5 pin vs Single pin

[LostArra]

I'm with butcherboy.
Single pin. No sliding except extreme followup shot or money shots at a target.

No pin clutter
No pin panic
I shot only traditional until I was 64.
Horizontal sighting never made sense to me. Multiple horizontal sights made even less sense. That's just me. Where I hunt you're lucky to see a deer past 50 yards.

 

[TheHammer]

I have been hunting with a single on for 7 years. I do not adjust the dial I leave I locked in at 33 and am pretty consistent and confident to 65. On my new setup I went with a tetra 2 pin. (Only pic I have) this was the deviation between the two at 36yds aiming at the same point. I’m pretty happy with it. And much prefer the vertical pin vs horizontal. 508gr rip ss arrows.

 

[roosiebull]

Just wanted to give my two scents after running a fixed 5 pin sight and a solo pin sight on and off for the past 6ish years and my take ways from both and what I prefer. So for the past 3 seasons I have hunted exclusively with my HHA tetra solo pin and the last two years I was in Illinois hunting the rut and the same thing happened to me both trips that made me walk away from my solo pin and go back to my fixed five pin. So on both these week long hunts we were in buck action like crazy each day and both trips consisted of four guys and we filled two buck tags each season with really nice bucks. In the midst of these hunts I had bucks rutting all over, pushing does, following hot trails, and fighting, the biggest issue I had was during the rut (when I put most my time in the deer woods although I still hunt the early season a good bit and a lot of pre rut) things happen fast, like really fast, and in several occasions I had bucks coming straight to me fast on a string and going past me just as fast and I was hunting a lot of cover so when I would go between ranging and then messing with my dial all while trying to stop a buck and not get the hot does or just doe in the area to notice me it was a lot of moving parts and rarely did a buck stay still long enough for all this to come together. The practicality of a solo pin just isn’t there in my opinion in a real hunting application vs all the bucks I’ve killed with my five pin because I can get in my stand and right at first light I’m ranging everything and making mental notes and I know it’s matter of barely moving a set pin up or down depending on the in between yardages. In my opinion the five pin is so much more practical in a hunting scenario, now granted I’m only good out to 60, but then again my local range only goes out to 60 and my backyard only gives me 40 and realistically I’m not shooting at a whitetail at 60, sure when I go out west those 50 and 60 pins are in play but I wanted to know your guys opinions and thoughts on solo pins vs fixed 5 pins. Thanks and good luck this season!

I’m in the exact same boat. I thought a 3 pin slider was the best compromise for quite awhile until I forgot to go back to zero after dialing, and then thought why?

I for sure don’t need to shoot past 60 hunting, I can only shoot 55yds at my place currently, so I just ordered a custom mbg fixed 5 a few months ago (all green pins, top 2 .019, bottom 3 .010) and that’s what is on my bow

I like simple, and a durable fixed 5 pin with good pins is as simple as it gets. I have used a single pin a couple years and I didn’t like it at all, it was a liability with the hunting I do

 

[Pramo]

I use option archery with 27, 40, 50 pins or a Black gold double pin slider set at 27, 40

Elk hunting I’m going with the option sight due to strength, simplicity and not having to worry about the housing moving

 

[Blockcaver]

Hunt everything with a 5-pin Black Gold slider. I stay within the 60 yd pin hunting, as if it was a non-slider but like to practice out to 100 on my range so like the capability to rack 'em down. Shot fixed pins for over 50 years and never once considered going to a single pin sight for hunting big game in the west, stalking, tree stands or the occasional ground blind.

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

I’m in the exact same boat. I thought a 3 pin slider was the best compromise for quite awhile until I forgot to go back to zero after dialing, and then thought why?

