Pendulum Sights?
 

I am in the market for a new sight. I have a buddy who shoots a savage pendulum sight and he swears by it. I currently shoot a tru glo three pin sight However, I am thinking about buying a pendulum. I am confused and need help making a decision. I don't have much time the first day of bow season in central Illinois is Oct. 1. Any info and opinions on a good pendulum sight would be appriciated. However I would also like any negative feedback as well. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
Chris

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

I have never owned anything but a Keller and I love it but have heard nothing but good things about savage predator4 pemdulum. Here is a pic of my set up with my keller on an HHA slider so I set it at 30 yrds for treestand use when the pin swings free and when I lock the pin down, I can shoot from the ground , 20 yrds to 70 yrds.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

I have a savage and love it

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

which savage do you have

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

Pendulumsights are a useless gimmick designed to get hunters to part with their money. Think back to trigonometry class in high school. Remember the pythagorean theorem? The theorem can be used to tell you the actual distance to the deer if the horizontal distance and treestand height are known. The difference between the actual distance and the horizontal distance is less than one yard under normal bowhunting situations (ie 15 to 20 feet up and shots 30 yards or less).

For example if you are18 feet up in the airand the deer is 75 feet (25 yds) away from the base of your tree, the actual distance is 25.7 yards instead of 25. So your pendulum sight is "compensating" for that extra 0.7 yards. Big Deal. That's why pendulum sights are a bunch of BS in my opnion.

Just stick with a normal sight, bend at the waist, and practice from your treestand and you will be dead on.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

A lot depends on the type of hunting you do. Pendulums in my experience really let you hit exactly where you want from in tight(5yds) out to the max distance your bow will allow. (25-30+ yds) Proper form, and fixed pins out of a treestand are easily adjusted for, make sure you shoot at varying yards, as you could be off a few inches as you move out. For most that's not an issue but it is nice to know exactly where things hit.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

If you're 20 feet up in the air and taking a 5 yard shot, the "effective" distance becomes8 yards instead of 5 yards. Either way, it's the same pin. Why do I need a pendulum sight for that?

Between 10 and 30 yards out you don't need a pendulum sight unless you plan on hunting 50 feet up in the tree or higher. The difference between horizontal distance and actual distance is about 5 yards IF you are hunting 50 feet high in the tree.

I don't know too many guys that go that high. [:-]

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

Just for kicks I made a table to show how useless pendulum sights are if you hunt 15 or 20 feet high like most guys. However, if you hunt 50 feet high in the tree they would make you more accurate.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

gzg38b I beg to differ and so does my taxidermist ;).

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

goherd, I have the featherweight with the tritium pin.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

I'm not saying they DON'T work or that you won't be accurate. What I am saying is they are completely unnecessary unless you are hunting 40 or 50 feet high in a tree. Who does that?

Another example - You are 20 feet high shooting at a deer 20 yards away. The pendulum will "compensate" for the actual distance of 21.1 yards. I don't care if it's 21.1 or 20. I'm using my 20 yard pin regardless.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

Well , the bottom line is that we both are confident in are equipment and that is all that counts to me.BTW- If your only 15 or 20 feet off the ground , may as well use a ground blind ;).

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

I happen to have a Vital Bow Gear Camelback Pendulum and like it a lot. I keep it locked down and sighted at 20 yards most of the time. But when I was trying out the pendulum mode, it allowed me to be dead on accurate from 5 yards on out to maybe 25-30. The only thing a pendulum has a problem with is a downslope an upslope because it can't compensate for the terrain. If you have flat land, then a pendulum can be a useful sight.

Lefthanded Reflex Highlander / Lefty NAP Quiktune 1000 / Lefty VBG Camelback Pendulum

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

If I were to try a pendulum it would be the VBG like ButchA has. I have never seen the need for one though.


Butch, can't tell from that picture, but have you ever though of putting some fleece on that arrow shelf? Surecan help cut down on the noise if that arrow falls off the rest. Of course it could just be I'm not use to the "backwards" left handed bow;)

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

LOL!! :D

Actually, no, I don't have any fleece on the bows arrowshelf. I have the Highlander setup so the Beman ICS Hunter 340's sit nicely and evenly in the prongs. But yeah, true, an arrow could easily bounce out/off, but I am careful with my setup.

