The Archery Project

Our Favorite Bow Sights for Total Archery Challenge (TAC) + Setup Tips

• Zakk Plocica • Season 1 • Episode 40

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0:00 | 56:35

Steep angles, sketchy footing, and fast-changing light can make even a solid archer feel shaky. We dig into what actually matters for Total Archery Challenge so your sight keeps up when the mountain starts moving: true second and third axis, durable builds that don’t drift, tool-free micro adjustments, and sight tapes that hold up in rain, mud, and fog. We also unpack the tradeoffs that decide whether your arrows land or disappear into the brush—vertical three-pin vs single-pin sliders, peep size and housing alignment, fiber brightness and rheostats, and when a sight light or .010 fibers beat a dim .019 on a dark target.

We share real-world lessons from soggy courses and windy ridgelines: how to set peep height to unlock more dialable distance, why vertical posts help you spot torque, and how to “true” your sight tape across multiple yardages so 120 still hits when 20 and 60 lied to you. You’ll hear our take on top brands and features that make life easier—rugged Spot Hogg builds, the lightweight Axcel Driver, Dialed’s smart light and angled track, HHA’s modern XV3 housing—and the mid-tier options that deliver real value without flimsy plastic.

If you’re traveling to a TAC course, we cover simple safeguards that pay off fast: reference marks for reassembly, waterproofed tapes, spare arrows, and a quick shakedown on the practice range before the first 100-yard uphill. Run what you brung, but set it up to win in mountain conditions. Subscribe, share this with a buddy who’s dialing for TAC, and tell us: what sight setup gives you confidence at 140 yards?

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Setting The Stage For TAC

Zakk Plocica

All right, folks, Total Archery Challenge is right around the corner. Hunting season is done for pretty much everybody for the most part. So the next step, aside from Turkey, right? The big thing is total archery, which is probably one of my favorite things you can do with a bow aside from hunting.

JR Gettler

Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

But um, it's there's a lot of equipment that I think that's vital to really, I think, make the most of it, I would say. Not just have fun, but like make the most out of it. If you're gonna shoot the courses, yeah. And uh one of the critical pieces of gear is obviously a good bow site.

Speaker 2

Yes.

Zakk Plocica

Uh so that's what we're talking about today, and we're gonna kind of go through some of our favorite sites for 2026, 2025, I guess. Yeah. Um, talk about them and uh kind of dive into them and really what makes a good bow site for Total Archery Challenge. Yes. Make sense? Yeah, solid. So that's it, guys. That's what we're doing today. So thanks for joining us on another episode of the Archery Project. I'm your host, Zach Plaseekin. I got Mr. J.R. Gettler back in the hot seat once again with all of his vast knowledge in the archery world, right? Somebody who probably plays with more of the gear than anybody I know.

Speaker 3

Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

Uh, and very in-depth with it. So we'll kind of set the scene for this, right? If you don't know what Total Archery Challenge is, maybe you live under a rock. I don't know. But it's obvious, it's a very popular 3D archery event. Um, but it is different than your standard 3D archery, right? In the fact that there's no scoring, it there's a lot of different courses to choose from. It's all just basically based off fun. Um, it's not really that competitive, but it is pretty technical. Uh, and it is much more challenging terrain-wise than a standard 3D event, I would say.

What Makes TAC Unique

JR Gettler

Right. Um, I would describe it as a great way to be able to go out there and test your equipment before hunting season to make sure you have what you need or to kind of fine-tune it. Um, and it does make it more of a challenge. Um, you know, some of the shots can be very technical, very long, um, very hard shots. And it's all throughout the nation now. It's been blowing up over the last couple of years, in my opinion. And it's it's just a great way to go out there with a couple of buddies, have some fun, and just really test your equipment.

Zakk Plocica

It is, and it really does do a good job, like J.R. said, putting your equipment to the test because the terrain is one of the major things that you're navigating. It's not just the shots, but you're actually, you know, typically most of these are on the side of a mountain. Right. Um, so at some kind of ski resort where there's a ton of property or a ton of land and a lot of different courses and very steep elevation. You know, everything kind of comes into play. You're shooting uphill, you're shooting downhill, you're shooting through windows. And one of the other big things you're doing is shooting from a lighted area into a dark area. We had that in Tennessee, um, where the weather was real bad. You know, you're standing on the side of a mountain and you're shooting down into a bottom where it's really dark. So pin configuration, scope sizing, um, pin brightness all come into effect whenever it comes to choosing a good site for total archery challenge.

JR Gettler

And not even just that, but just the durability side too, because we had a lot of weather um last year. It rained a lot, so slipping and sliding everywhere, a lot of mud. Um, so if you're falling, you know, possibly bumping your equipment, you know, making sure you have good quality stuff, in my opinion.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, it does matter because if you bump that, like for when we're talking about shooting those extreme extreme angles, if you bump off one of your axes, that throws off the entire site. Um, so you it's something you really need to consider, you know. And when we talk about it, I mean I guess going right into it with those extreme angles, it's probably in your best interest to have a site that has the ability to adjust your second, third axis. Right. You know, because a lot of your entry-level sites, right? They're whether they're a fixed pin site, whatever they are, don't give you that option. Right, right. You slap it on the bow and that's it. You really cannot adjust it specifically to the bow. Right. Um, which is a major factor for angles.

JR Gettler

Yeah, yeah. Especially those up, uphill, downhill, that's crucial for your third axis and to make sure it is set up correctly as well.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, because you'll be missing left and right and questioning yourself and your capability. Yeah.

JR Gettler

Yeah, even even just a 40-yard shot. I mean, it can throw you off inches. So, I mean, it could be the matter of having a great successful hunt or or wounding an animal. So, um, as you know, an avid bow hunter myself, that's something that I want to avoid as much as possible. Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

I mean, it really does challenge you in in all ways with your equipment. Um, it it'll make you realize too, your bows not set up correctly, whether it's draw length, um, peep height, because shooting those angles, everything kind of changes. And you really don't have the ability to do that when you go in a shop.

Speaker 2

Okay.

Zakk Plocica

Right. Or most people, for like example, for us, we're here on the East Coast, it's super flat. Like we're not shooting any string extreme angles unless you get in a you know, a tree stand and jack yourself way up high. Yeah, yeah, and you know, try to shoot that. But it just doesn't compare.

JR Gettler

Yeah, it is very hard to get that configured correctly. So yeah, like I said, great way to get out there and test your equipment, really, make sure everything's set up right.

Why Second And Third Axis Matter

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, and that's the other cool thing about it, is whenever you're at Total Archery uh event and you go through and you shoot your first course and you realize you got a problem, they got their vendor village there, and you can go through and get set up correctly. There's usually a bunch of shops that are set up there now, um, manufacturers that can help walk you through the process. And then they've got their their practice course so you can go in and get resited in because when you go to Total Archery Challenge, you're gonna see a lot of blown up bows. It happens every year. You know, I dry fire their bow on accident or lose their footing, fall, bump something off, and then you've got to have it fixed. And luckily at these events, everything you need is there to get you back up and running and get back in it.

