Got my Black Gold Pro in a week or so ago from Rob at S&S. I shot him a few emails and he was always pretty quick to respond. I decided to make the jump and go for a non-custom 3 pin with dovetail. The days getting dark earlier have not given me as many opportunities to shoot as I would like, but I have had it enough for a good start.
This is my first Black Gold sight, and I am coming off of a custom 3 pin MRT Hogg Father also from S&S. So take it for what it's worth as my .02...
Initial impressions are that this sight is built very well, and for the price I fully expect it to be. I was not sure on how I would feel about the tapered pins, they are definitely thinner, but I did not get a feeling of "I'm never going back to regular pins again." They are nice, but not an absolute must-have. This thing is LIGHT. The first time I set up the sight and came to full draw, the difference in this sight and my HF felt like I had half of a beer sitting on top of my sight housing, and someone took it off. If that makes sense...It is a lot lighter than what I am used to, in a good way. Just as an add, I am not down on Spot Hogg at all, they make an incredible, durable, tank of a sight as well. If you are in the market for either of these sights you really cant go wrong either way.
I really like the way it mounts to the riser. The knob that secures the sight to the riser is just big enough, and it does not protrude from the side of the riser very much. I feel that it is a happy medium. I like it.
No issues at all mounting my tightspot. It is a pretty smooth transition from the mount to the knob, to the TS bracket. The TS can still be adjusted as needed without much issue that I have seen for what I prefer.
1st, 2nd, and 3rd axis were all pretty straight forward. Read the instructions, and was able to get all three taken care of in a short amount of time. They are similar to most sights with a lock screw and adjustment screw. Unlock, adjust, relock, done. The micro adjustable pins may take a little getting used to, but once you got it, you got it (get your Allen keys ready). The pins are BRIGHT. The housing does a great job as advertised with the photochromatic shell automatically adjusting pin brightness from mid-day to early mornings and late evenings. This is my first sight with this shell, it is ingeniously simple, which is great. One less thing for me to fiddle with.
One of the first attributes that I noticed when I opened the sight packaging and started playing with the sight is the stiffness of the distance adjustment wheel. I think this is called the "dial of death" or something along those lines. The knob sticks out from the side of the sight just enough to get a good grip on it, but it does not protrude far enough to be in the way. Again, a happy medium. The wheel tension may be adjustable, I'm not sure, but I havent seen any need to adjust it so I have left it alone. No more turning the wheel with just the tip of your pointer and thumb(you probably wont be able to), and if you grab it with your entire hand like a mini door knob, it doesnt cover up your sight tape like on other sights where your tape and wheel are essentially the same component. This thing is stiff in a good way. I can shoot multiple shots at a set distance and never have to lock down the slider, which brings me to my next point.
The slider lock is my only gripe. It is in a goofy spot on the bow side of the housing/sight, and its pretty small. If you want to lock the sight in, you have to adjust the dial to the desired distance, then twist your bow around to get to it, or manipulate your release hand in a way that isnt really natural, or switch hands to lock it down. There may be a better way, I just have not really figured it out yet. However, with how secure the sight feels "unlocked" I really dont see myself ever really locking it down anyway. I have shot it as much as possible in the past couple days and have yet to lock it down, when I set it on a desired distance it stays there.
Overall, the folks over at Black Gold have done a great job on this one. It seems as if they set out to build the ultimate hunting sight. In my opinion, they have done a really fine job. I can envision this sight fitting into any hunting style. After my first week or so with this sight I have been happy with it. I cannot speak to long term durability, time will tell, but I am not too worried about it considering the Black Gold warranty.
I may give a follow up post-season for those interested.
As of right now, I am expecting to have this sight attached to my bow come next September.