Sights

[BobCo 1965]

You can cant the bow; however, with most types of aiming apparatus, the cant will need to be consistent. You may want to consider apertures such as the ones in the picture below. These are nice in that you can perfectly see the target you intend to hit. The target will naturally settle itself in the middle of the circle without any focus on the aperture itself. There are styles of mountable sights that will take these apertures and can be attached to the bow with double faced tape.

Also, do what you want, don’t let others influence your decision.

 
 

[Widow's Son]

I may try some sights like that in the future. Right now I'm having problems just finding a old time sight bracket for old time pins. LOL  My BW has the AMO sight bushings installed so mounting is not a problem. Guess I'll just have to order one from 3Rs. This is all just an experiment. I'm going to keep shooting off the shelf so I can shoot instinctive anytime I want. Maybe set a pin for 20yrds and shoot bare-bow at anything under.

I do not care to get into the "traditional/not traditional" p****ng contest. I am having problems with consistency due to a physical abnormality that is beyond my control. I could use a little help and support not a beat down because I dare put sights on a recurve and maybe offend the "Traditional Gods". If I wanted to shoot a c**pound I would buy one.

[cbCrow]

Widow son, ignore those that know not what they are talking about!. When I started shooting bows back in 1962 most people who shot recurves used some form of sight. I was 12 at the time and my uncle taped a red toothpick on the bow so I could use it to hit at 15yds. I used sights for about a year until I got a feel of the yardage and how to judge. Do whats best for you and let the fools talk!

[Widow's Son]

Thank you Sir.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Sights on a stickbow? I'd say they're more traditional than fiberglass laminated limbs, but to each their own.      

 

[bretto]

There's a reason 75% of the old recurves You pick up have a couple of holes drilled in the riser. Because someone put a simple pin sight on them.

Shoot what makes You the best with Your chosen equipment. Period!!

[knobby]

No beating here either. You will need to be consistant with the bow being verticle, otherwise you'll have left/right issues. Once you feel more confident in your shooting, holding the bow vertically won't bother you at all. It's your shooting and your tag. No need to worry about what others think about your gear. Enjoy yourself!

[GrayRhino]

Widow's Son, I sent you an email.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Frankly it sounds to me like a class or reading a couple of books on form and practicing form are what is needed.  It is your bow, use it any way you want.

[burch]

So can anyone help us non traditionalist ( i think i spelled that right      " OR " maybe a web site where they still make `em   :D  
 I`d like to check `em out and i`d install `em on my bow and not care what others thought. The way i`m seein` this is - i`d rather make a clean kill than have to take a chance on wounding something just to let it run off and die and never retieve it. To me that`s worst than trying to stay with the " in crowd "

[burch]

Originally posted by Jason R. Wesbrock:
Sights on a stickbow? I'd say they're more traditional than fiberglass laminated limbs, but to each their own.        

   

well put Sir  

[PaddyMac]

I don't use sights but seeing them on a long bow or recurve doesn't pitch me into a fit. I happen to prefer the instinctive method and see advantages (no need to do math) and disadvantages (takes lots of time & confidence) to it. There is no question sights are traditional, as are gap and string walking techniques. Whatever works best for you works for me.

Get yourself some Gorilla tape and take two match sticks the top longer than the bottom.  Hold your bow up at a slight cant and aim at your target and look at your bow where about the two match heads would be if they were there. Then tape them on, hopefully the longer top match stick will work for a ten yard shot and the bottom shorter one for somewhere around twenty, the exact distance does not matter nor the exact cant you will use as long as there is some cant. Then shoot at a distance between the two match heads, you will see that one is too high and the other is too low, look at the target not the match heads. After a short while you will not need them and you can that tape off your bow.
However, no aiming gimmick will help you if your form is all over the place.

[njloco]

pavan, that makes a lot of sense, good idea!

I have a light bow that I have rigged that I can slap a sight on with velcro when I am teaching someone that has mastered form and still does not know where the arrow goes. I have used it with some quicker than that to save the siding on my garage when they cannot hit my 6' by 4' target from 8 yards.

[owlbait]

Don't use matchsticks, use hat pins. You can get them with different size heads and paint them the color you want. Killed my first recurve deer, guess I can't call it trad anymore,  :p  like that. Worked great on my Kodiak Magnum.

[Archie]

I shoot my BW longbow without sights pretty good.  A combo of gap shooting and instinctive, I guess.  But my BW recurve I shoot with sights, and an elevated rest.  It's a great little homemade set-up, and gives a lot of advantage over shooting barebow.  I learned good form with a sight, because that pin gave me a solid reference on where the arrow should go.  I knew things were going wrong, and started to learn WHY, based on those sight pins.  

I wonder how many people who balk at using sights are wounding animals but never tell anyone about it?  It isn't exactly "acceptable" to make that kind of post!  I say that if you would prefer the confidence that sights can bring to a trad bow, go for it!

Hat pins stuck in a thin piece of cork would work pretty good. Except I have not seen any cork for sale any where in my town and I would use hat pins if I could ever figure out where my wife hides them, we maybe don't have any.
The idea is to not really use the pins like a sight just a zoning guide to help develop an instinctive pointing ability.

[sheephunter]

Can't really help like the others guys on the sight problem but I was having difficulties with my shooting and bought the "Masters of the Barebow" DVD's and they helped out tremendously on my shooting and would recommend them to anyone. Just something to think about......  

[buckeye_hunter]

Originally posted by burch:
O.K. I know i`m gonna get a beating for this question.             Since i`ve been shooting trad bow style for about 5 years now and still miss, I gotta ask about sights. If for no other reason in a hunting situation. I`ve been checking out a few sights that are used on recurves. I shoot a reflex/deflex and see no reason why sights wouldn`t work on these bows too. So, who uses sights ?  Also, I don`t understand how they work on a trad bow using a cant. I used to shoot compound bows but you held the bow pretty much straight up and down. So can anyone explain how sights work on a trad bow ?

        Burch

To answer your original post.... Call Three Rivers and ask some questions. I think it's Dale's youngest boy that uses a Dalaa with sights for hunting. They are good folks and will help you. I think it is commendable that you want to do what it takes to be a good shot and work toward clean kills on the game you hunt.