floater pin preference?

[pa_mountain_guy]

Just getting done installing new strings on my bow and trying a new arrow out for the season and my mind started to wonder off into the "maybe i could do something different" As I am going to have to adjust my bow sight / tape for the new arrows anyway, i started to consider changing which pin i use as my floater.

currently shooting 3 pin MGB ascent verdict setup 25/35/45 with my floater being the bottom pin (45). I am really thinking about setting my middle pin as my floater - thought being if i need to range / dial to a distance and the animal moves prior to the shot (closer / further) this would still give you a solid aiming point.

last year had a follow up shot @ ~65 yards where i quickly ranged the animal @ 55 yards, dialed, drew, and the animal moved off slightly (to 65 yards) stopped and i just compensated by holding high.

i've only seen where guys use either their top pin or bottom pin for a floater, am i missing something in my thought process here? anyone shooting their middle pin as their floater?

i realize i will be giving up some overall dial to distance, and have pins above / below which isn't preferrable on the range - but talking strictly hunting here i can see it having a considerable advantage.

 

[sodaksooner]

I have two indicators in my double pin. When my first is at 20, my 2nd is 33. Very rarely have a shot longer, but when I do, I'll just compensate or roll it down. Need to check where the top of my bubble is when top pin is 20 as well.

 

[WyoElkHntr]

I've been having the exact same thought. I really like the idea of having a second yardage for reference so you can make adjustments if the animal moves off somewhat as you described. Seems to me that your slider pin would be more centered in the housing as well. Pretty sure that this is the direction I'm going to go.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

you should be able to add a second indicator to your MBG. without that second indicator you're still really just guessing.

 

[nphunter]

Personally I feel like I’d rather use the bottom pin. I also like 5 pins for that exact secenario, 20-60 and anything past 60 needs a range anyways for me. Even with a second indicator you’re still guessing once the animal starts waking around but your always better off overestimating than underestimating yardage.

 

[Zac]

It should always be the pin closest to the level.

 

[Blackdog317]

I prefer 5 pins with the bottom as the slider, for the same reasons listed above.

 

[JBF92]

I hunt with the truglo Range Rover pro aperture on an axcel or hha sight. Great picture, not as pricey as the uv3. Has multiple points of reference for on the fly adjustments

 

[RedSnow]

Black gold has option for second indicator. Seems the kit could be retro fitted to use all 4 pins they provide. That way you could have a 4 pin sight with a pin for each. Really considering bending a few pins so they sit back into the slot or tapping 2 new holes.

 

[WyoElkHntr]

It should always be the pin closest to the level.

Why is that?

 

[pa_mountain_guy]

thanks, i shoot a lot so if i ended up making the middle pin my marked slider i would have a pretty good idea of where the top pin and bottom pin would be yardage wise.

my main thought is with the bottom pin as the slider as i have always done in a hunting situation doesn’t allow a solid holding point if the animal gets slightly further away. when i dial to distance i always know roughly where it puts my 1st and 2nd pin yardage wise but would need to guesstimate holdover if the animal walks further away under my current setup.

probably overthinking the process but in my head it makes a lot of sense. i could still likely dial to roughly 90 yards for my slider pin and im not looking to maximize the overall total yardage of my slider thats more then plenty for me.

this is purely for a hunting setup i am just making sure im not missing a glaringly obvious reason why not to make the middle pin the slider before i find out the hard way.

ranging / dialing / drawing requires enough time i feel like its very often the animal moves (closer or further) and unless drastically moving should put the top or bottom pin close to perfect if the middle pin is dialed to the yardage prior to them moving. i might try it out and see

 

[CMF]

I like the bottom, cause it just feels like where the pin should be If I'm shooting a further distance. I feel like it would take more thinking if its the middle pin and I want less thinking to do when it comes time to shoot an animal. I have the mountain ascent 3-pin(20,30,40) and it has two indicators. I painted the top indicator a different color and i added a red sharpee mark to the 40 yard on the tape corresponding to the red indicator so I can easily see if my sight is dialed off 40. I feel like anything past 40 I'm going to have to range and if i have time to range, i have time to dial.

 

[ElkArcher918]

I use my bottom 50 yd. pin as my dial up, pretty simple and no clutter. Some guys also use the top pin. Personally, I would NOT use the middle pins for dialing as you may have too much "pin clutter" or may be confused which pin to use in the heat of the moment (to alleviate the latter you could use a distinctly different color pin, but not ideal). Hey, after you're drawn if the animal moves further away either compensate by aiming higher or just let down. If the animal is not spooked, you may have time to let down and re-range. That's bowhunting for you.

 

[TX_hunter]

When I shot a 3 pin, I had 3 pointers so I could dial any pin.

I switched to a 2 pin and really prefer shooting off the top pin since it's centered in the housing.

 

[KBC]

I have a Black Gold mountain lite that came with 2 holes for pointers. It also came with 2 pairs of pointers. I added a fourth pin and with a little modification of the slots in the pointer with a needle file I have 4 pointers, one for each pin. Each screw holds 2 pointers. I used blue loctite and neither has come loose in a fair amount of use.
Edit: Here’s a picture

 

[Zac]

Why is that?

Because can't at distance is much more important than can't at closer distance. Having the floater ride right atop the bubble allows you to see both very clearly. Learned this from Gillingham. This is why the new Arxos sight has the bubble on the top for their single pin. That was a nice touch.

 

[Wapiti1]

Pretty sure my arrow would hit the bottom of my sight housing if I used the center pin for my floater. My max dial distance is 125yds, and there isn't a lot of fletching clearance even using the bottom pin with my setup.

Jeremy

 

[SDeel]

I have a 3 pin slider from black and gold. 20 30 40 and my 40 pin is my floater. Iv tried to practice at 60 then walk to 40 and use my top pin its pretty close. I'd be comfortable making that shot. I have clearance from my fletching to shoot 100 yards with it if I want to have fun

 

[N2TRKYS]

You would have to have a really slow bow to have your first pin set below 30 yards. The first thing I’d do is set it to 30, 40, and 50, if you’re stuck on a multi pin sight.

 

[SDeel]

You would have to have a really slow bow to have your first pin set below 30 yards. The first thing I’d do is set it to 30, 40, and 50, if you’re stuck on a multi pin sight.

I do alot of whitetail hunting in nasty thick cover and need to make sure I can get an arrow through a tiny hole that's the reason I have it set that way for my situations and I'm shooting a vertix at 72# with a 518 grain arrow