JR Gettler

Yeah, and that that brings me um to remember something. Uh it was a couple of years ago now, but I think it was at the Tennessee course. There was one spot, like you're on a top of a cliff and it's an extreme down angle. And I it's it was a video going all around. A dude shoots and then his bow follows right after, right down the ravine. I don't remember what happened to the bow, but I'm sure it didn't look very good. Yeah, that's a bad time, man.

Zakk Plocica

That's a good that's a terrible way to start the day if that's your first course, too. So yeah, you definitely um it it's very unique. It's a ton of fun, but a good sight is is critical for I think performing there. And there's a lot of different options, you know, and you can take this. The great thing about Total Archery Challenge is you can take your bow hunting setup within reason, right? Right? If you have a fixed three pin that doesn't dial, it's gonna make it a little bit more challenging because you're only gonna have that 20, 30, 40 yards whenever these targets that you're shooting are all the way out to 140 yards. Yeah, you know, so a good dial site really a site that has the ability to dial, um, I think is worth the investment.

JR Gettler

It is.

Zakk Plocica

Uh, especially if you're someone that likes to shoot all the time, anyways, because then you can sh, you know, shoot those extreme yardages once you get your sight tape and get it set up.

JR Gettler

Yeah. So yeah, a great way to just really test your equipment and also push your limits. So um, like for me, when I'm practicing, I really do enjoy shooting long distance because I do feel like it helps those shorter distance shots just make it feel so much easier. So that's why I I love to shoot the long distance stuff as well.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, I put up a post this morning too. Like there's one thing I love shooting my bow, but I love shooting, I love shooting my bow far even more. And the best thing is shooting far on the side of a mountain. And that's the thing about total archery, is you get to do all of those things. And the cool thing is if you're not comfortable, you can walk up and shoot the, you know, shorten the distance. You can shoot from wherever you want, but it is a great really way to really challenge yourself. And one of the unique things about it is all the courses are different, so on different sides of the mountain. So, you know, your wind may be different on one side of the mountain, you know, the brightness, right, what you're shooting into, where you're shooting out of, the angles, all kind of vary. So you really get to test yourself on each course because it is different, not just the the shots and the scenarios, but the actual lighting, the elevation, and all of that.

JR Gettler

Even the weather.

Zakk Plocica

Even in even the weather, yeah. You know, the guys in Tennessee, I think it was Kendrick and Brian last year that got caught in a like a hail storm on the side of a mountain.

JR Gettler

Yeah, and we were we were at the vendor village, and it was just raining there, but yeah, they had hail and stuff, yeah. So bad. It was crazy.

Zakk Plocica

It is that's what makes it fun though, man. It's like a bow hunter's paradise because you get put through the elements.

JR Gettler

Yeah, yeah.

Zakk Plocica

Uh, and it's you really get to test yourself. And there's dudes out there that get after that do not care. Yep, they're like, we're shooting rain or shine. I paid to be here, we're shooting.

JR Gettler

Yep, yep. And that's the nice thing too, is the the event's gonna run rain or shine too.

Zakk Plocica

So yeah, you know, and so when we talk about sites, I think one of the things uh for me that's always a little bit tricky is actual peep size. Because whenever you look at some of these um these targets, right, you're like, you want, I want extreme precision, right? I want a smaller peep site, I want a smaller scope housing, I want everything to line up. And then you go and you're shooting into the dark and you're like, I've got no light, I can't see anything. So you really got to kind of weigh the pros and cons, right? Extreme precision or maybe a little bit larger peep site, right? A little bit larger scope housing that allows you to get a little bit more light so that you can see into some of those extreme shots.

Vendor Village And On-Site Fixes

JR Gettler

Yeah. And that's um bringing up a good point, is um like Hamski, they have their inside peep system. So I mean, if you're going out west and you're having that possibility, you know, you could get the inside peep system, and that way you can change your aperture size. Right. So if you want to change it on the fly, you know, it's super easy to do. I mean, whether you whether or not you want to bring that with you, you know, that's something you'd have to ask yourself. But this is a great way to be able to test it beforehand. So if you know, okay, well, it's possibility for this, maybe I should go up a PEET size. Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

I mean, it gives you options too in the future, like because if you run your hunting setup slightly different than you do, like if you're somebody that's serious about Total Archer Challenge, you have a specific build for it, you can kind of swap that stuff out and play a little bit. So I personally, man, I like a bigger scope housing.

JR Gettler

Yeah, yeah, I do too.

Zakk Plocica

It's just for me, like um, I'll give you a prime example. I have a HHA Tetra on my Mach 33, and then I have an HHA Nitrix XV3, their new site for this year, on a decree. And the Tetra scope housing that I've got is much smaller than that new X V3 housing. And I typically I run either a 532nds, usually 316 peep between those two for everything that I do. Um, I don't do a lot of changing when it comes to uh scope and peep size. Um but I noticed that like the 41 style housings are just that little bit bigger, are easier for me to align with my peep consistently. Uh, that's one reason I like spothawk stuff a lot. I like their MRT rings, it makes aligning it very easy. And that new XV3 scope housing just fits my 530 seconds peep at 28 and a half inches really, really well. Yeah, and I'm not running a dovetail site, I'm running all Pick Mount and stuff, you know, and some guys that are a little bit more um, I would say in tune with like torque tuning and stuff. I don't do any of that. Um, I just haven't dove down that rabbit hole. I know Cooper from PSE is really big on that. Um, I run everything, it's all fixed Picatini Mount. So I'm not able to adjust my scope housing in or out to really accommodate my peep sight and alignment better. Um, so that 530 seconds tends to work really well for me at 28.5 inches with that little bit bigger scope housing.

Dial Sights And Long-Range Benefits

JR Gettler

Yep, I'm I'm at the same, and so I'm typically 30-inch draw. Um, I've been running everything pretty much Pick Mount 2 or Direct Mount. I haven't ran a dovetail site in a couple years except for on a bridge lock. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I typically run a 530 seconds peep as well, and that still lines up really good for me. And I'm running the dialed site this year is what I had. And I've got the new um 3 VA site from them or scope.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, I ran so I ran their um, did I have the Arcos? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

JR Gettler

You get the Arcos.

Zakk Plocica

Arcos, however you say it. I ran that the previous year on a Mach 30, um, and really enjoyed it. I think the big thing about Total Archery, like you just don't know weather-wise what you're gonna get into and then kind of terrain, like how dark it's gonna be based off where you're shooting. Like I like more light, I like bigger scope, I like a little bit bigger peep site just to collect, just to have more visibility um and pin brightness too. I think the way some of these scopes are configured, you're whenever you choose a site or a scope. If you don't run a sight light, like I don't ever run a sight light, like personally, I just I just don't. Um I like a fiber that's nice and bright. I always run a 19,000th in all of my sites for because my sites typically get carried over into hunting. I really don't change a lot. This year I might build something specific for TAC. I'm I'm not 100% sure. Um, but I like that 19,000 fiber with that bigger scope housing. It's just easy for me to acquire that pin and that scope housing and line everything up better.

JR Gettler

Yeah, um, I typically don't run a lot of sight lights either. I have on dialed.

Zakk Plocica

Um, their dialed's, I think, light system is pretty slick.