Also, regarding the pendulum. I have shot the Reflex Highlander and VBG Camelback pendulum on flat level ground all the way out to 30 yards without a problem. My single pin is sighted dead on for 20 yards (just like VBG says to do). At 30 yards, I hit about 3" or so low too, so the sight is really great and accurate. When shooting in pendulum mode, I shot it at 5 yards and was dead on, then shot it at a weird 17 yards from 15' on my back porch roof. In pendulum mode with a flat backyard, it is still dead on accurate. If I tried it on a downslope, then it might be a bit off, I'm not sure... I'd have to play with that...

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

i love my pendulum, one pin out to30yrds. just put the pin on and release.
yardage dont even enter my head when the deer is within 30 yards.some hunters like several pins out to thirty or further,some like one be it pendulum or fixed pin, my choice the pendulum.
if it comeseasy i'll take it easy. i dont need math with the sight i choose.im starting to think multiple pin are unnecessary since the pendulum will shoot to my set yardage i feel comfy shooting at a live animal.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

You're forgetting about the effect of gravity on a projectile on the horizontal as well as on a downward angle.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

I know that alot of guys shoot pins and then tell themselves to "hold a little low " when up in the tree but when it comes time to drop the string , the only thing I want to be thinking about is that exit hole on the opposite front leg. I had enough of poor shots and total misses on deer to know fixed pins were not for me up in a tree. Unacceptible to me.

Regarding the up/down hill compensation , my keller locks into a fixed position for ground shooting so then I would say I was in the same boat with the fixed pin shooters. I know that you can shoot strait up in a tree with the pendulum and be accurate as I have taken raccoons that way.

If I have a choice to be dead on without thinking about it or to be just slightly off but have to think and compensate , I know what I will and have chosen. To each his own as they say.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

I use Savage, Love it! it is quiet, had problems with the Keller's noise, but did kill deer with it, alsoI don't shoot over 30 yrds.i put one on my wife's bow. it will deffinately help since she is new to hunting and has a hard time judging distances. I never hunted on hilly terrain though so i can't tell you about slope shooting. no more "opps wrong pin" when the heart gets to thump'n!

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

I have to agree with the other that say they don't make a differance and yes,I've owned the savage.If you bend at the waist and shoot a relatively fast bow,they offer no real advantage.My bow sotts 294fps.I sight dead on at about 26 yards and I'm about an inch high at 18 yards and a hair low at 30.When I shoot from 20 feet in the air,there is absoluely no differance in point of impact.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

I shoot a single pin fixed sight. I sight in for 25 yards on the ground. I'm dead on at 5 yards, 1.5" high at 15, dead on at 25, and 2" low at 30.

I get exactly the same results from flat ground or a treestand. I shoot 266 fps.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

That's just it , I don't want to have to think about all that when it's hammer time. Whan I practice , I am always aiming for the exit hole on the opposite side front shoulder and once I know the yardage , I adjust the slider ( ground shooting) and aim for that spot. The only time I have to mentally compensate is for close range like 10 or 12 yards. I shot my last Black bear at 12 yards from a ground blind and had to tell myself to hold low . From the treestand I hit exactly where I aim , no thinking about it. Here is my set up.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

keller user as well....


Antler chaser...where did you get that slide for it...Ive never seen anything like that?

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

Nutter , it's my own design. It is an HHA optimizer slider with the holes dlilled out to fit the Keller mounting bolts. The last one I set up like this was for a friend in CO and instead of drilling out the holes on the Optimizer , I cut through the Keller mounting plate and fastened it to the optimizer and this gave me a greater range of adjustment down & up. It really works slick. You can pick up the Optimizers on E-bay typing in HHA sights. If you want any more info or photos , let me know.

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

I had a savage featherlite pendulum and loved it. This year I upgraded to the Trophy Ridge Manits Guide Series sight another pendulum! Love this sight thus far. I can see much more of my target that I could with my savage!

RE: Pendulum Sights?
 

i may have to try that...its too late to tinker with my sight now....but thanks man.