Should You Shoot a Single-Pin or Multi-Pin Bow Sight?

Everyone has their reason for shooting the pin setup they choose. Some people get confused with multi-colored pins in the heat of the moment. Others, like me, hate having to constantly move a single pin as the animal moves. I use a 5-pin setup and feel that if used properly, it is the best choice. However, both options have their pros and cons.

The single pin is a pretty popular choice among bowhunters, especially ones who seem to get flustered under pressure. A big buck or bugling elk can make us do funny things at the moment of truth, and going completely blank is one of them. This is why many hunters have chosen a single pin as their go-to in a hunting situation. You only have to worry about one pin and putting it in the right spot. Also, an advantage to the single pin is centering it in your peep. Some people have trouble deciding whether to center their pin or the scope housing in their peep. With a single pin, you do both so there is really nothing to think about. On the other hand, you must constantly move a single pin as the animal moves. This creates a lot more movement when the animal is close. Often, the hunter is forced to range the animal, set the sight and stop the animal while drawing the bow. This creates some major anxiety, because most of the time the animal will be watching you come to full draw, and you will inevitably feel rushed. Not to mention if the animal takes a couple hops beside a bush you know is 40 yards, but your pin is set to 25 yards. Now what? You either have to guess how high to aim or let down and more than likely spook the animal and ruin your hunt.

The multi-pin sight is either loved or hated among bowhunters. The multi pin allows you to be sighted in to multiple distances without moving anything. This gives you the ability to range multiple objects around you and come to full draw as the animal approaches, keeping movement to a minimum when that animal is in close range. If the animal makes a sudden change in direction as animals almost always do, you do not have to reset. You can simply use a different pin. Centering either each pin or the scope housing will work fine, but you have to choose one as you can't do both. I think it's easier to center the housing, as it is less to think about. Also, people often get confused by so many colors. They lose track of what color was what distance, and it throws them into a complete frenzy. What I have found really helps is to take a 5-pin sight and make the top pin (20) green, second pin (30) green, third pin (40) red, fourth pin (50) green and fifth pin (60) green. This way, I only have 2 colors. I know my top pin is 20 and my bottom pin is 60. I also always know my red pin is 40, this way no matter how far the animal is I have a quick reference in my sight picture to let me know which pin to use. It takes some practice, but before long, it will become second nature and you'll never look back.

Some people like a single pin, and some prefer a multi pin. There are pros and cons to each, but in my opinion, the multi pin is a more efficient way to hunt if you can find a way to make it less confusing in the heat of the moment. Either way, both can be used to have great success; there is no right or wrong choice.