JR Gettler

It is, yeah. So you can still almost you can slide it like a Rio stat. So if you if you want to run it without running the light kit, you can just slide that so you can gather more light or take away if you need to. Um and the nice thing too with their their light kit is after 15 minutes, it automatically shuts off too. So it's a really nice system with that. It works really well.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, they did a good job too, durability-wise, I think. And I think majority of your brands nowadays, your high-end sites, uh, the durability is there on majority of them and the functionality that you get with them. I mean, when we're talking about all your premium sites, you know, your dialed, your HHAs, your spot hogs, your Excel's, your UVs, um, they're all they're all there. They've all got something kind of unique to them. So you really have to get to kind of determine what you like best based on ergonomics, right? Because some guys are super, super picky. Like they don't like, you know, where the stop is or you know, where the throw lever is in order to adjust or dial the site. So there are a lot of options, but I I would say pretty much all your premium sites now are top of the line and um just very for the most part pretty rugged and durable. Oh, yeah. But there is nothing more durable than a spot hog.

JR Gettler

Yes, that is the most indestructible site on the market, in my opinion.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you want something that you is is just gonna hold up and through the test of time, a spot hog uh is is probably where it's at.

JR Gettler

Yes, yeah, and um a lot of a lot of the site manufacturers now are making stuff that's interchangeable too. So if you want to change it from a dovetail to a direct mount to a pick mount, it's super easy to do in almost all the site manufacturers. Yeah, yeah.

Peep Size, Scope Housing, Brightness

Zakk Plocica

And and so, and the other thing when you look at too, whenever choosing a site option for total archery challenge, even for hunting, right, is your pin configuration. I mean, that's a big topic. And everyone, again, has a different opinion on what they like best, right? Whether it's a vertical post, whether it's a horizontal pin, whether it's a multi-pin, single pin, whatever it is, everyone has a little bit of a different opinion on it. I used to be a three-pin horizontal with the ability to dial. That's what I shot forever. Um, I really liked it because I had a fixed 20, 30, 40 and I could dial exact yardage out past those distances, which was fantastic. Um, I've more recently in the last year or so gone specifically to a vertical post, three pin is what I like most. I do have a double pin with the Tetra or the single post, two pins that are non-adjustable. But everybody this year has come out with a vertical, micro adjustable three pin site, which I think is like the move. It gives you the best of everything. Right. So you have the clarity um on both sides, left or right. There's nothing obstructing the housing, it's clutter-free. And you have three pins that you can micro adjust for exact yardages. So you can still, as a bow hunter, like a white tail hunter, 2030-40 to me is like the go-to. Yep. Now you can take and run that setup and then dial that yardage with no clutter left or right, up or down. It's all nice, nice and tight, and dial those extreme yardages with that.

JR Gettler

Right. Yeah. And it does make it convenient with that vertical pose. So you can just follow that leg up on a white tail, and then you're gonna be right there in that vital V pretty much, as long as you're you know aiming right. But yeah, yeah, it does make it really nice with that aiming wise. Um, like for me though, I'm I can I don't care whether it's a horizontal or vertical, but I've I have been kind of gravitating more towards that vertical post as well.

Zakk Plocica

I think too, you can see whenever you're torquing the bow a little bit with the vertical post. And I think that's a another great point that was brought up yesterday by Pat, uh, Pat Hill, um, a friend of ours. And you know, whenever you're shooting that bow, and if you start to induce hand torque in a riser, it's gonna throw the flight of your arrow off. Right. So you want to do everything you do can to mitigate hand torque.

JR Gettler

Right.

Zakk Plocica

And that's another way of checking yourself. You can always look up at your cam right and make sure everything's tracking in line, which is what I typically do. The more familiar I get with the bow, the less you have to do that. Um, but a new bow, I always check cam and string to make sure I'm not torquing it. But that's another great way too, is making sure if you're torquing that bow, you'll start to see those posts and it won't be as clear as it should be. Right. So it's another great way of checking yourself. And that's why kind of another reason I like that vertical post style.

JR Gettler

Yep, that's a great point.

Zakk Plocica

But so what about this though? Like, so when we talk about vertical posts, obviously you can run a single pin, you can run a two-pin non-adjustable, or you can run now those three vertical pins that are all adjustable. What do you, I mean, in your opinion, do you like a single pin specifically for TAC if you were gonna pick one, or do you still like the multi-pin option?

JR Gettler

Nope, I'm gonna run a multi-pin option. Why? I want to be able to have different yardages. And a lot of times, if you run that single pin, that's gonna limit you on your yardages too. So you gotta have more options for you, basically. And and another nice thing too is you know, once you have those three pins, um, as long as they have the indicators on your side tape too, as long as your side tape is set correctly to those indicators, you can choose any different pin for any yardage. So it does make it really nice to be able to do that. So you can use any pin as your floater with that.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, that so that was what I wanted to pull out of you because I I you know, I was sitting to think about this last night whenever we were going to talk about it, and I was like, man, one of the big things, the limiting factors for people is yardage when it comes to these, right? Um, like I just don't get enough yardage out of my sight, guys that run single pins um and whatnot. But with when you have more like pin options, whether it's a two or three pin adjustable with those multiple indicators, like last year at Total Archer Challenge, my Mach 33. I was running a fairly light arrow, an East End 5.0. It's like what was it, 418-ish grains, somewhere like that? I could dial that side out with my top pin all the way up to like almost 120 yards. But then I could get down to like 160 with my bottom pin and my bottom indicator. So I really had the ability to shoot that bow as far as I could ever need. Right. So that is one of the things I would agree with you on too, is I like those multi-pins over just a single pin for that precision just to get a little bit more distance out of my sight because we know some of these courses, some of the more challenging courses that they have, are gonna really test the limit of how far you can shoot that bow. Right. So yeah, I I really like the um that that three pin. And now with everybody going to the micro adjustment on it, where you can like we're not talking about sliding, you know, how you always had to move your pins, you had to slide them. They're micro adjustable now. So you loosen a set screw and you can micro adjust these pins up or down for perfect yardage. So you really get a lot out of these sights now.

JR Gettler

Yeah, the only it's it's not even really a downside, it's just more of an inconvenience, is you have to make sure you have those indicators set correctly. So that's where it's nice on like that two pin is because they've already got that preset on the indicator. So you don't have to worry about bumping those or moving them. So that is, you know, one of the nice things with that. It makes it a little bit easier for setup. So just with those multi-pins, you have to take more time to get it set up correctly.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, I think that's uh uh kind of where some people miss too, is they don't take their time with setting up their their yardage tapes or their sight tapes. You know, it's really easy to rush it. You shoot one good group.

JR Gettler

Yep.

Zakk Plocica

Good group, and you, you know, at 20 and 60, whatever it is, however you're doing it, and you throw that sight tape on, and uh it turns out that group wasn't as good as it should have been. It wasn't consistent, you weren't consistently shooting. Shooting these groups and your sight tape is now off, and you've got to kind of reconfigure it.

Speaker 2

Right.

Zakk Plocica

So for me, whenever I set my sight tape for something like this, um, it usually takes me like a week or so to do it because I'll shoot 20 and make sure 20's on, and then I'll go back to 60. I'll shoot 60 for a couple of days, and then I'll kind of walk back farther and I'll mark it on there. I'll shoot 80, 100, whatever it is, and then I'll line everything up and make sure that it's actually true. And then I go back and I true the actual site tape to make sure that that site tape is actually where it's supposed to be.

