RE: Pendulum or fixed sights?
As has been mentioned the trick is to have good shooting form. Bending at the waist after coming to full draw is how it should be done. I've done my share of tinkering in the past with a couple pendelum sights with mixed results.
Most modern bows are capable of hunting velocities around 250 fps or more and this just takes the arc out of the arrow for most close shooting such as in hunting scenerios. My most recent trial was with a VBG pendelum and after setting this up I shot from about 5 yards to 32 yards and was in the vitals on all shots. Inpact points were about 1 1/2" high at 5 yards and about 3" low at 32 yards with a bow shooting about 260 fps, with the mid-ranges being somewhere in between.
Low and behold I put on my fixed pin sight, set it for 25 yards and had nearly identical results, or not enough difference to be concerned about. The 3" drop I had at 32 yards was shortened to 30 yards. This leads me to believe I can sight in the middle of the chest cavity of the average deer and shoot anything out to 30 yards with a killing shot. No holding under or over. Just aim and make my best shot using proper form. And that usually means not seeing the arrow in flight, but aiming the bow.
And this is just another reason I believe that a range finder is not necessary for hunting in most heavy deer woods. The only thing I have to determine is whether the animal is within 30 yards, which I find easy as most are 15 yards to 25 yards anyway. If I need a range finder then he's out of range----period.
Your results may vary. You have all summer to experiment and see for yourself.
For the record I sold the pendelum sights and the range finder. Practice over the years has taught me to have faith in my equipment and my ability with it. It keeps life simple that way.