How to Adjust Your Bow Sight

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Ethan Smith
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Video adjusting a bow sight

What should you do when your arrows consistently hit the same place, but not where you aim? Move your sight.

Whether you’re popping balloons at 10 yards or shooting tournaments at 70 meters, you need to know how to adjust your sight to hit your target. Let’s discuss how to dial in your sight to pack your arrows into the middle.

The Basics

Determine your sight-in distance. If you’re using a multi-pin sight, start with your closest distance. For most, this will be 20 yards. If you just installed your sight, start close to the target to dial in your sight before moving back.

Shoot three arrows with good form, so they hit the same area, which is called a “group.” If your three-arrow group isn’t where you aimed, move your sight toward the group. For example, if your three arrows grouped left, move your sight-pin left. If all three arrows hit high, raise your sight.

Sighting in a Multi-Pin Sight

1 Multi sight ATA How to Adjust Your Bow Sight
Move your sight housing in the direction your arrows are landing. Photo Credit: ATA

A multi-pin sight has three main adjustments. You can move the sight housing up, down, left and right. You can also move the sight pins up and down.

Use your top pin for the closest distance, and the bottom pin for the farthest distance. Sight in your top pin first, which is 20 yards for most people, but you should start at 10 yards.

Shoot three arrows, and then loosen the screw that lets you move the sight housing left and right. Move the sight housing toward the group. Shoot three more arrows to check your adjustment, and move the housing again if necessary. Next, move your pin up or down until your group hits where you aimed. The top pin should stay in the upper third of your sight housing. If you run out of room to move your pin, loosen the screw that lets you move the sight housing up and down. Adjust the housing, and then fine-tune the sight by moving your pin.

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Move to 25 yards, aim with your 20-yard pin, and shoot another three-arrow group. If you see no significant drop, move to 30 yards. Shoot a group and move your second pin up or down until your arrows hit where you aim. Continue this process for the other pins.

Sighting in a Single-Pin Sight

To sight in a scope or a moveable single-pin sight, start at 10 yards and shoot a group. These sights have two adjustments: windage, which moves the pin left or right; and elevation, which slides the pin up or down. Move your sight toward your group until your arrows hit where you aim. If you exceed the windage adjustment range, you can usually loosen a screw so you can slide your pin far left or right.

How you proceed depends on the type of archery you shoot. Are you shooting one distance for target archery? Are you shooting several distances for 3D or field?

If you shoot one distance, slowly work your way there while making adjustments as you go. These adjustments don’t have to perfect. They just keep you on target as you reach your desired distance. Once there, fine-tune by inching the sight in the direction you want to hit.

To shoot multiple distances with a one-pin “slider” sight, you’ll need a sight tape. Sight tapes stick to the side of your sight, and have markings for various distances. You can print out sight tapes, buy them from an archery shop, or mark a blank tape with a pen. If using a factory-printed sight tape, you first sight in your pin at 20 yards and 40 yards. Using those two marks, match them to printed tapes to determine which tape works for your bow. Stick that tape to your sight and test its alignment to ensure it’s accurate.

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For more detailed ballistics information please refer to the exact round in question or contact the manufacturer for the pertinent information. True .30-30 Winchester and .308 Winchester ballistics information can vary widely from the displayed information, and it is important to understand that the particular characteristics of a given round can make a substantive difference in its true performance. Caliber Type Velocity (fps) Energy (ft-lb) .30-30 Winchester Rifle 2370 1890 .308 Winchester Rifle 2680 2620 [Click Here to Shop .30-30 Winchester Ammo] [Click Here to Shop .308 Winchester Ammo] VelocityAs illustrated in the chart, .30-30 Winchester rounds - on average - achieve a velocity of about 2370 feet per second (fps) while .308 Winchester rounds travel at a velocity of 2680 fps. To put this into perspective, a Boeing 737 commercial airliner travels at a cruising speed of 600 mph, or 880 fps. That is to say, .30-30 Winchester bullets travel 2.7 times the speed of a 737 airplane at cruising speed, while .308 Winchester bullets travel 3 times that same speed.Various calibersEnergyFurthermore, the muzzle energy of a .30-30 Winchester round averages out to 1890 ft-lb, while a .308 Winchester round averages out to about 2620 ft-lb. One way to think about this is as such: a foot-pound is a unit of energy equal to the amount of energy required to raise a weight of one pound a distance of one foot. So a .30-30 Winchester round exits the barrel with kinetic energy equal to the energy required for linear vertical displacement of 1890 pounds through a one foot distance, while a .308 Winchester round exiting the barrel has energy equal to the amount required to displace 2620 pounds over the same one foot distance. As a rule of thumb, when it comes to hunting, muzzle energy is what many hunters look at when deciding on what caliber of firearm / ammunition to select. Generally speaking, the higher the muzzle energy, the higher the stopping power. Again, the above is for comparative information purposes only, and you should consult the exact ballistics for the particular .30-30 Winchester or .308 Winchester cartridge you're looking at purchasing. [Buy .30-30 Winchester Ammo] [Buy .308 Winchester Ammo] Please click the above links to take a look at all of the .30-30 Winchester and .308 Winchester ammo we have in stock and ready to ship, and let us know any parting thoughts in the comment section below.Foundry Outdoors is your trusted home for buying archery, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting sports, and outdoor gear online.We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. We have a variety of deals on Rifle Ammo, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo & Rimfire Ammo, as well as ammo for target practice, plinking, hunting, or shooting competitions. 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Mark Taylor - Dec 13, 2021.308 is a better round. A sapling won’t veer it Jesus Hernandez - Aug 10, 2024Mark I’d disagree with the 308 primarily using spritzer type bullets it is more likely to be veered by a sapling that the primary flat or round 30-30 but with neither is particularly vulnerable to it Leave a commentComments have to be approved before showing up Your Name * Your Email * Your Comment * Post Comment

Trouble Shooting

If you reach the bottom of your sight adjustment but want to shoot farther, try lowering the entire sight bracket. These brackets can usually be removed, lowered and reinstalled so you can lower the sight pin to take farther shots. However, it can cause clearance problems if you move it into the arrow’s path.

To test for clearance, put your arrow on the rest with its fletching forward. Hold the arrow level, as if you could shoot it, to see if the fletching touches the sights or scope. If your sight has an adjustable extension, bring it all the way in, which causes higher hits.

If you get sighted in, but your arrows hit a different spot the next time you shoot, check all screws on the sight and your bow to ensure they’re tight. If nothing is loose, check your form by video-recording yourself shooting. Even better, have a coach watch you shoot to learn your inconsistencies.

If your groups hit the middle while shooting on flat ground, but move left or right on downhill shots, you’re torquing the bow or your sight’s third-axis adjustment is off. The above video discusses how to adjust your sight’s third axis.

If you need further help adjusting your sight, pros at an archery shop will gladly assist. To find a nearby shop, click here.

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Ethan Smith
Ethan Smith is a seasoned marine veteran, professional blogger, witty and edgy writer, and an avid hunter. He spent a great deal of his childhood years around the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. Watching active hunters practise their craft initiated him into the world of hunting and rubrics of outdoor life. He also honed his writing skills by sharing his outdoor experiences with fellow schoolmates through their high school’s magazine. Further along the way, the US Marine Corps got wind of his excellent combination of skills and sought to put them into good use by employing him as a combat correspondent. He now shares his income from this prestigious job with his wife and one kid. Read more >>

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