How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I was just thinking about it this weekend and I spoke to a couple of guys and I am seeing two different ways to use the peep site. The first one is to center the entire sight housing in the peep and then adjust trajectory until you put the pin on the target. This way the pin will NOT be centered in the peep. The second way is to center the correct pin in the center of the peep. This method will have the entire housing too high or too low on some of the pins.

Which method do you use, or any other? I tried both at 40 yards and the one that centers the pin in the peep and not the housing is more consistent for me.

These are things you usually don't think about. It just comes natural. Now that I mentioned it, I will probably mess up the shooting for some of you. Sorry.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I only use 1 pin. It is centered in the sight. My peep lines up with the scope ring.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

When I used a peep I centered the round housing in the peep. This allowed me to use a larger peep sight which helps in low light conditions. It seems like centering the pin would not be very accurate unless you used a really small diameter peep.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I never even thought about it until you mentioned it. I center my pin in the peep. Others have put out some good reasons for using the housing...I may have to look into this. Good question!

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I center my sight housing in the peep. It has an orange ring around it so it makes it easy to see the circular sight in the peep. I think thats more consistent for me. Whatever works for you though.;)

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

To tell you the truth ive never lined any thing up it seemed to me it was just natural i pull back look through the peep onto the pin line up the bulls eye and sqeeze off the shot and im acurate at 50yds ive yet to try any further distance.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I use the housing, which allows me to use a larger diameter peep and still get the same benefits of alignment.

My personal feeling is that centering the pin in the peep would require the use of a smaller peep sight to give you the same accuracy. This would severely cut down on your early morning and late evening visibility.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

You can do either honestly. It sort of depends on what size your sight guard is and your peep is. My peep is small enough you can't get the housing in it. And my other 3 pin sight doesn't have a round housing.

Centering the sight housing in your peep will limit you to the maximum range you can shoot, and will give you more spread between pins. However it will give you a more consistant anchor at different yardages. Centering the pin in the peep will cause you to change your anchor point as the distance gets farther. Not too noticable from 20-40, especially with a faster bow. However at longer ranges it will change.

When I use a peep it depends on the sight I use. If it's a simple 3 pin I center the pin in the peep. If it is a movable type I center the housing in the peep, but since it is movable and a single pin I am basically centering the pin.

For hunting I use a simple 3 pin without a peep sight.

Paul

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I center the pin. Dont even really center it, I just look thru my peep & put the pin on what I wanna shoot. I only recently started using a round sight housing & cant really see a reason to complicate things. People are different but it seems like alot to keep track of, centering the housing in the peep & them putting the pin on your target. But then I shoot alof of firearms with peep sights so it seems natural. I dont thing of the aperature at all, I look thru it & put the front sight on target.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I neverknew that was an option either. I always center the pin in the peep, but I may have to try that just to see what it's like.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I center the housing.

Those of you who center the pin you plan on using, how do you know that your pin is in the exact center every time?

I wondered about this when I centered my pin instead of the housing. I started doing it the wayI do now and noticed an increase in my accuracy.

Although if you're accurate now, why change? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I center the pin. As learned from rifle practice, the eye will tend to center a focus point (the pin) in the feild of view (the peep) so it is not a problem. I find that centering the sight ring takes longer and more concentration than usiong the natural reaction of centering the pin.

Another thing to consider, (and going to that "a pin isn't accurate" idea)
If your peep opening is 1/8" and your sight is 30" from the peep when at draw, and you were a total of +/- 10% of the sight window (up to 10% of the feild of view high, low or to the side) for a total deviation of 20%.

+/- 10% of 1/8" (.125") = +/-.0125", taken at 30"
50yards = 150' = 1800", with +/- .0125" @ every 30"
equals a total deviation of +/- .75" @ 50 yards
So you may be off by 3/4 of an inch to any side, BIG variation

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

Another thing to remember.
Have you ever watched a rifle match where they are shooting a class where iron sights are required, say Smallbore rifle or BPCR events?
I have scored Smallbore events where competitors have consisten groups of 1" or less at 50 yards using nothing but a peep apature sight. Yes it is a longer sight plane and a bullet shoots platter and is more resistant to wind, etc, but that has nothing to do with the inherant accuracy of the sight nor the "difficulty" of centering the pin. Or how about those whom shoot long range black powder, hitting targets 500 yards away using nothing but a peep sight, having to guesstimate when the pin is centered in the sight window. The very size os that hole detemins the accuracy of the sight, but even the larger hole peeps are still way more accurate that the average shooter.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I don't use a peep. 1 pin. The kisser touchs the corner of my mouth, the string touchs my nose and lines up with the pins tip and whack.
I am a hunter not a target shooter and its important to be able see without having anything block my vision or darken the image.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I center my pin in the peep. I have tried both ways and have found centering the pin is more accurate and consistant for me. After a while it becomes second nature and you dont really even think about it when u raise ur bow and aim.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I center the whole gang. Makes for tighter groups and better sight alignment in low light.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I use a single pin slide site so I use the sight housing too. Works great for me, very consistent anchor for all yardages that way!!!

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

I use an Impact archery cosmic ring, which is a single ring moveable sight. I have never moved the sight while hunting, or for target for that matter, but i love the sight. I center the outer ring with my peep so the pin is always in the middle. Centering a pin is more complicated, and to much to risk when mister nasty rack is in the sight. So, center the outer ring.

RE: How do you aim your bow with a peep?
 

The reason I ask is that I recently bought a new bow and everything has changed in the past 10 years. My setup is completely different. I used to use a very small peep(~1/16 inch). The new one is twice the size(~1/8 inch). So I am fiddling around with things to see what works best. It seems like centering the pin wouldn't work in a huge peep, but so far it seems more accurate. It is definately more second nature and less thinking than centering the housing. I will keep at it to see what works best for me.