JR Gettler

Right. And I'm pretty much the same way. It takes me a couple days to get mine set, but I'll actually shoot all the yardages and I want to make sure everything is set correctly so I can I can confirm the data is is matching correctly.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, I think it's important because you go out there and you know you've only shot 20 and 60 and you go to dial 110 yards and then you're you know not even close.

JR Gettler

Yeah, you're missing the target, losing arrows, and if you're shooting five 0's or any high-end error, you know, that's that's a lot of money that you could be losing potentially.

Zakk Plocica

We watched guys lose like a dozen and a half, two dozen arrows um at total archery events. So if you're starting to lose arrows that fast, I would say slow down and check, see what's wrong, go to one of the shops that are there to have them help you out.

JR Gettler

Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

Um, because uh yeah, that gets expensive quick.

JR Gettler

Yeah, it can. Um, and that brings up a point too, is like you know, a lot of guys are running those aftermarket site tapes like uh precision cut. You know, you got to get all the measurements for your peepythes, um your arrow measurements, uh pizza scope, all that stuff. That is really cool and it it does actually work really well, but it it cannot be always perfect. So just another thing, definitely take your time when you're doing it.

Zakk Plocica

You've always got to check it. Uh, and that's the big takeaway, I think, is just make sure that you've checked and confirmed your equipment and make sure that's all it's like on your sites. Like you need to go to a shop where if you have the ability to get your axes adjusted, for example, right? You need to make sure it's true, get it adjusted, make sure it's set up correctly. You need to lock those screws down. Um, because I can't tell you how many times we see guys, they're like, I don't know why I'm missing. And you go, you grab their scope housing and there's just play in it. Um and there's a there's a set screw that's loose.

Speaker 2

Right.

Zakk Plocica

So you always need to double check your equipment once you get it set up and cited in, because that is a reality of it. It's very easy to overlook those little things when you're excited about it, and then that will cost you and just make your you you won't get the most out of the trip.

JR Gettler

Right. Yeah, it just gets you frustrated, and then you start having you're not having fun, and then you just start, you know, just losing arrows left and right again. Yeah, it just it doesn't make it fun at all. I guess.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, it does. You get frustrated quick, especially whenever you're with a group of dudes who are shooting good and you're not, you're like, oh, what am I doing? You know you're a good shooter, but something's just off. We had we had that with uh one of the events, one of the guys that shot with us. He just struggled and he the bow was set up last minute, and you know, it just it he eventually halfway through the course, he ended up getting dialed in.

JR Gettler

Yeah, we got him, we got him kind of more locked in. Yeah. Started having fun then.

Zakk Plocica

But dude, that happened to me whenever we were in PA a couple years ago because obviously, when you commute with your equipment, and we let's say you put it in a a case when you pull it out, if you're flying or if you're driving, things get bumped. You they they've got really great practice courses to trek your equipment. I was overly confident with my equipment, and we went and shot the first target straight uphill. It was a Bigfoot at like 104. Yeah, and buddy, that thing's in the bushes. Yeah, and I was like, oh no. So it took me about five targets to get it redialed in, but my site had been bumped. Yeah, and it was just way off. And I had to go back through and set everything up and get it. We got it dialed back in, but you know, it's frustrating though. It is frustrating, dude. And it's simple mistakes. So yeah, definitely um really, you know, once you get your stuff back and unpacked, you need to go through and recheck your equipment and just make sure everything's good, through it, walk over the practice course, sling a couple arrows and make sure. Um, because yeah, it was frustrating for me. I'm like, dude, I know I can shoot. Why am I missing this my massive target? It's a hundred yards, but it's a monstrous target. Yeah. Why is this thing missing, you know, a foot left?

JR Gettler

Yeah. Um, one thing that can help mitigate that too is uh sometimes I like to make make reference marks on my site. So if it's like a pig mount, um I'll make a mark where it needs to go back under the riser, um, where the set screw is for it. You know, I'll make a reference mark so you know where it's lined back up again. Um you can check it, do it for your first, second, third axis, make those reference marks to make sure everything is where it needs to be. That's a little tip that can help you if you want to do that.

Vertical Three-Pin Advantages

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, no, that's that's a great, I mean, that's a great point. Another thing to look at too is um your actual sight tape, making sure it's waterproof, yeah, or have has some kind of coating or tape over it to um keep it one from bleeding and two from peeling off. Because, like we talked about, you get all different weather, and these are pretty much rain or shine, man. And when you go to shoot a course and let's say it's raining and you've got more courses to shoot, and you've got a sight tape that's a paper sight tape, that whether the coat the the little film is peeled off, that thing can bleed, right? Or it can start to peel up, and then you you basically have the mercy of starting all over again.

JR Gettler

Right. Yeah, that's where so like dialed, they have uh uh aftermarket um sight tape you can make. It's uh like a ten dollar subscription per for a year. So you can go in there, you can make your own custom sight tapes. And that's cool.

Zakk Plocica

I didn't know that.

JR Gettler

Yeah, it's it's actually really nice. So that's where I'll I'll confirm all my data and I'll I'll build my tapes off of that. Um, but the nice thing with that too is you know, just print it out on a uh printer paper, it'll give you three that you can print out. But I'll just I'll take some packing tape, I'll cut that out, and then I'll use it to slot it onto that um the ring, the the sight ring.

Zakk Plocica

So yeah, that's a good idea. I mean, a lot of your premium sites now do come with good sight tapes, I would say um that are waterproof, very easy to see. Um, but there's still some that out there that aren't. I mean, that you just need to be cautious with and do everything you can to waterproof it and kind of bulletproof your setup for these events. Because if you if you go, I mean, you're gonna shoot in the rain if you paid to go there. Oh yeah. Like snow, I mean, hail. I mean, we were in the hail. That was not fun. Uh they shut her down after that. But you know, there you the weather changes pretty quick in the mountains, and you just need to be prepared for it. Um, so you know, locking in and bulletproofing your actual sight tape is gonna save you if you've got another day of shooting so that you can go out and actually uh you're gonna you surviving over there? Sorry, which I have a little tickle in my throat. Hey, dude, something's got you. Yeah, yeah. So a lot of little things to consider. Um, you know, when talking about again, pen configuration, um, I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. I think it it really comes down to what you're comfortable with. I mean, because everybody shoots different things. Um, but I would say single pin can be limiting for yardage, and a multi-pin fixed sight can really limit you as far as the the full experience. And if that's all you've got, that's all you've got. You can absolutely make it work. You can definitely work, walk up a little bit closer and get those in. But just be prepared whenever you get there. If you don't have the ability to shoot those further yardages, you're going to have to walk up if your site doesn't dial.

JR Gettler

Yeah, yeah. Or if you're comfortable losing arrows, I mean, definitely work on pin gapping. You know, that's it is a great skill to know and to do, which I never really did much with it. Um, but I I know lots of guys that do it and they can do it phenomenally. So if if you want to work on that skill, absolutely, you know, have fun with it.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah. One thing you can do too is if you know the courses that you're gonna shoot and you know the minimum distance, you can resight that fixed site in for those courses, right? So if you know the minimum distance on, for example, the prime course is 40 yards, your starting pin could be 40 yards, and you can give yourself greater distance, right? If it's a fixed five pin, start at 40, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80. You can get out to 80 to 90 yards with that site. So you got to be a little bit strategic with it, but you can definitely make things work for you and set yourself up for success with this. Right. So it's just another little thing. The other thing too is getting the most distance out of your site. How do you get the most distance out of your site? I have to say one thing that we see with people is their peep height issue. Right.

