What Archery Sight for Elk hunting?

[Roughwater]

I haven't archery hunted for Elk in a few years and planning to buy a new Sight for my Bow as I'm getting ready for a Montana Archery Elk hunt. Initially I was thinking HHA single pin slider but I am now looking at getting a Black Gold Mountain lite custom by S&S. Three pin, 6" Dovetail, gang micro adjustment, Big dog guard (2"), 1st pin .019 green, 2nd pin .010 red, and 3rd pin .010 green. I looked hard at getting a 1 pin BG sight from S&S for simplicity but having a couple other pins for reference in a situation where there is no time for adjustment I thought might be real helpful? The reason for looking at the mountain lite is that it is a little lighter than the Ascent and it comes standard with 3 pins and the dual indicator system which I felt might prove useful and it is also a slider type sight.

That all said I'm not firmly set on the MG Mountain lite but at the moment it looks like a good choice but I could be swayed.

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[CJF]

Spott Hogg with the double pin setup. Fast Eddie, XL, or Hogg Father whichever you prefer. Love my Fast Eddie XL

 

[TBHasler]

I’d happily vote for the BG Mtn Lite. I’ve had this site for about a year and love it. It’s what you mentioned plus really light weight and compact. Durability is great. I thought it was the best all around option for a do it all sight - target, 3D, hunting from whitetail 20 yards and under to western hunting with longer/angled shots. (Has 3 axis adjustability)
I don’t think you’d regret going with it.
Good luck on the decision

 

[mlgc20]

The BG Mountain Lite is a great site. Like CJF above, I have the Spott Hogg 2 pin setup. I have the regular Fast Eddie instead of the XL. Both the BG and Spott Hoggs are great. For me, the reason I like the SH 2 pin setup is that the pins are coming from the bottom, rather than the side. It leads to a cleaner field of view IMO. I don't think I could go back to having pins coming from the side.

 

[CJF]

The BG Mountain Lite is a great site. Like CJF above, I have the Spott Hogg 2 pin setup. I have the regular Fast Eddie instead of the XL. Both the BG and Spott Hoggs are great. For me, the reason I like the SH 2 pin setup is that the pins are coming from the bottom, rather than the side. It leads to a cleaner field of view IMO. I don't think I could go back to having pins coming from the side.

That's exactly why I chose it......can NEVER go back to pins coming in from the side after shooting single pin for so many years. I've shot elk the last 2 years using the second pin, it's handy.

 

[OFFHNTN]

Spott Hogg with the double pin setup. Fast Eddie, XL, or Hogg Father whichever you prefer. Love my Fast Eddie XL

I've used the Spot Hogg Fast Eddie XL for several years now and love it. The double pin on a single post with two sight marks works extremely well for me. My second choice would be the MBG the OP has mentioned.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

If you're in the market for a high end sight, I'd recommend taking a look at Option Archery. They're on the high end of the price spectrum, but they're unique in that the fixed pins and moveable pin are completely independent of each other, which gives you the option of completely removing the fixed pins from your sight picture and shooting with only the single moveable pin visible.

 

[Roughwater]

The BG Mountain Lite is a great site. Like CJF above, I have the Spott Hogg 2 pin setup. I have the regular Fast Eddie instead of the XL. Both the BG and Spott Hoggs are great. For me, the reason I like the SH 2 pin setup is that the pins are coming from the bottom, rather than the side. It leads to a cleaner field of view IMO. I don't think I could go back to having pins coming from the side.

That is something I also considered and am a little negative about as well. My present site has 3 pins and they line up behind each other so pins coming out from the side is also a concern for me as well. Though I've never used one but spot hog sight users seem to love them so I rank spot hog sights right up as some of the best sights out there. I like the SH XL but it's a bit heavy at 14+ ounces. I have a 35" PSE Evoke so is not a light bow so wouldn't want to put a sight on it of that weight. Of course your SH is a bit lighter at 11+ ounces so is a consideration too but would like to keep it even lighter if possible but I appreciate your thoughts for sure.

 

[KHNC]

Option 6 from Optionarchery.com is the best out there. Check them out , you wont be disappointed.

 

[mlgc20]

That is something I also considered and am a little negative about as well. My present site has 3 pins and they line up behind each other so pins coming out from the side is also a concern for me as well. Though I've never used one but spot hog sight users seem to love them so I rank spot hog sights right up as some of the best sights out there. I like the SH XL but it's a bit heavy at 14+ ounces. I have a 35" PSE Evoke so is not a light bow so wouldn't want to put a sight on it of that weight. Of course your SH is a bit lighter at 11+ ounces so is a consideration too but would like to keep it even lighter if possible but I appreciate your thoughts for sure.

Understood and agreed. The regular version of the Fast Eddie is only around 10.5 ounces. The XL version is 14+.

 

[IdahoHntr]

It is all going to come down to your personal preference of single pin vs 3 pins. There are killers that shoot both, proving that just knowing your equipment and shooting what's comfortable are the most important things. The MBG Mtn Lite and Ascent are both great sights and you really can't go wrong there. Same with SH, they make great sights.