I for sure don’t need to shoot past 60 hunting, I can only shoot 55yds at my place currently, so I just ordered a custom mbg fixed 5 a few months ago (all green pins, top 2 .019, bottom 3 .010) and that’s what is on my bow

I like simple, and a durable fixed 5 pin with good pins is as simple as it gets. I have used a single pin a couple years and I didn’t like it at all, it was a liability with the hunting I do

Yep same way my 5 pin has decreasing diameter pins so the further out I’m shooting the smaller the pins to avoid covering up too much of vitals and increase my accuracy and I got so tired of having to compensate for a good bit of yardage or move to dial to a certain yardage to ensure I’m getting precision through a small shot window when hunting whitetail. I don’t mind the “sight clutter” or all the pins it’s something I don’t even think about and I get each of us is different a 5 pin just works best for me I’m just old school I guess lol. I’ll attach a picture of my 40 yard shot groups at the range with my 5 pin

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

Hunt everything with a 5-pin Black Gold slider. I stay within the 60 yd pin hunting, as if it was a non-slider but like to practice out to 100 on my range so like the capability to rack 'em down. Shot fixed pins for over 50 years and never once considered going to a single pin sight for hunting big game in the west, stalking, tree stands or the occasional ground blind.

I love hearing this. I liked being able to practice those long shots with my slider as well and maybe a multi pin slider is something I consider down the road. I also think a lot of people let industry influencers influence their decision on sights and feed in to the whole “pin crowding my sight picture” instead of truly mastering your shot process and focus and getting to learn and appreciate the multi pin sights. Ive never once looked at an animal through my 5 pin and thought my sight was crowded but then again my decreasing diameter pins and a smaller peep help with that.

 

[Speaks]

I shoot a single pin set around 27 which keeps me real solid from point blank out to around 33. I shoot at 40 enough to know the holdover for that as well and thats about my limit for shot distance around here. If I were in the market for a new sight though I would likely get a 2 pin slider and keep one at 27 and the second at either 40 or 45.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Just wanted to give my two scents after running a fixed 5 pin sight and a solo pin sight on and off for the past 6ish years and my take ways from both and what I prefer. So for the past 3 seasons I have hunted exclusively with my HHA tetra solo pin and the last two years I was in Illinois hunting the rut and the same thing happened to me both trips that made me walk away from my solo pin and go back to my fixed five pin. So on both these week long hunts we were in buck action like crazy each day and both trips consisted of four guys and we filled two buck tags each season with really nice bucks. In the midst of these hunts I had bucks rutting all over, pushing does, following hot trails, and fighting, the biggest issue I had was during the rut (when I put most my time in the deer woods although I still hunt the early season a good bit and a lot of pre rut) things happen fast, like really fast, and in several occasions I had bucks coming straight to me fast on a string and going past me just as fast and I was hunting a lot of cover so when I would go between ranging and then messing with my dial all while trying to stop a buck and not get the hot does or just doe in the area to notice me it was a lot of moving parts and rarely did a buck stay still long enough for all this to come together. The practicality of a solo pin just isn’t there in my opinion in a real hunting application vs all the bucks I’ve killed with my five pin because I can get in my stand and right at first light I’m ranging everything and making mental notes and I know it’s matter of barely moving a set pin up or down depending on the in between yardages. In my opinion the five pin is so much more practical in a hunting scenario, now granted I’m only good out to 60, but then again my local range only goes out to 60 and my backyard only gives me 40 and realistically I’m not shooting at a whitetail at 60, sure when I go out west those 50 and 60 pins are in play but I wanted to know your guys opinions and thoughts on solo pins vs fixed 5 pins. Thanks and good luck this season!

This reads more like your not familiar with how your single pin sight works. No reason to keep trying to move it to every exact distance. With my pin set at 30 yards, I am good out from 0-40 yards without moving it. Anything over 40 and I’m dialing.

Having tried a 5 pin sight before, I quickly realized that you can have that cluttered mess. I’ll stick with the cleaner, easier single pin.

Now when ranging when you first get in the stand, you’ll only have to remember where your 40 yard mark is.

Super simple.

 

[3forks]

I love hearing this. I liked being able to practice those long shots with my slider as well and maybe a multi pin slider is something I consider down the road. I also think a lot of people let industry influencers influence their decision on sights and feed in to the whole “pin crowding my sight picture” instead of truly mastering your shot process and focus and getting to learn and appreciate the multi pin sights. Ive never once looked at an animal through my 5 pin and thought my sight was crowded but then again my decreasing diameter pins and a smaller peep help with that.