JR Gettler

Wouldn't you say that's probably the number one thing I would say.

Zakk Plocica

Peeps too low.

JR Gettler

Yep. Or and that feeds into anchor point and everything too. So it's it's all combined. So you really got to focus on getting a good anchor point, being consistent with that, and then making sure that peep is lined up correctly.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, I I would say uh that's a massive part of it, is the correct anchor and how you anchor and making sure you're anchor consistent. Um, because and you need to be able to check that, you need to be able to check up and down too, because it does change based off the angle. Um, but what we do see with some people that struggle with distance is aside from shooting an overly heavy arrow for an event like this where you're gonna limit yourself, is the actual height itself where guys are really ducking their heads in or anchoring too high on their face and the peep is too low. So you're not gonna get as much distance out of your sight the c the shorter or the lower that peep side is. So obviously you don't want to stretch yourself out to where it's uncomfortable and you're like anchoring down here at your collarbone, but you do need to make sure that you put yourself in a good position and that you're not really ducking your head into your string so that you can increase the the height of that peep to get more out of your sight.

JR Gettler

Right. Yeah, I I see it all the time here helping guys getting set up. It's I I see them trying to duck and move to the peep. And I I try to tell me it's like you you gotta stand as static as possible and don't move your head to the peep. Bring the bow and and your hand to where it needs to be so you can actually see it uh clearly. Right.

Sight Tapes And Truing Your Data

Zakk Plocica

And if you're still not getting the distance you want, that's where you and you know everything else is set up correctly. That's where you can look at your arrow builds, which we'll we'll do a whole nother podcast on that. Um, but I would say starting point is just making sure with these one that your anchor is consistent because you need to be able to hold that anchor at angles, at different angles, right? Where that anchor isn't all over the place where you're chasing this peep. And then you need to make sure that you're in a good position, proud, I would say, position where you're up nice, up, upright. And uh that peep just isn't, you're not ducking your head in there like we see a lot, especially some of these shorter axle to axle bows, where guys are really trying to make it work, yeah, and they're really ducking their head in, you're just not gonna get the distance out of those sights and it'll be limiting, and you'll, you know, you'll really figure that out at Total Archer Challenge.

JR Gettler

Oh, yeah. Yeah, I know this is kind of off topic too, but those shorter axle axle lengths, too. I mean, that's gonna create a uh a greater string angle too. So that can really kind of make it more challenging to get a good peepyth sometimes too.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah. So it's it those are all different factors, but whatever you have, don't let it discourage you from going to these events. But there are little things you can do to set yourself up for success in order to perform better at these events and get the most out of these events, I would say. And and the and those are a couple key things. Um, you know, pea pipe being one of them, pin configuration. Like I said, I see, you know, we get people that ask all the time, like, you know, I I have one bow. This is the only bow I'm saying. Can I go to Total Archer Challenge? And you absolutely can. But you those little things you can do to set yourself up and have more fun at it with a you know, a big example is maybe your zero is not 20 yards, you know, for this your fixed five pin. Maybe your zero starts based off the courses that you're gonna shoot at 40 or 50 yards, and then you can really test yourself and those those longer shots. So just little things to consider. Um what about for you as far as you know, you're we go back to pin brightness, right? Because that was one thing that I I do notice, um, which is challenging at Total Archery Challenge because you don't have a consistent light, right? Obviously, you're outdoors. Um, and for someone like me who doesn't like a sight light, because I just feel like they always die.

Speaker 3

Right.

Zakk Plocica

Like all the ones I've always used, and obviously I maybe I haven't invested in a good enough one yet. I know Diod has a really great one, uh, which is honestly probably one of my favorite ones that I've seen that they've got with the adjustment on it. Um but one thing I look for in the scope housing that I like is exposure to the fibers, the way they're wrapped around the housing. And they typically have an adjustable rheostat on them.

Speaker 2

Right.

Zakk Plocica

Right, which allows because sometimes you might be on this side of the mountain and it's super bright, right? Your pins are way too bright. That rheostat on the scope housing allows you to dim those pins or open it up and expose more fibers and allow those pins to be a little bit brighter.

Speaker 2

Right.

Zakk Plocica

And that's why I like a 19,000 personally, um, because whenever it is dark, it's they collect more light, it's easier to see.

JR Gettler

Yeah, yeah, it definitely is. Um, the only downside with that, too, is you know, those longer shots that can block more of the vitals on the target or the animal. Um, and then also if you have problems like me, I have astigmatism. Right. So I do get starbursting. So a 19,000 will sturst faster. So once it gets further distance, it will make it a lot harder to see. So that's where I'm approaching like a 10,000, and I use that for everything. And um, going back to just pin brightness in general, I feel like a lot of the companies now have been investing in better pin configurations or or pin fibers to actually be able to be brighter. Um, like black gold, they're probably one of the brightest on the market. HHA is really bright, and then with their Rio Stat housing, too, that's it's a really nice system on there where you can actually just dial that in or out to change for the brightness.

Zakk Plocica

Um Excel's got a really great great scope, I think, too. Um that has a nice adjustable Rio stat on it, and they collect light really, really well. Their fibers are pretty bright, yeah, I would say, without having to run any additional light on it. Um, so yeah, any of your your premium sites, I think you can get away with most people, not everybody, can get away without running a sight light, but there are a lot of guys that maybe it makes sense for you to invest in a sight light. Maybe you've got a little bit lower in sight, you need the fibers aren't quite as good. Just spend a few mucks. Get a, I would get a couple of them, man, or at least a couple batteries. Or the rechargeable ones are honestly the best.

Travel Bumps, Reference Marks, Waterproofing

JR Gettler

Yeah, um, that's a lot of companies are coming that way now. Like Bear, there's all their sight lights are coming with a USB um cord, so you can actually recharge it there. So it's super easy with that. Um there's uh aftermarket brands. Um, ElvishTack is probably the biggest one that comes out to me. It's a really nice system. Their battery lasts a really long time. The only downside with that is it does have the LCD display, but you can turn that on and off for the for the lights. So if you want to use it for hunting, you you have that as an option. Oh, yeah. Um, it is a little bit more costly for that. They're roughly like 150 bucks or somewhere around there. Um, so it is a little bit pricey of a system, but it is actually a really nice system. So if you're looking for something nice, definitely look into Elvish Tac, in my opinion.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, that makes sense. So, what about this? What about as far as for you, this type of scenario, this type of event? Um, it's not scored, it's fun, but it's extreme distance, extremely challenging. Lens versus no lens.

JR Gettler

So, me, uh I have tried hunting in the past, and I do have a lot of people ask about you know whether or not they should hunt with with a lens. Um, for total archery challenge, I would say if you want to do it, absolutely go ahead.

Zakk Plocica

You know, you know what my problem with it is is the weather.

JR Gettler

That yep.

