[ohioshooter68]

Why is the horizontal pin design a standard for a hunting sight when it clearly provides a lot less visibility of our target? Why don't more manufacturers besides Trophy Ridge make vertical pin options? Everyone now makes a 1 pin slider, but why not a 5 pin fixed? Trophy Ridge quality is mediocre at best, their customer service is terrible and I can't find something better. Spot Hogg makes one with only 2 pins that slides, but can someone much smarter than me explain why we aren't demanding more vertical pin sights? It's probably one of the biggest things that has baffled me in this industry. I took my trophy ridge sight on an elk hunt and the pins got bent. I don't think the same would happen with a sight from Montana Black Gold, Spot Hogg or some of the other more respected sight manufacturers. I've even sent emails to some of these manufacturers and they told me that there wasn't enough of a demand for vertical pin sights...

So...for those of you who shoot horizontal pins that clearly cover more of your target, can you elaborate on why?

 

[air rn]

I have thought the same thing many times. I question if it is a Patent issue. If so you would think it should be close to running out! T

 

[ohioshooter68]

I have thought the same thing many times. I question if it is a Patent issue. If so you would think it should be close to running out! T

Someone mentioned the same thing to me once. I would think it would be a fairly crazy thing for the USPTO to grant patent protection to a "vertical pin", but I guess crazier things have happened...

 

[highwaynorth]

I think it is because it is more difficult and costly to manufacture a sight with a row of vertical pins.

 

[dougell]

I shoot better with horizontal pins.

 

[3D Pinwheeler]

I tried the trophy ridge sight when it first came out. Wen I used the middle pins I was lost for height. Couldnt see what I was shooting.

A horizontal style lets you see 3 sides of where your aiming. The verticle you can only see the sides.
I never liked it. A single verticle pin you have vision of 3 sides of the fiber.

 

[ohioshooter68]

I shoot better with horizontal pins.

Any idea why that is? Have you tried a vertical pin sight while hunting? Shooting at an archery range is one thing, but when I've got a deer in a low light situation and I need to quickly find him in my sight picture I just can't imagine ever thinking more obstruction is better. I've shot a fair share of deer with a horizontal sight from Spot Hogg, but can't see myself going back.

 

[Inn.Outdoorsman]

You are not alone in your thinking. What if I told you that in a few days, a new sight will be announced that will address this (and other) concerns for the hunting and target archer? Next week, at the ATA, Buck Rub gear will announce its fixed slider. A single fixed pin (for our hunting “go to” distance) and a slider sight all in one for any other distance you want to shoot. 1 horizontal pin and one vertical pin with bright fibers. Less clutter, a fixed pin, a slider.

 

[E-2]

I think there are a few folks here that have put trophy ridge vertical pin housings on slider type sights.

I know that doesn't fix your pin issue, but it's a start.

 

[mn5503]

The sight pictures in the post are a little misleading. I can still see the target between my horizontal pins. And part of the right side of the sight picture is actually already obscured by the riser. The vertical stack blocks what you see up/down if using pins below the top one.

 

[wi_drenxl]

Never understood it myself. I can't stand a horizontal pin it clutters too much of the sight window

 

[ohioshooter68]

I tried the trophy ridge sight when it first came out. Wen I used the middle pins I was lost for height. Couldnt see what I was shooting.

A horizontal style lets you see 3 sides of where your aiming. The verticle you can only see the sides.
I never liked it. A single verticle pin you have vision of 3 sides of the fiber.

That makes a lot of sense. I've never had the height issue you mentioned, but that's an interesting perspective. For me the horizontal pins didn't allow me to easily find the deer in the sight picture and caused me to shoot too far forward or too far back because the other pins blocked the body of the deer. I'd rather err on the up and down side than the right to left for me as that's the difference between a shoulder shot with no penetration or a liver/stomach hit. For a low light situation while deer hunting, I still find the vertical pins to allow me quicker target acquisition. Appreciate your thoughts on this.

 

[ohioshooter68]

The sight pictures in the post are a little misleading. I can still see the target between my horizontal pins. And part of the right side of the sight picture is actually already obscured by the riser. The vertical stack blocks what you see up/down if using pins below the top one.

