***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

PEEP SIGHT SIZE - There are many different types of peep sights for bows on the market and each year seems to bring with it yet another innovation or idea. I encourage you to experiment and find one you like. But when it comes to the size of the peep sight opening, there are some things you might need to be aware of. For purposes of this discussion, we’ll be talking about peep sight opening size for our hunting setup.

The rule-of-thumb is that a larger aperture allows in more light for us to sight through in low-light conditions. Early morning and late evening seem to be the magic time for hunters so many archers opt to go with larger apertures so that more available light enters into the peep sight thus giving us a clearer picture of our front sight and the animal beyond. The same holds true with rifle scopes. The larger the aperture, the more light the scope is able to gather and make the target clearer.

But there is a trade-off.

If you select an opening that is quite large, it becomes more difficult to center your front sight housing within the perimeter of your peep sight…there will be a greater gap between your front sight housing and your peep sight (see photo B.). Now you must determine if the front sight housing is centered correctly. If not, you could miss where you’re aiming. Too small of a peep sight opening, and you’re not able to see your front sight housing at all. This then forces you to center your PIN in your peep sight which allows for an even greater chance of being off target.

The ideal peep sight opening should just fit the front sight housing inside your peep sight with no gaps (or a very small gap) between the peep sight opening and the front sight housing (see photo A.). This is why many front sight housings have a bright colored ring around the very edge…it allows the archer to more easily center the housing in the peep sight. Your target practice and hunting experience will be much more enjoyable and less frustrating if you match up your peep sight opening size to your frontsight housing.