I agree about the 5 pin sight picture.

I’m not telling anyone else what to do, but I think shooting a 5 pin is similar to learning to shoot with both eyes open. I think it just takes a little time for someone who likes a single pin to get comfortable with looking at multiple pins.

I’ve never felt a 5 pin felt too crowded, but I can see how someone might.

I believe a 5 pin slider is most optimal for western hunting, but I shoot a single pin for 3D. However, this year I was lazy and didn’t switch scopes before our 3D league started and I shot the first event with my 5 pin. There’s no shots over 50 yards, and my pins are configure for 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60.

I just gap shot for any yardages in between my pins, but my bow is also fast enough that while gap shooting wasn’t as accurate as dialing with a single pin (and having really accurate sight marks/tape), I really enjoyed the simplicity of not having to dial. I know that sounds stupid, because dialing in 3D just isn’t a big deal, but I can definitely appreciate why guys would shoot a slider with single pin in a single, double, or three fiber option. I can also see how that would work well for western or more open hunting.

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

This reads more like your not familiar with how your single pin sight works. No reason to keep trying to move it to every exact distance. With my pin set at 30 yards, I am good out from 0-40 yards without moving it. Anything over 40 and I’m dialing.

Having tried a 5 pin sight before, I quickly realized that you can have that cluttered mess. I’ll stick with the cleaner, easier single pin.

Now when ranging when you first get in the stand, you’ll only have to remember where your 40 yard mark is.

Super simple.

I’m beyond familiar with how my tetra works shot it for years, killed plenty of animals with it. However in a whitetail rut situation in extremely thick cover with small openingsl for shot opportunities I’m not going to guess on a 43 yard shot with my pin only set to 20 or 30…so I’ll range for verification and then dial to that yardage so I can make the most ethical shot on an animal that doesn’t need me to try to guess the yardage through a 6 inch opening of briars they deserve that respect…I get that on paper it seems like everything works out so simple in the open woods, easy 35 yard shots, bucks standing still for 2 minutes for you to think things through on arrow trajectory but in reality we usually hunt in imperfect situations and I find that I mitigate room for error with more pins which give me more options in a situation especially when something fast happens vs one pin and if it happens fast I’ve got to rely that im estimating my arrow trajectory right or move to dial which was my original argument about movement as to why I like the 5 pin for my personal preference. I just weigh the pros and cons for my personal preference and the 5 pin is king. With that said everyone’s different and I’m sure your solo pin works awesome for you.

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

I shoot a single pin set around 27 which keeps me real solid from point blank out to around 33. I shoot at 40 enough to know the holdover for that as well and thats about my limit for shot distance around here. If I were in the market for a new sight though I would likely get a 2 pin slider and keep one at 27 and the second at either 40 or 45.

So that’s basically summing up everything I’m not a fan of with the solo pins is that I do not like to hold over for shots. Yes I’ve practiced them and yes some guys are absolutely killer with it but for me I like have 5 set and absolutely dialed in pins so the only holding I’m doing is at my five yard increments between the pins. To each their own it’s just what works best for me but I appreciate you letting me know how you run the solo pin!

 

[Speaks]

So that’s basically summing up everything I’m not a fan of with the solo pins is that I do not like to hold over for shots. Yes I’ve practiced them and yes some guys are absolutely killer with it but for me I like have 5 set and absolutely dialed in pins so the only holding I’m doing is at my five yard increments between the pins. To each their own it’s just what works best for me but I appreciate you letting me know how you run the solo pin!

Yea I am with you on not loving the hold over. I dont really need to from around 10-33 with my one pin but a second one at 40 would be really nice. I for sure get the appeal of a 3 or 5 pin though, honestly not sure what my next bow will end up with.

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

Yea I am with you on not loving the hold over. I dont really need to from around 10-33 with my one pin but a second one at 40 would be really nice. I for sure get the appeal of a 3 or 5 pin though, honestly not sure what my next bow will end up with.