Zakk Plocica

So this to me, I equate um total archery challenge to like a hunting scenario because it's very it's not controlled, right? And as soon as whenever you're in the mornings, like some of those mountains, it's super foggy, the condensation is really bad. When you have a lens in your scope or in your peep site to clarify, verifier, whatever it is, good luck seeing that in some of these conditions. Yes, yeah.

JR Gettler

And and that's where I was getting to. You know, I I try to do it more of a hunting style. So I'm gonna do it more of a hunting setup. So I'm not gonna run a lens. I've tried hunting in the past with a lens. I did a two-power a couple of years ago. Um, I didn't like it because just with the weather, that's the biggest thing. Um, you're gonna have a uh chance of it getting messed up if you drop it, if if you're in crappy elements, it's gonna get dirty really fast or fogged up really fast. So you'd have to have some kind of cover on it, you know, carrying it in and out, and then once you get up, you can take it off. But it's just it's more cumbersome having that lens in there because you got to make sure you keep it clean and clear. Um, so that's where I wouldn't recommend it for hunting, but tag it is kind of a different scenario, it's more of a hybrid kind of setup. So if you want to run one, absolutely you could. Um, just kind of be up to you and if you want to play with that.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, it's just a potential issue that you can run into. Um, not right or wrong, but it's just something to consider. Absolutely. There are guys there who run them. Um, you'll notice you will not see a lot of target specific rigs at this place, but there are still guys that come with target bows. So you can you can do it however you want. These are all just things that we're kind of bringing up based off experience that we've had. Um, because we've had really great total archery events and we've had really not great total archery events. And not that the experience wasn't fun, but just weather-wise, it was just rough. And Total Archery Challenge last year seemed to have a black cloud following it around, and it was wet at everyone we attended.

JR Gettler

Yeah, it was wet everywhere.

Zakk Plocica

So just something to consider. Um, if you're if you're on the edge about running a lens or any kind of magnification or something, just consider the weather and the condensation and the humidity and then the rain because it can really, you know, make it very challenging to look through a lens that's got water all over it.

JR Gettler

Yeah, very, very hard to do. So yeah, just take it with a grain of salt and um just play around with it too. You know, yeah. Definitely nothing wrong with it.

Zakk Plocica

No. If you know it's gonna be a good day, throw that lens in there, throw it in that bad boy, and head out for the course. The other thing, too, um, that I think is uh pretty cool with a lot of these new sites is their tooless adjustments, right? And micro adjustability, which is fantastic, right? If you look at an entry-level or a mid-price point site, it doesn't have the fine-tune adjustment that your quality site does.

Speaker 2

Right.

Zakk Plocica

Not saying it's bad, it's just another factor and something to consider. When you're on some of these courses, sometimes you need to make maybe a windage adjustment on your site. And when you have a tooless adjustment capability, it's that much better, right? Because you can unlock that latch, you can fine-tune each click through your adjustment and lock it back down versus some of your more maybe entry-level mid-price point sites. You got to pull out an Allen key, you've got to loosen it, slide it, and hope it didn't go too far, and then reset it. With the tool list or micro adjustability in some of these sites, these newer sites, higher-end sites, you don't have to worry about bumping it and being like, oh gosh, where it was. It's set, you click it, however many clicks you feel you need to dial it, and you can make that adjustment on the fly on the course. Yep.

JR Gettler

Yeah, and there are more mid-price point sites that are coming into that market too. Like, for example, Trophy Ridge. They have a lot of nice stuff with their um React technology that's actually big, it's it is toolless on some of their stuff, but it is, I'd say, in the higher end of the mid-price point, is what I would call that. But yeah, there are still plenty of options with that too. And even they even have slider sites that are a little bit more budget friendly, too. So something to think about, the Swift Swift series. Um, so if you're looking, you know, save a little bit little bit of money, but still get into that slider game, that is something to consider as well.

Lights, Fibers, And Pin Starburst

Zakk Plocica

Oh, yeah, that's a good point. They do have some really good stuff, man. They've been around for a long time, and I think they put out a pretty good um bid price point, and even I would say getting into some of the upper end quality sites. Um so when we look at at this as well, I mean, like we said, we don't want to discourage you from just run run what you brung, right? But just set yourself up for success. Um, when you look at some of the stuff, it can really get overly complicated. And that's one thing we don't we don't want to you know overwhelm you with. Because at the end of the day, when you look at archery and archers, we can overcomplicate some stuff from an arrow build to a site to you know tuning a bow. We're we're really good at really diving in the weeds and stuff that probably really doesn't matter because our shooting capability isn't up to that.

Speaker 2

Right.

Zakk Plocica

Obviously, you want everything set up as well as you possibly can. That makes sense, right? And set up accordingly to what you're running, but don't overcomplicate the process. Um, the best thing with it is if you've decided on whatever site you're gonna run, you need to have it set up ahead of time so that you're comfortable with it and you understand how it works. Um, whether it's a simplistic, basic, fixed pen site that you're gonna change the yardage, the The presets um yardage on it, or you're going to a more of these higher end, more complex sites. You need to understand how it works, the fundamentals of it, and then just spend time behind it and shoot it.

JR Gettler

Right, right. Don't buy it a couple days before we go out to an event, you know, get it definitely well in advance, play with it and understand how it operates. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

And I would say if you can, I mean, if you don't understand it, you can always contact the manufacturer typically, but your local bow shop is gonna do a good job of helping you get set up and understanding how it works. Because as someone getting into this and not understanding, you don't work on bows every day of your life and you're not around all of the new products and stuff. It is, it is kind of overwhelming and overly complicated. Um, but a good shop is gonna take their time with you, especially if they're the one selling it to you, show you how to set it up, get it set up, make sure your axes are leveled on it. That's one thing I would say if you are getting a new site, you need to take it to a shop that can level it for you correctly to your bow. Right. It's just critical and it's gonna make that site perform that much better. And you don't realize how critical it is until you go to shoot a steep uphill or a steep downhill shot and you miss. And you're like, I did everything right, and it turns out it's just your equipment's not set up correctly.

JR Gettler

Right. Yeah, and you know, it's one thing for it to happen at total archery. If it does, you know, that's it's it's not as detrimental. But you know, if you're on a once in a lifetime hunt and it that happens, you know, that's that can crush you. It can just make you not want to hunt anymore. And it's it's not something that I would want to ever have happen to me. So that's why I'm I'm always very adamant about um understanding the product that we we have, and I always like to play with and test everything so that way I can try and be um the best belt technician I can to help set up you know customers, make them successful.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, absolutely. And like I said, work within your budget too. Don't do, do not go out of thinking need to go off the deep end on this and spy something overly complicated. I would encourage you not to. Um, you know, there's a lot of great sites with that, and like JR said, Trophy Ridge makes some really great sites within that price point. Um, there's some good black gold sites with that are are I would say fairly inexpensive. Um, majority of your brands have some mid-price point sites that are just really great that allow you the big thing, look for that second to third axis adjustment on your site that have those features and they're not overly expensive. Um, yes, you might lose maybe some of the toolless adjustment, um, some of the smaller features, right? But they'll they're work, they're they're still a really good site, they're more durable than your super entry level stuff. You know, one thing you look at as far as durability goes is like the actual material used with them. Like, I'll give you a prime example. Some of your really entry-level sites, whenever you go to adjust your windage on the site, if you over-tighten that shit, that screw, it crushes the plastic and it's no good.

