Sighting in a new bow
I started shooting a new bow this year. I am filming the Martin Onza III; It was a gift I received from Martin Archery. It is the same bow that many professionals have thrown in recent years. I’m just fine-tuning it … I started to position my bow and braced myself to see it. I went to see the local archery specialist. Fixed me with a new sight, stabilizer, arrows, tips, the works. I was ready to go, no, not really, not quite ready yet. Now he needed to see the bow.
Seeing with a bow is pretty easy, just take your time doing it. I’ve done it so much that it has become second nature.
Before I even start shooting my bow to look at it, I use a quick way to save some time and effort that works very well. Something that is going to save me a lot of time in the range is to pre-configure the pins, left and right, and also configure them up and down. This is to help secure my comfort zone with the new bow.
In order to place the pins left and right before I start shooting, I will try to place them with the string and the arrow holder. Point the bow down. Now I align my eye directly behind the string so that it appears to line up in the center. Remember, my eye is just behind the arch. You want to move the pin to the left or right until it is aligned and appears uniform.
The next step before I start shooting targets is to get the pin in the best vertical position (up and down) that I am looking for. First I attached the 20 yard pin. Once this pin is seen, the others seem to fall into place quite easily.
All bows are made with two side holes for mounting sights. The 20-yard pin on most new bows is nearly horizontal with the top hole of the sight mounting position. So I move the 20 yard pin to the right in the same position as the top hole to mount the sight. That should get it pretty close to the sweet spot I’m looking for.
When you’re aiming a bow, the best advice I can give you is to follow the arrow. If you shoot to the right of your target, move your pin to the right, if you shoot below your target, move your pin down a bit, etc. Since I pre-set my pins before sighting on the bow, I’ll be in the stadium where I want to be.
I only make adjustments in small increments. According to those in the know, at 20 yards, a 1/8 inch adjustment at the launch point can move your arrow more than 12 inches at the point of impact. Now you don’t have to be a physicist to understand these things. Just be patient and it will work!
That’s! It is not an exact science. If you’re going to shoot longer distances you’ll want to move one of the pins just below the 20-yard pin you just placed. That will raise the bow a bit when aiming and compensate for the drop of the arrow in flight. Each arc will be different depending on the speed and kinetic energy created by the arc. When you step back to say 30 yards, you will carefully repeat the same process you did at 20 yards. Adjust the view accordingly. That’s bow sighting in a nutshell. It is nothing overwhelming, just pay close attention to what you are doing and you will achieve it. Be patient when doing this; Trust me, everything will come to you and it will make sense when you put it into practice.