smaller for the bottom 3 (.010 instead of .019) and I want them to be different colors (now it is green, green, red, green, green). The other thing I don't like (and why I'm considering a Montana Black Gold sight) is that my pins "Starburst" in bright sun.
Other than that, I like the sight and ease of adjustability.

Schaffer makes good rests at least (all I have experience with) I love my gen II drop away. I just don't love their business model for buying... and I have not had much luck with CS in email form.

As far as sights, I echo others... have a Spott-Hogg hunter and it is the bomb.

Sword Maximus 5 pin is awesome sight! www.swordsight.com

I had tried several sights. They all work well under normal shooting. I than found out you get what you paid for. I had fibers breaking on me in cold weather. One shot in 5 degrees and every fiber broke. I than went out looking for a much more robust sight that can take extreme temperatures. I bought the MBG Rush when they first came out and have not had an issue at all and I have shot the sight in -20F. Late season in MN and WI can get a bit chilly I really like this site as the pins show up in all weather even in dark timber during legal hunting hours. If you hunt in a blind I would get the blind man attachment. Its a great set up. The other sight I was really looking hard at was the Spott Hoggs. I really think you cant go wrong with either one.

1st, 2nd, and 3rd axis adjustability. a bubble level. 7075 alum construction. micro adjust everything. ability to be ordered from a custom shop or customized. pins that arent housed inside the chicken shit stainless tubes that snap off if you look at em wrong. Any non slider sight from spot hogg are great sights, and Montana Black Gold will be the best bet IMO.

If your looking for a basic, tough site that won't break the bank....Copper John Mark 1 or Mark 3 can't be beat for the price! I have the Mark 4 slider and it's ok, but a dial wheel is what you want in a slider. The only negative thing I can say about the fixed pin sights is that they aren't tool - less to adjust. It takes an Allen wrench. Then again, I don't worry about it coming loose either.

If you're looking at "Premium" sights, I'll suggest the Axcel Accutouch or CBE tek hybrid. Spot Hogg makes nice stuff too.

React sight is tool less adjustsble. One of the big reasons I bought it.

Jacob Chapman said:

MGB Pure Gold series made with 7075 T6 Aluminum, very strong, super bright bomb proof pins.

Click to expand...

love mine