How so? I can still see the deer in the diagram above? I've also never had any part of my riser obscure the sight picture on my bow. Possibly your centershot is very close to the riser. I will admit the drawings aren't exact, but were meant for illustrative purposes, but I think their pretty darn close to reality...

Agree, the vertical stock DOES block your sight of the deer, but it really doesn't seem to imepe on my ability to kill them or hit them where I'm aiming.

 

[beaverman]

I think the biggest benefit to horizontal pins is being able to see where you want to hit when you are shooting the pin gap. If I have a deer at 35 yards I want to bracket the point I want the arrow to impact between the 30 and 40 yard pins. With vertical pins you can't see spot you are trying to hit. I hunted with the trophy ridge sights on and off and never liked the vertical pins for that exact reason. With a single pin slider you are going to adjust to the shot distance so no gap shooting to worry about.

 

[dougell]

Any idea why that is? Have you tried a vertical pin sight while hunting? Shooting at an archery range is one thing, but when I've got a deer in a low light situation and I need to quickly find him in my sight picture I just can't imagine ever thinking more obstruction is better. I've shot a fair share of deer with a horizontal sight from Spot Hogg, but can't see myself going back.

I tried both.Years ago,I used an HHA and like the single vertical pin.I went back to a 3 pin horizontal and then went back to a single pin slider.After going back to a vertical,I found myself more likely to shoot high or low.probably just me.

 

[BigWoods]

The sight pictures in the post are a little misleading. I can still see the target between my horizontal pins. And part of the right side of the sight picture is actually already obscured by the riser. The vertical stack blocks what you see up/down if using pins below the top one.

I think the yellow horizontal lines are far more distracting than the usual black a pin typically has. Id like to see the difference with the color changed. The yellow lines also seem to be thicker than my pins as well. I've tried the vertical pin set up and went back to horizontal. Gives me a better reference vertically on a deer with the horizontal pins.

 

[SBjanderson]

We just need Eotech to come out with a red dot sight for bows that is actually worth a whoot. No more worries about pins.

 

[thirdhandman]

You are not alone in your thinking. What if I told you that in a few days, a new sight will be announced that will address this (and other) concerns for the hunting and target archer? Next week, at the ATA, Buck Rub gear will announce its fixed slider. A single fixed pin (for our hunting “go to” distance) and a slider sight all in one for any other distance you want to shoot. 1 horizontal pin and one vertical pin with bright fibers. Less clutter, a fixed pin, a slider.

Nice! Those 3d printers are great at taking an idea and making samples.
The biggest reason we don't see the other sight companies with the vertical pin setup is because of the Trophy ridge patent.

 

[Kstigall]

The pics are not a good representation of what I see when using horizontal pins.

The issue with vertical pins is you can not hold slightly over or under a "spot" that is between the pin heads. I shot fixed pin class in 3d and if you are going to win you WILL often be aiming slightly over or under on the vast majority of targets. Using vertical pins if I need to hold my middle pin at the bottom or top edge of the 12 ring to drill the 12 I'm screwed. With horizontal pins I can and did use each pin for 3 exact yardages because I could see where the bottom and top edge of each pin was on a target.

If all you can or want to do is hit close then stacked vertical pins are fine.

For a couple of years I was using 2 pins in my hunting sight. The sight housing was a target scope with a down pin and an up pin mounted on an Axcel AccuTouch Pro.

 

[Alaska at heart]

I have never shot more than 3 pins on a horizontal design and even then had some issue with "pin clutter" when shooting at a deer outside the specific range of the pin setting. With a single vertical pin, you can easily gap shoot by knowing where the pin sets on an animal by practice. I shoot a CBE Tek Hybrid Pro that is adjustable for a wide range of distances, but sometimes do not have time in the woods to make the adjustment from my 20 yard "home" setting. In that case, I know my pin gap and make the shot. For example, I killed a 2017 fall turkey at 30 yards by adjusting my preset 20 yard single pin to 30 yards because I had the time. The next day I killed my 2017 buck at 32 yards with the pin set at 20 yards due to the sequence of events and gapping accurately from practice. Everyone is different and it is prudent to find what system makes you the most effective archer when shooting at live game in a dynamic world.