I finally got a chance to get a hold of Parkers new Pin Point scope and do some testing with it. This scope was designed by Parker and is manufactured for them in Hawke Optics plant. Like the XB 30 crossbow scope the Pin Point is based off of Hawke’s Eclipse 30 scope. It offers a very high quality optic in a compact 30mm scope and features a 1.25-4 power magnification. Flip up covers and the specific scope mount are included with the scope. It features a single L4 style crosshair, which has three heavy to light crosshairs at 3,6, and 9 o-clock, and one light crosshair at 12 o-clock so not to obscure the target. There is also a single illuminated mil dot at the center of the crosshair. This dot can be illuminated red or green with five intensity choices in each color or it can be left black.

The main feature of the scope is a dial on the top that you can turn to change the impact point of your arrow at any distance up to 80 yards. Once calibrated you simply range your target, turn the dial to that range, place the crosshair where you want the arrow to land and that is where it hits. You do not have to compensate for hold over, or use multiple crosshairs to adjust for different ranges.

I was going to mount this on a Parker bow but ended up selling it before I could install it so I ended up using a TenPoint Defender for the tests. The scope, like its brother the XB 30, is heavy due to the mount. In this case, the mount is an integral part of the function of the scope so there is no option to go with standard 30mm rings without eliminating the ranging feature. The mount can be “slid” up and down the length of the rail to adjust for eye relief without loosening the rings. The scope and mount have etched lines in them that will help to center the scope in the mount but I found that they were just slightly off when using a bubble level. It is a good place to get started, but it may not be exact. Once the scope was mounted I adjusted the focus. The focus ring has a lock ring on it so you can lock it down once you have compensated for your own vision needs.

The instructions are simple, and a DVD is included, which I recommend watching before you set up your Pin Point scope as there is a lot to the instructions and it does require you to follow them step-by-step to get the scope to work the way it is supposed to. This is not a “pop it on and sight it in” scope so allow some time to properly adjust it and confirm impact points but if you follow the instructions it is an easy procedure. Depending on your bow/arrow combination you may very well be able to simply set the zero, stick on a pre-made calibration tape and be done, but there are a few variables that you may have to compensate for.

Once the scope is mounted and focused, as per instructions I set the magnification to its lowest setting, turned the top dial all the way clockwise, installed a black calibration tape with the “10yrd” mark at the indicated mark and set the bow into a solid rest exactly 10yrds from a target. I now was able to adjust for initial elevation and windage. You do elevation first. At the base of the mount is a thumb wheel. This wheel is turned to adjust the scopes elevation. This moves the whole scope up and down. Once you have the elevation correct there is a setscrew that you tighten down so it will not move. At that point you can adjust the windage with the side turret on the right side of the scope. Once you have it dead on at 10 yards you move back to 20 yards and take another shot.

The top knob on the scope is basically the same as the elevation knob on a standard scope. As you turn it the crosshairs inside the scope raise or lower to change to point of impact Knowing how much to turn to bring the arrow up from “zero” at 10 yards will allow you to change to hit exactly where you want at any range. The trick here, once you have centered the shot at ten yards, is to go to longer ranges (20, 30, 40 yards, etc.) and turn the knob till the arrow hits the center of the bulls eye. Once it hits, you make a mark on the blank calibration tape. Once you have done this you can peel off the tape and compare it to the pre-calibrated tapes included with the scope. Once you find a match for the tape you made to the factory tapes, you can apply that tape around the knob and the scope is calibrated for those yardages.