JR Gettler

You know, same for your pins, your lot of it. Yeah, it's just gonna mess everything up. Then if you try to bump it or move it, it it won't, it won't go back to the same spot. It's gonna it's gonna throw you off. So, yeah, I would definitely highly recommend staying away from something like that if you can.

Zakk Plocica

Yes, and and so like when you step up a little bit, you get that metal, that aluminum um material that's much more durable, uh, much more consistent, I would say, and precise, because that's what you you want when it comes to a site, is you want something that's built well, it's very consistent, it is precise because once you set it up, you don't want it moving, you don't want it slipping, you don't want it sliding, and where you constantly feel like you're losing your zero. Right. Because that is a reality with some sites too. They just don't hold a zero well with vibration, right?

JR Gettler

Um just over time, even you're so all things to consider.

Zakk Plocica

So if you're looking at something that's a little bit more budget friendly, look at the trophy ridge stuff, look at some of the black gold sites. Uh, who else makes some really good mid-price point or you know?

JR Gettler

Um, I think CBE has some decent stuff. Um, I know you know we don't carry CBE, but um, I'm I believe they have some decent stuff that's more budget friendly as well. Um, I think Spotify has some different options for more um, well, they'd be more of a fixed fixed binder grinder series. I think those are a little bit more budget friendly and still give me an awesome site. Yeah. Um man, who else is there? Um there's a handful out there. There's a bunch.

Lenses vs. No Lenses In Weather

Zakk Plocica

So I mean, just look around. I would vet them and make sure that they're quality. Look at the reviews and stuff. But you know, you know, some of my favorite sites, I would say, and I have a handful. I think there's a lot of great site manufacturers out there. Um, durability-wise, Spot Hog makes some of my favorite sites with their Booney series. I really love their MRT rings for um peep alignment. Um, their pins are nice and bright, and their pins are very, very tough. Yep. I would say just very, very durable. And they have a lot of different mounting options too. And that's another thing to consider based off your bow. If you're gonna run pick mount, bridge lock, dovetail, direct, whatever. They offer all of those. Um, and then again, like I said, I can't say enough about the durability side. And their sight tapes are really nice, I think, too. They've got their extended yardage sight tapes, uh, all waterproof. And again, very easy adjustment, micro adjustment on all those. That's big for me for sight. I want micro adjustment on everything. I want to be able to micro adjust, even like my axes. Like, if I can micro adjust those to where you don't loosen it, it just falls, comes loose. You know, some of these sites um offer that as well, which is honestly super nice. It's a little bit more, but dude, it's to me it's worth its weight and gold.

JR Gettler

Oh, yeah, yeah. It makes it so much easier for the setup. Um, so even if you're not doing it, just it you you'll think the botec.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah.

JR Gettler

Because it makes it so much easier. Um, yeah, the only downside, like we talked about black gold, is their second axis, it's actually moving their their ring. So that's the only downside with them. I'm hoping they'll they'll have that updated eventually.

Zakk Plocica

But that is the problem with that is it's slow.

JR Gettler

It is.

Zakk Plocica

So you'll think you got it, and then the bubble just keeps floating. Yeah. And then you go back the other way and it's too much. Yeah.

JR Gettler

It's back and forth. Yeah, they have they have more of like a viscous oil in there instead of like a water. So their their bubble does move very slow, which is actually really nice. You don't have to worry about it moving too fast or anything like that. So it's it'll drive you crazy leveling it. Yep, 100%.

unknown

Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

Oh, dude, that drives me crazy. Leveling a site is probably some people are really good at it. I mean, it drives me crazy, dude. It can be there's so many different sites.

JR Gettler

Yeah, and they're all different on how they do that. It's the same, same angle, but it's it's different in how they do everything. So it can be very, very annoying, very tedious to do. Yeah, yeah.

Zakk Plocica

You definitely need the tools to do it, and you need somebody with experience to help you with it, yeah, uh, for sure. Um, you know, Spot Hog, like I said, incredibly durable. They've got good pins on them too. I'm dude, the HHA Nitrix, that new X V3 series is got me sold. Um, I love the housing on it. It just looks more modern based off some of their prior houses. I love the adjustable Rio stat on it. The pins are durable, they're bright, they're individually adjustable on that vertical three-pin. Um ergonomically, I like how it is. It's got a very smooth wheel on it. Um the lock on it can be kind of annoying sometimes. It's because it works really good.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

Like it locks down and it doesn't move. Um, but I do like some of the other sites too that have the actual lock on the front you can use with one finger.

JR Gettler

Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

Um, pretty fast.

JR Gettler

Yeah, ultra views like that, dialed.

Zakk Plocica

Um Dialed's do Dialed's new proof series with their um what is it?

JR Gettler

The Mag the Mag 3VA is their new one, the the vertical three pin.

Zakk Plocica

Another fantastic site. And the my favorite thing about dialed is their light. I mean, we keep talking about it. I don't like a site light, but I love theirs.

JR Gettler

Yep. Yeah, I I love theirs too. Um yeah, Excel, their theirs is actually pretty user-friendly, I think, too, especially for the lock and all the features and everything.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, so their the new site is the driver. And dude, you want to talk about lightweight when it comes to sites, dude. The the driver excel site is almost ridiculously light. It doesn't feel like anything.

JR Gettler

Yeah, it's I think it's one of the lightest sites on the market right now.

Zakk Plocica

Especially their pick mounted one. There's nothing to it. Yep.

JR Gettler

Yeah, even well, even the bridge lock one is pretty, pretty light. They did shorten that bar quite a bit too. So that's the only downside with that one, is you I don't think it has adjustments for uh being able to slide it in and out if you need to for tuning or peep alignment.

Zakk Plocica

That's the same thing. Like the um Most of them are going that way now.

JR Gettler

If it's a bridge lock.

Zakk Plocica

If it's a bridge lock, you don't have the ability in and out. Same thing with so like the when you look at the Nitrix X V3, their bridge lock site is 10% lighter than their dovetail option. So if you want to save save weight and you run a Matthews bow, I mean the bridge lock is a no-brainer, I think. Unless you're somebody that wants a tortoon, right? Then you're not gonna be running that integrated rest and you're not gonna be running that uh integrated site. So gotta pick and choose your battles, what's important to you, what's not.

JR Gettler

Yeah, um, I don't I don't know of many bow hunters that are very picky about doing tortuning.

Zakk Plocica

They're typically target guys too, if they are.

JR Gettler

Yeah, that's typically what it is. So and I I don't know of many guys that do tortoon um hunting bows. I I know a handful, but not many.

Zakk Plocica

Mine is I always reference Cooper. Yeah, Cooper French. He's like, dude, you need to tortoon the numbers. I ain't doing that.

JR Gettler

He's very into all that though.

Zakk Plocica

Dude, he's so technical, man. That's like uh whenever I got questions on things, I'm like, Cooper, hey dude, update me on this. And he's good, man. He'll get you the information. And he's at all the TAC events too for PSE. So PSE does a really great booth, and I think all of your manufacturers now are keying into TAC and seeing how important it is.