I will say that I have shot a 3 pin sight (MBG Ascent) for the last 4 years now and think it is the absolute perfect elk sight. Bulls in September are on the move and I like having a range of known distances I have actual aiming points for. I like 30-40-50 for a 3 pin sight and practice shooting out to 60 consistently without dialing. Because of that I feel extremely confident 0-60 without touching the dial, and I feel like the same is hard to do on a single pin sight.

For comparison I have shot a 7 pin and a single pin. The 7 pin was definitely way too much clutter for me and the single was great on targets, but just had me constantly thinking about drops at different yardages. The 3 pin fits right in between. I shoot it just as accurately as the single without feeling cluttered, but I also have some aiming points so I don't have to be thinking about anything but killing the bull when he's coming in.

Last note, if you do end up going single pin, I would definitely look for the article on here talking about the trick pin system. It seems like the best way to setup a single pin for the elk woods.

 

[jgrg1215]

I have the Spot Hogg Fast Eddie XL and love the double pin/ pointer.

However, whichever sight you do decide to go with, my advice would be to learn to shoot as far as possible WITHOUT having to move your sight. With the double pin, I was able to shoot out to 45 yards confidently without moving my sight. My top pin was 25, second pin was 37, and the top of the bubble level was 45. With lots of practice it became second nature on where to hold for what distance.

Like IdahoHntr said, hunting elk with a bow usually means hunting elk on the move. Either stalking in while they are moving to/ from bedding, or even better, calling them in. Do not think you will always have time to adjust a sliding sight. A bull coming in to a call can go from 40 yards to 20 yards in no time, so trying to range, move pins, find the shot, range again, etc. will cost you either in no shot or a bad shot. Whichever sight you pick, be sure to pick it with the intention of not having to move it to shoot as far as reasonably possible.

 

[Roughwater]

I have the Spot Hogg Fast Eddie XL and love the double pin/ pointer.

However, whichever sight you do decide to go with, my advice would be to learn to shoot as far as possible WITHOUT having to move your sight. With the double pin, I was able to shoot out to 45 yards confidently without moving my sight. My top pin was 25, second pin was 37, and the top of the bubble level was 45. With lots of practice it became second nature on where to hold for what distance.

Like IdahoHntr said, hunting elk with a bow usually means hunting elk on the move. Either stalking in while they are moving to/ from bedding, or even better, calling them in. Do not think you will always have time to adjust a sliding sight. A bull coming in to a call can go from 40 yards to 20 yards in no time, so trying to range, move pins, find the shot, range again, etc. will cost you either in no shot or a bad shot. Whichever sight you pick, be sure to pick it with the intention of not having to move it to shoot as far as reasonably possible.

Thanks. I agree that I might not have time to adjust the sight which is what got me to looking at 3 pins to start with. I also looked at trying the trick pin method but even in it's less complicated form with building a large target with tape and a target I feel asleep halfway through the process. Maybe that was because it's just a rainy sleepy day here right now in NC, or because I'm 70 or maybe a little of both but it does make me think maybe one pin probably ain't for me for Elk hunting.

 

[Kilboars]

I'm all about the Black Gold Pure 75, 5-pin adjustable sight.

It has a pin for 5 set distances and you can adjust it out to 90yd-110yds for a follow up shots.

It's not often I've been bow hunting elk and had the time and luxury to range the animal and dial up my sight.

I used to shoot HHA single pins for years.

 

[Roughwater]

I appreciate everyone's input. Though I liked the Spot Hog a lot just not enough to change my mind. I looked at the Option 4 and 6 and they look great but the price starting at 400 dollars is kinda steep in price but I did like the option a lot of hiding all the pins but one at the flick of a wrist.

Anyway, I went ahead and ordered the 3 pin MG mountain lite with all the options I listed above from S&S Archery. I don't plan to shoot past 40 yards at Elk so 3 pins I feel should work for me. I've learned to adapt to many things in my life so I guess I can adapt to the pins coming out from the side. Also I'm presently just shooting a fairly heavy arrow with my bow set at 62 Lb pull and 27" draw. I have been increasing my draw weight for a while and went from 50 lb starting out and just bumped up from 60 to 62 lb. I've been increasing draw weight in one turn increments or less over 2 or 3 months time. I shoot a little almost every day. My Evoke SE max draw weight is 65 Lb and I feel I have a shot at making it there before Sept. Though I'm thinking whatever max weight I reach I may drop the #'s back by a turn so I can pull it under most any conditions. I have 2 sets of 6 arrows made up for hunting. One set has the Victory Xtorsion SS shafts, ethics archery insert and sleeve totaling 135 gn, and using 125 gn points, with aluminum nocks. Total weight of that combo is 664 gn.
My other 6 arrows I'm using Victory RIP TKO's with Ethics archery 125 gn Spinning inserts and 125gn points. They only weigh 533 gn. I cut all my bare shafts at 28" but with nocks and points are more than 29". I recently ordered a goat tuff equalizer release which I'm hoping might enable me to increase my draw length but we'll see how that goes. Right now the heavy 664 gn arrows are getting 200 FPS out of my bow at 60lb and the RIP TKO's are about 233 at 60 lb. I haven't checked them yet at 62 Lb.