I am in the process of getting a new string put on my Mathews Outback, I shoot a 3 pin Sight pin setup with pins set at 10, 20 and 30 yds. Same distances I have used for as long as I have been hunting, about 15 yrs or so. I have thought about changing up the distances of my pins, maybe the top one being a "straight down" or point blank distance, then a 2nd one about 15 to 20 yd, and the bottom one 30-35. Just curious what everyone else uses as their pin distances and what is good advice for consideration.
Thanks.

BTW, the reason this came to mind is that I had an almost straight down shot last season where I hit the deer high (spine shot) and although he dropped in his tracks I had to shoot him again, it made me think that maybe my 10 yd pin was not set correctly for a straight down shot. Thoughts?

TIA

On all of mine, and I have an Outback also, they are 20-30-40.

I have never tried a straight down shot so that might not help you, but my 20 yd pin is pretty dang close at 10 yds.


Ricky

20-30-40-50 is on my SB now. Last year it 25-35-45 but I went a 4 pin set up this year.

I run 20,27,34,41,48,55 on my 3d sight. My hunting is 20,27,34,41. Now to shoot str8 down or under 10 yards I use my 34 yard pin.

Savage Pendelum, Straight down to 40 yards, no guess work.

best sight on the market

A local range, that closed several years ago, had about a 4 yard target that fooled a LOT of archers. Almost everyone shot way low. Hard to convince folks to use a 40 yard pin at that range! CD.

Never really tried it myself. I'll have to set me up one close and try it. You never know when you might have to try that shot.

Thanks

Ricky

should've gone to THE Univ. of BAMA!!!! Those people are smart enough to answer that

It's just what you feel like you can keep up with. I personally have fallen in love with the instantly adjustable, single pin sight by vital bow gear..then it doesn't matter how far or close they are

not doubting anyone on here, but if a guy has a setup with a 20yrd,30,40, and a deer is straight down and the 20yrd pin is shooting high,why would use use a 30 or 40 yrd pin on it??wouldn't that just place the 20 yrd pin higher thus making you shoot higher?? i use a pendlum but if i had fixed pins i'd prolly aim around 4inches lower with the 20 yrd pin depending on bow speed..best advice is practice out of tree stand scenerios and get a fill for the shots you can make.

aim at something really close like a few feet, and see how much lower the arrow is than where you're aiming.

20-30-35 Trophy Ridge Matrix

I would shoot 20, 30, & 40 on a 3 pin sight for sure. But, you do need to practice the straight down shot. Just look at the difference between your arrow path and your site on your bow. It takes a little distance for that arrow to climb.

Practice that shot. I had a buddy kill a monster elk last year in Montana at 3 yards! You just never know!

Physics grasshopper ... your sight plane is above the arrow. It's the same principle as the "bullet rise" myth. Bullets don't rise, arrows don't rise, but if you draw a straight line down the sights and draw a straight line down the barrel, they would never cross. So, in order to zero a point of aim, you're actually adjusting the sight plane to insect the bullet (or arrow) path, which, in effect, causes the projectile to be "cast", much liek a fishing lure, in an upward motion. The "zero" point is where the bullet (or arrow) crosses your line of sight, there will always two "zero" points, one on the rise and one on the fall.

So, arrows travel slower and have a much shorter range than bullets. Therefore the two zero points are much closer together, the trick is to figure where your zero's are.

The second zero point will also be your point blank range, the pin you'd need to use for the straight down or very close yardage shot.

Too much to figure out.....
I am going on Outback's word and trying the Savage Pendelum....

That's exactly why I went to the pendelum. Less "thinking" required.
And, surprisingly, I have not lost a deer since I switched to the pendelum. (knocking on wood)

Though I understand the 30/40/50 (different for everyone) yard pin for ultra-close shots very well especially when standing on ground level, in my particular case (as well as MANY other people on Archerytalk....we've had this discussion as well) it does NOT hold true when I'm 15'+ off the ground with a target as close as 3 yards from the base of the tree (close as I can physically pull off the shot). Best I can tell, anchor point, peep height relative to arrow nocking point, etc. all play a huge role in where an arrow will hit on ultra-close shots when up a tree. For me personally, I come to full draw at level bow-height, set my anchor point, and then bend at the waist to make the ultra close shot, and my arrow will hit about 1.5"-2" high when aiming with a 20 yard pin....has also been the case with every other bow I've owned. So, obviously form and bow setup play a huge part so my advice is DO NOT TAKE ANYBODY ELSE'S WORD FOR WHAT YOUR BOW WILL DO....practice it yourself to see what will happen so there will be no doubt at the moment of truth.

If I were shooting a pendelum I would use a Savage.

Great post Jughead, my setup does the same thing. I set my 20 yd pin to hit about 2" low at 20yds, which puts it dead on at 3 to 12 yds. Do all my practicing from elevated stand with rangefinder.

I have the new Mathews DXT with trophy ridge vertical 5 pin sights, set at 20-30-40-50-60, and the 20 is pretty close at 10, im very happy with my setup.

if i had a fixed pin sight i would just practice out of a treestand and more then likely on a close shot aim a tad bit low with my 20 yard pin...

if i had a fixed pin sight i would just practice out of a treestand and more then likely on a close shot aim a tad bit low with my 20 yard pin...

smoken em ain't ya? 60 yards is a long shot
how fast is your DXT shooting, I've been debating on getting a bow but i like the one i have

Im not sure, its set on 70lbs I havent shot it through a speed tester yet. Its a great bow. Out to 40 yards im money, 50 and 60 are pretty good, in 3 shoots I usually shoot two 8 and a 10 on average. I love the bow even though it hit my pocket hard, but I dong regreat a single penny.

I can't think of any case were shooting straight down will get you a double lung shot, no matter what kind of sight you have. You can only hope for a heart or spine shot, not a very high percentage shot. I know of a couple of guys that lost deer after shooting straight down (single lung shot).

I shot a buck last year that walked directly under my stand to the point were I could see him between my boots! I let him walk 20 yards past my stand so that I could get a good double lung shot.

That's a good point, better to wait (if you can) for a 15 or 20 yard shot.

I've only shot one deer that was nearly straight down before, but he was broadside and instead of aiming for lung i just placed the pin on his shoulder and hit the top of his shoulder and it dropped him on the spot..