A 5 pin with micro adjust is a deadly setup for a guy hunting any game.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I’m beyond familiar with how my tetra works shot it for years, killed plenty of animals with it. However in a whitetail rut situation in extremely thick cover with small openingsl for shot opportunities I’m not going to guess on a 43 yard shot with my pin only set to 20 or 30…so I’ll range for verification and then dial to that yardage so I can make the most ethical shot on an animal that doesn’t need me to try to guess the yardage through a 6 inch opening of briars they deserve that respect…I get that on paper it seems like everything works out so simple in the open woods, easy 35 yard shots, bucks standing still for 2 minutes for you to think things through on arrow trajectory but in reality we usually hunt in imperfect situations and I find that I mitigate room for error with more pins which give me more options in a situation especially when something fast happens vs one pin and if it happens fast I’ve got to rely that im estimating my arrow trajectory right or move to dial which was my original argument about movement as to why I like the 5 pin for my personal preference. I just weigh the pros and cons for my personal preference and the 5 pin is king. With that said everyone’s different and I’m sure your solo pin works awesome for you.

Lol. Ok. I hunt in the same type of situations as you do. It’s much easier with the single pin for me. You don’t have to worry about which pin to use, just put your single pin on the animal.

It just takes some getting familiar with your equipment and it’ll be like second nature.

Good luck. I hope you get it figured out.

 

[AlwaysChasinTailNHorns]

Lol. Ok. I hunt in the same type of situations as you do. It’s much easier with the single pin for me. You don’t have to worry about which pin to use, just put your single pin on the animal.

It just takes some getting familiar with your equipment and it’ll be like second nature.

Good luck. I hope you get it figured out.

I hear ya man but that’s the thing I’m saying works best for me. To me the 5 pin is second nature, I have those pins dialed and memorized and have never had an issue with them and I’m more comfortable with those pins in my sight picture personally it just works better in my head than dealing with holdovers especially in cover. I’ve got my setup fine tuned to exactly where I need it and just wanted to see everyone’s thoughts so I appreciate you chiming in and giving your opinion. Good luck the rest of the season brother.

 

[Taudisio]

Honestly it sounds like you just need a 3 micro pin sight. 30/40/50. “Less clutter”, easy to shoot 0-55 yards without thinking. You will hit something like 2” high at 20 yards, 3” high at 10 yards. The slider will let you shoot farther without guessing, but most whitetail guys don’t shoot many deer past 40/45 yards anyway from my understanding.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I hear ya man but that’s the thing I’m saying works best for me. To me the 5 pin is second nature, I have those pins dialed and memorized and have never had an issue with them and I’m more comfortable with those pins in my sight picture personally it just works better in my head than dealing with holdovers especially in cover. I’ve got my setup fine tuned to exactly where I need it and just wanted to see everyone’s thoughts so I appreciate you chiming in and giving your opinion. Good luck the rest of the season brother.

That’s what I’m talking about, there’s no holdovers. It took me awhile to get comfortable with it, cause I was always a fixed 3 pin guy since I started in ‘92. My bow was super slow. If I missed judged by 5 yards back then, I would miss my target. The newer stuff is so much faster than my old bows were. And once I understood how to use my single pin properly, things got way easier. I’m only shooting 60 lbs and a 430 grain arrow. Unless your bow is super slow, there’s no need for a pin closer than 30 yards. Your 5 pin should get you to 70 yards.

If you like it, keep doing it. I did for a long time. Then I finally saw the light of the single pin simplicity.

Happy hunting.

 

[doc holiday13]

For my hunting 2 pin slide is perfect. 20y and 39y. I can gap shoot anything in between those distances. I'm 95% whitetail archery. anything over 45 yards generally would give me plenty of time to dial

 

[2Stamp]

I'm in the 4 pin mover category. Sighted in 30, 40, 50,60 (or 25, 40, 50,60 on a lighter poundage bow). I like to practice longer with the mover, but the majority of my hunting situations aren't over 55yds. IF, and that's a big IF, I shoot at a pronghorn farther than 60, I have time to dial.