So back to my initial set up I set the target at 20 yards and took a shot with the knob still at the 10-yard adjustment. Dead on. Hmmm… OK, let’s move back some. At 30 yards my shot hit low. So I now turned the knob till the arrow landed in the center of the bull and made a mark on the blank tape. I did the same for 40 and 50 yards. Now I have a tape that has several reference marks on it that I can adjust for different ranges. So before I go to the next step I want to play around abit. I am currently on the lowest magnification at 50 yards. So I crank up the magnification to 3 power and take a shot. Dead center. I crank it up to 4 power and again, hit dead center. Turn it back down to 2.5 power and take another shot and break an arrow. Very cool!! So I go back to 30 yards, turn the magnification back up to 3 power and the knob to my “ 30 yard” mark and take a shot…dead on!! So not only does the yardage marks work but once the distances are calibrated you can change the magnification up or down and it does not effect the point of impact. After talking to Parker engineers, I learned this advantage is due to the crosshairs being mounted in the front focal plane. This feature is very useful in my opinion as the greater the distance the more magnification I would like to better pin point where on the target I want the arrow to land (wonder where they got the name??)

So I now take off my calibration tape and compare it to the factory tapes included….nothing even close!! I figure I did something wrong. So I go back, do the whole thing all over again…break another arrow, and compare my new tape to the first one…its identical. A quick phone call to Parker and I have my answer. The arrows I am using are Gold Tips with brass inserts and Blazer vanes. They are very flat shooting arrows and compared to the Red Hot arrows that the factory tapes were designed from they have a much higher FOC (approximately 19%) and are about 20 grains lighter , whereas the RED HOT Arrow is 13% FOC . So back out to the range and I re-test the scope again, this time with Red Hots.

Though heavier, the first thing I notice is I have to re-adjust my base elevation setting at 10 yards as the Red Hots hit higher than my Gold Tips. So I re-center the scope and move back to 20 yards. This time, rather than having the same point of impact as 10 yards, the arrow hit slightly low so I turned the range knob till it landed in the bull and marked 20 yards. I continued to do this to 50 yards. Due to the initial lift and increased arc of the Red Hot arrow I had more spacing on my calibration tape than I did with the Gold Tips. Once I was done shooting I took off the tape and compared it to the factory tapes. My bow shoots 336fps with the Gold tips. With the heavier Red Hots it shot 327fps so no surprise, the 330fps tape is almost dead on to the impact points I got with the calibration tape. Parker also includes on their website calibration targets that you can download to confirm the impact points for different ranges without having to walk 60 yards to the target.

The optics are top quality and crystal clear. The crosshair is easy to see even at low light and the single mil dot is easy to crisp and centers on the target pretty effortlessly. Though time consuming the calibration process is very well explained and easy to do. The farther out you go the more accurate your calibrations will be. The ability to change magnification without changing impact point is a big plus in my opinion. I was comfortably dropping arrows into a 1.5” circle at 50 yards each shot then was able to turn the knob and do the same thing at any range without having to think about what crosshair to use. If you use Red Hot, or another low FOC, similarly weight arrow the factory calibration tapes work very well.

If you use anything other than the Red Hot or similar arrows you will have to make up your own calibration tape , and several blank ones are included with the scope. The faster the bow and or the flatter the trajectory there will be some concessions you will have to make to effectively use the ranging feature. You will either have to start the calibration at on the tape being so close together that getting exact yardages will be difficult. The system works best with either a slower bow or an arrow that has more arc to its trajectory so the spacing between say 30 and 40 yards will be wide enough on the tape to have several graduations for individual yard markings. This same issue has come up with the HHA Optimizer where we have found that making your own range tape is the best solution as every bow and arrow combination is different. Other than that the only issue I see is that for some having to adjust the range of their scope in a hunting situation may be problematic. Myself, since most of my shots are between 20-30 yards, would set the dial to 25 yards and use one crosshair out to 30 and call it good. If a shot comes in farther away I stand a decent chance of being able to turn the range knob undetected and I don’t have to worry about the close shots. For target or 3D shooting this scope is perfect! Paul Vicunas from Parker won the ASA crossbow class in London Kentucky by 27 points shooting a Parker bow with the Pin point scope. From what I understand he basically peeled off a calibration tape for the speed of the bow, stuck it on, did a quick sight in and went to the shoot. All in all between the quality of the scope and its adjustability it is definitely one to consider if you are looking for a high-end scope for your bow.



Wyvern