Selecting a Peep Sight

So, why would I want a peep sight anyway? And how do I know what size peep sight to use?

As archers, these are some of the questions that may go through our heads. So let’s answer them both.

It had been some time since I had done much bow hunting. I purchased a new bow. The shop threw all kinds of things on it, to include a peep sight and sight pins. I went home and couldn’t get my arrow to group any better than 6 inches at 20 yards!! Years ago I had 5 inch groups at 40 yards… what was wrong???

I went to a different local pro shop to find a solution. The dealer had me look through the setup on his bow. “That’s it!!” I said. I was ready to take his bow right then. It seemed very natural. At the time my setup was a large peep sight with a square pin guard around the sight pins. What was different about his setup? The pin guard on his sight was round and his peep sight was just the right size to allow the pin guard to fit right inside the peep.

The old way of sighting, before round pin guards, was to pick the appropriate pin, center it in the peep and release the arrow. A single pin in a large opening (the peep) is a difficult thing to center on a consistent basis. With a round pin guard, center the pin guard in the peep, select the appropriate pin and release the arrow. This is a much easier way to duplicate shots, thus increasing your accuracy.

Now, lets answer the peep size question. There are a couple of schools of thought on this. The first being to edge toward a larger peep size. This could possibly mean that the peep would have a view which is larger than the pin guard. Why go for a larger peep? Light. A larger peep will allow more light to filter through. This can definitely be a plus when drawing on a bull elk in the dark timber.

The second school of though on peep size is to select a peep with a size, which will allow the pin guard to fit right inside the peep. The plus with this setup is accuracy. However, keep in mind that this approach will lead you to a peep size, which will most likely be smaller than the first approach.

Peep sights are inexpensive, usually less than $3. Go to your archery shop or pro staff shooter and experiment. It’s cheap and VERY educational.

You tell me, which one looks better?