Archery Sight: Adjusting For Accuracy

Adjusting your archery bow sight is an essential skill for any archer to master. It can be the difference between hitting the bullseye and missing the target completely. The process involves adjusting the bow sight's pins to ensure your arrows are consistently striking the desired point of impact. This requires patience and practice, as well as some basic tools like an Allen wrench. The first step is to ensure your bow is tuned and your sight is level, with the pins inline with the arrow and bowstring. Then, you can start adjusting the pins for accuracy and precision. Remember, accuracy is hitting where you aim, while precision is hitting the same spot every time.

How to adjust a multi-pin bow sight

Knowing how to adjust your bow sight is a fundamental skill for any bowhunter. While bow sights may look intimidating, the process of adjusting them is actually quite straightforward.

Before attempting to adjust your bow sight, there are a few things to take care of. First, make sure your bow is set up and tuned to you. This includes ensuring the proper draw length, desired draw weight, proper peep height, and a calibrated bubble level. It's also important to ensure that your bow is paper-tuned, which means that when you shoot an arrow through paper, it leaves a bullet hole. If the result is not a bullet hole, your arrow is not flying straight, which will affect your bow sighting.

Now, let's dive into the step-by-step process of adjusting a multi-pin bow sight:

• Start by moving your top pin towards the top of the sight housing. It doesn't have to be all the way at the top, but you want to ensure you have room to adjust the other pins below it. Move the rest of the pins up as well to avoid any obstacles when sighting in your second pin.
• Begin the sighting process at 10 yards. This is to ensure that you're on target and to allow for adjustments. Shoot three arrows and take note of where they land in relation to your aiming point.
• If your arrows are not grouped where you aimed, move your sight towards the group. For example, if your arrows grouped to the left, move your sight pin to the left. If they hit high, raise your sight.
• Adjust the entire sight housing in the direction your arrows are landing. You can move the sight housing up, down, left, or right.
• Move to your desired top pin yardage (e.g., 20 or 30 yards) and repeat the process. Shoot three arrows and adjust the sight housing as needed.
• Move to the desired yardage of your second pin (e.g., 30 or 40 yards) and use your second pin to aim. Shoot three arrows and adjust the pin up or down until your arrows hit where you aimed.
• Repeat this process for the rest of your pins, moving back to the desired yardage for each pin and making adjustments as needed.
• As you step back to longer distances, you may need to make windage adjustments. Move the entire sight housing left or right as needed. These adjustments will fine-tune your sighting at longer ranges.
• Take breaks as needed to avoid fatigue, which can impact your performance and consistency. It's important to make adjustments when you're well-rested to ensure accuracy.

By following these steps and taking your time, you'll be able to adjust your multi-pin bow sight accurately and confidently head into hunting season.

How to adjust a single-pin bow sight

Archery requires both accuracy and precision. Accuracy is hitting where you aim, and precision is hitting the same spot every time. To achieve precision, you need good form and equipment. Accuracy is easier to achieve; you simply move your sight until the arrows hit where you aim.

Before adjusting your bow sight, you need to adjust the levelling of the sight. The second axis level can be seen through the hole of the sight. Imagine hanging a picture on a wall and levelling it. That’s second-axis levelling. To level the sight, loosen it with an Allen wrench and adjust until the bubble of the level is centred.

To adjust a single-pin bow sight, you need to loosen the scope housing and then adjust it up and down to shoot from different distances. You can also move your scope left and right by loosening the scope and re-tightening it.

Single-pin sights require the archer to adjust the scope housing up and down to shoot at different distances. They employ a sight tape, which is a yardage guide fixed to the sight body. There will be a movable indicator that adjusts between pre-set distances as the archer moves the scope housing.

Start with a blank tape to get a 20-yard mark. Move your sight pin as far up as it can go, and then take a shot at a dot in the very centre of your target from a distance of 10 yards to see where your arrow hits in relation to the pin. The arrow should hit low if your pin is moved as high as it can go. Adjust your pin vertically and horizontally until the arrow hits behind it, and then back up to 20 yards and repeat the process.

Once you are confident your pin is dead-on at 20 yards, draw a line on the blank sight tape to mark where your indicator is positioned. Now back up to 40 yards and repeat the process, including marking your indicator location. Do this one more time at 60 yards until you have solid 20, 40, and 60-yard marks.