JR Gettler

Yeah, Matthews was out there last year, which was awesome to see. Um I don't think I've seen them at a TAC.

Zakk Plocica

Last year, I think, was their first year, and they skipped um IBO events, I think, for it.

JR Gettler

Yeah. So yeah, it's cool to see that the manufacturers are getting on board with this, and it's it's a it's a great way to help grow, I think, just the sport in general.

Zakk Plocica

I do too. I do too, man. Um, so you know, one thing we didn't cover is more the technical side, is there's a lot of peep options out there. I'm sold on the Raptor peeps from from Hamski. So I do like it. I like the concept. Um, they are a little bit bigger. I ran your standard Raptor, either 530 seconds, pretty much on all my bows is a 530 seconds. I might have had some 316s in there. Um, very durable. It's a longer baffle system, which so one thing I notice where it shines is glare. Right. Right. So if we're shooting and it's a like low light, like the sun is setting and that sun is right in your eyes, you can look through that peep sight and it really helps with glare, which again is very important if you're getting ready to take your shot on the side of a mountain and that shot's a hundred yards away and the sun's just not where you need it to be. I think investing in a good peep sight is is worth the money as well.

JR Gettler

Right. Yeah. So the way that's designed is it's gonna help reduce glare by the baffling system in there, and then the baffles are chamfered on the ends. There's 45 degree angle bat um chamfers on there. So how light protons work is they they will bounce twice and then they die. So once it hits that baffle and those champers, it's gonna help reduce the glare in the long run. So it is more technical of what I'm talking about, but yeah, it's just gonna help reduce the glare with that.

Zakk Plocica

Know that it works. Yes, it does because you see most people um, you know, basic run-of-the-mill, a standard aluminum or even some of them, a polymer plastic material, 316 peep, quarter inch peep on uh a lot of these hunting bows that we see come through. Um, and I do think investing in a quality peep, which is not a big expense by any means, it's a couple bucks more, but I do think it goes a long way and it really does help with one glare and two alignment with your sky, your scope or your site housing. Right. Um the little bit smaller ones, I notice um as far as alignment, they can be a little bit out of alignment. You can't really tell. But when you have something that's got a little bit longer baffle and it's out of alignment, it's much easier to tell and you need to correct that. Right. So it's worth it. And then you, I mean, Hamski obviously has a lot of different peep options too, right? So where you can go into their clarifiers, their verifiers. It gives you it's just aperture sizes. Right. So if you run their um, what's the peep that we talked about?

JR Gettler

The insight.

Zakk Plocica

The insight peep, you can change out the apertures on the fly, like JR talked about earlier. So it gives you a lot of freedom. Obviously, it's more expensive, right? But if you're somebody that likes to play, it's a great option. Specialty peep has some really great peep systems out there.

JR Gettler

Yeah, they they have the new one that just came out. It's called the Stack It. So that one actually is combining a verifier and clarifiers. You can actually run both if you need to. So that is a nice system. That is very expensive, though, for that system because it only comes as the whole kit. Yeah.

Zakk Plocica

So if that's something that appeals to you, like I said, some people want to run the lenses and the clarifiers and the verifiers. There's great systems out there for it, especially if you have some eyesight issues. Uh, there's always remedies in order to correct those and help, you know, keep you in the game a little bit longer. Um, but again, it's very easy to get overcomplicated things. If you're someone that don't really have any issues with it, man, run what you brung. You got a bow site, you got an edge 320 with a stock peep sight with a um a cable on it or a tube pulling it. And dude, run that thing. You can absolutely get out there and do it. There's kids that come to these events. Oh, yeah. Um adults, old folks, young folks, I've seen everybody.

JR Gettler

I've seen plenty of plenty of families, you know, mom, dad, kids, plenty of them.

Zakk Plocica

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, do what you can to get your bow set up um to get the most out of it for these events, but don't feel like you don't have the equipment for this because you absolutely do. If you've got a bow, uh bring it out, man. And I would highly encourage you to get behind it and spend some time with it and check out the total archery events because I think this is probably the single best thing within the archery community that brings a large group of archers together. And you get the the community that comes along with it. Um, you get the bow hunting community, uh, and then you get to interact with your vendors, customers, consumers. I mean, it's just an incredible event. Yeah.

JR Gettler

It's a great way to get out there and meet new faces and possibly new friends.

Zakk Plocica

And then challenge yourself, buddy. Yep. Bring enough arrows.

JR Gettler

Yes.

Zakk Plocica

A minimum of 12.

Don’t Overcomplicate Your Setup

JR Gettler

Yep, that's normally what I bring, is about 12. Yes.

Zakk Plocica

I would say a minimum of 12. And then practice with your gear before you get there because nothing's worse than paying to shoot a course and you just keep missing. So there's, like I said, we go back to it. A good sight is critical to I think total archery. Um, and if you have the ability to invest in a good one, I would because the site is gonna go with you. A good site is gonna go from bow to bow to bow to bow to bow. It's not something you've got to constantly buy. So, one piece of equipment that I think is aside from an arrow rest um upgrade on your bow, like the site would be the next one that I would really invest heavily in. And then I would invest according to what you want to do with it. And if you're somebody that enjoys distance, total archery event, look at some of those sites that have the ability to dial, look at the new scope housings that are out there. Um, dialed, HHA, UltraView, Excel, Spot Hog, Black Gold, Black Gold, look at their high-end stuff. Um if you're interested in it. And then even better, if you can get into a local shop to put your hands on it and really understand it a little bit better, uh, so you know exactly what you're getting. Because they all are kind of unique in how they operate and how they work. Um, because if you look at, for example, Dialed, their system, it's on an angle. So, which is great for distance.

unknown

Yep.

JR Gettler

Yeah, the way that works is it actually helps increase it by so it's angling back toward you. So when it when the site's closer to you, you don't have to do as much of a movement to make those bigger distance adjustments.

Zakk Plocica

So, yeah, lots of different things. There's a lot of technical aspects of these that's worth learning if you're interested in them. Um, you know, you can always head over to Extreme Alfred or's YouTube channel too. We'll do a lot of content on those. Um But yeah, man, Total Archery, it's coming. We'll be at a bunch of them this year. We're super excited. Uh, but we just wanted to touch a little bit on sites. It's something we've never really covered specifically for the event. Uh, and like I said, there's a lot of great options, but there are a lot of things you can do to improve your experience um at these. And we just wanted to highlight on some of these and you know, durability being one of them, um, how to set your peep height, adjusting pins based off the distance on the course, a lot of things you can do to run what you currently got and make yourself successful on at these events. So that's it. What else you got, JR? Anything good?

JR Gettler

Um, no, that's pretty good.

Zakk Plocica

That's it. That's a wrap on it, guys. So drop some comments, give us some feedback on your thoughts on site setup, what you run, how you set your site up for Total Archery, or do you just run your hunting site? Um, I'm always curious. I know we are reading the comments, giving some feedback, and letting us know what you guys um how you guys set your stuff up to, you know, have the best experience you can at Total Archery Challenge. So drop some comments, give us some feedback, let us know. We really enjoy hearing from you guys. And as always, we appreciate you guys following along, listening to us rant and talk on the Archery Project. So appreciate it, guys. We're gonna head back to work and we will see you guys in the next episode.