Pennsylvania Game News - March 2013 - 57

tant, a slower arrow that hits the mark
every time or a really fast arrow that
misses the deer?
The most important physical feature
on a bow is the grip. Most bowhunters
tend to like a large grip, but small thin
grips allow your hand to more easily
adjust to the pressures of the draw and
reduce bow torque, resulting in tighter
groups. Some bow manufacturers offer
different grips to choose from. I have
also removed the grip and thinned it
with a ﬁle for a custom feel in my hand.
Whatever you do make sure the grip ﬁts
your hand and is small so as to minimize
bow torque that can affect accuracy.
Bow Sight/String Peep
A bow sight and string peep are
both important to accuracy, but to
do their job properly they must work
together. First, let’s look at the pin size
of the sight. Common pin sizes are
.010, .019 and .029 diameters. Pin size
does make a difference when shooting
target or 3D, as you can get a ﬁner sight
picture with a smaller pin, especially at
a longer distance. But when hunting
whitetails, the average shot is 20 yards
or under and a long shot could be out
to 30 yards tops. At these ranges pin
size makes little difference in the sight
picture. However, pin size makes a lot
of difference in being able to see the pin
under low light conditions normally
found in a hunting situation. It has
been my experience that a .029 pin
works best under hunting conditions
and is much easier to see. Now I must
admit I am older than dirt and I like
a larger pin because it is easier to see,
but when you only have seconds to
acquire the target and shoot you need
a pin that jumps out at you. Unless
you are hunting elk or caribou where

long shots are the norm, a large sight
pin is the best choice for the average
bowhunting shot.
When it comes to string peeps I
have found larger peeps the best for
hunting. Personally, I use a peep with
a 5/16-inch diameter hole. Now the
common rule is that smaller peeps are
more accurate, and that is true if you
center the sight pin in the string peep.
However, if you center the pin guard
on the sight in the string peep you can
use a larger peep and get the same, if
not better, accuracy. To get the right ﬁt
between the pin guard and the string
peep I use a sight with an adjustable
dovetail bar. This allows me to move
the sight forward and back to get a good
ﬁt between the pin guard and the string
peep for maximum accuracy.
Several sight companies now offer
pin guards in larger diameters that better match larger diameter peeps. Your
eye will automatically align the two
objects regardless of their size. Aligning
the sight pin guard in the string peep is
very accurate and the larger peep allows
more light transmission, which is critical in low light conditions, especially
in the evening. The large peep also allows for quicker target acquisition and
eliminates any confusion that could
occur when trying to center a small
peep on a single pin.
Arrow Rest
Two arrow rest styles well suited for
hunting bows are the full containment
rest and the fall-away rest. Both of
these styles are accurate and rugged.
I have several hunting bows set up at
any given time and I use both of these
style rests equally well.
Full containment rests are also
known as full capture rests. While
Pennsylvania Game News - March 2013

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