Now go to your pre-printed sight tapes and hold them up to the marks you just made until you find one where your marks line up with the 20, 40, and 60 measurements on the pre-printed tape. That’s the tape you want to affix to your sight. It should provide accurate yardage marks for any distance you want to shoot. Test it by moving the indicator to different yardages and shooting from those distances.

How to level your bow sight

To level your bow sight, you need to focus on its three axes. The first axis adjusts where the sight's pin housing attaches to its extension bar. This axis maintains left-right consistency as you adjust the sight up and down. The second axis levels the sight's level, much like levelling a shelf. The third axis levels the sight for shooting at upward and downward angles, like adjusting a door on its hinges.

To level the first axis, you need to establish a level position. Attach a vertical and horizontal level to your bowstring or riser. Once level, clamp it in place to ensure stability. Now, place a second level on top of the sight housing, parallel to the sight bar. If your sight has a built-in level, use that instead. If possible, spin the sight until the bubble is centred, setting the first axis. Many sights won't have an adjustable first axis, as they are designed to only mount level.

The second axis is the one most archers pay attention to when sighting a bow. It runs through the centre of your scope, and you would see it if you could spin the scope around like the hands of a clock. Adjust the scope using the second axis adjustment screws until the bubble hits the centre, and everything will be aligned.

The third axis is critical when shooting on inclines or declines. It runs parallel to your body and through the centre of your sight. To level the third axis, tip your bow 45 degrees, as if shooting downhill, while keeping the level bubble centred on your sight bar level. If needed, use the third axis adjustment screw to centre the bubble.

Once you've levelled all three axes, double-check the third-axis setting by "shooting in" your third axis. Find a steep downhill shot of at least 30 yards and shoot this angle to compare how your bow performs on flat ground. Watch for left or right impacts, as third-axis adjustments affect the horizontal plane. If you're a right-handed archer and your arrows group right, adjust the third axis by swinging the sight towards you. If they hit left, swing the sight away. If they group in the middle, you're all set for shooting at any angle.

How to adjust the 2nd axis of a bow sight

To adjust the 2nd axis of your bow sight, you must first understand what the 2nd axis is and how it works. The 2nd axis is the one that most archers pay attention to when sighting a bow. It runs on an imaginary line straight through the centre of your scope as you look through it.

To adjust the 2nd axis of your bow sight, follow these steps:

• Mount a 2 or 4-foot level vertically in a vice. Adjust the level so the bubble is between the lines or plumb.
• Use a secondary level to check if your main level is plumb and not pitched to the front or back.
• Once the main level is plumb on all sides, take your sight and place the mounting plate against the side of the level. Hold the sight flat against the level and bring the sight arm to a horizontal position.
• Check if your sight is reading level. If not, you will need to adjust the 2nd axis. If your bubble is showing level, you can move on to the 3rd axis adjustment.
• Adjust the 2nd axis according to your specific sight's instructions. Refer to your user manual for guidance. Different sights adjust differently, and some may require shimming with washers or other materials if they do not offer adjustment and are not plumb.

It is important to note that the 2nd axis adjustment is crucial for achieving accuracy and precision in archery. Accuracy refers to hitting where you are aiming, while precision means hitting the same spot consistently. By properly adjusting your bow sight's 2nd axis, you can improve your performance and ensure that your arrows consistently hit the desired target.

How to adjust the 3rd axis of a bow sight

The third axis of your bow sight refers to the perpendicular orientation of your bow sight in reference to your bow's centre line. Adjusting the third axis swings the bow sight's head towards or away from the archer, as if it were on a hinge. If the third axis is not adjusted, the bow sight's level will not be true when the archer tilts the bow up or down for a shot, and the shot will be off-target.

To adjust the third axis of your bow sight:

• Place your sight alongside a level and tilt the sight upwards and downwards. Read the sight's built-in level at both positions. If it is off, the third axis must be adjusted.
• Adjust the sight in or out until the sight reads level at the upward and downward positions. When it reads level in all possible positions, your bow sight's third axis is set, and you're ready to shoot!

Go to your range and shoot some uphill and downhill shots. Notice where you are hitting. If your arrows are off, your sight may need minor fine-tuning due to your bow torquing at full draw.

The third axis is critical when shooting on inclines or declines. The little bubble that floats back and forth in the level of your bow sight needs to be level when you release an arrow, otherwise, your arrow will not fly where intended. This is why it is important to practice using the level. The trick is to glance for the level but not to concentrate on it and lose your focus on the target.

Frequently asked questions