small peep sight vs. large peep sight
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: NDbuck
26-Jul-06
I was wondering in setting up my bow which size peep sight I should go with. What are you guys' preferences or opinions?
From: huntindoc@work
26-Jul-06
Large! I shoot with both eyes open and a small peep makes my non-dominant but better vision eye take over. With the large peep I just center the sight housing (not the pin) in the peep and am just as accurate as I was with a tiny peep.
Low light situations are much better with a large peep. It's almost like shooting without one. If I can see my target I can still shoot.
hd
From: dpd
26-Jul-06
Personally I like a fletcher tru-peep which has a 3/16 diameter. I just drilled it out a tiny little bit to open it up to my liking which if the peep material will allow you to do, you can tailor it to your needs personally.
Generally speaking for target and 3-d only most folks shoot a smaller peep as little as 1/8. Smaller peeps tend to be more accurate, but hunters are willing to trade off that and use larger ones because in low light conditions(dawn and dusk) you can't see much at all with a small aperture and that is when game moves alot and murphy's law dictates that is when you will probably need it.
If you have a bow press or access to one, peep sights are one thing in archery everyone can afford. Usually at about $3 a piece you can experiment with which one you like and put the rest in your archery tackle box for spares to get you out of a bind. Hope this helps :)
From: Miclaw
26-Jul-06
Larger for me too. They work better in the low light of dawn and dusk.
From: straightarrow
26-Jul-06
I use the fletcher tru peep 1/8 inch on my target bow and a 1/4 inch blue meta peep on my hunting bow.good luck:)
From: rabbit
26-Jul-06
I use the largest diameter Tru-Peep made. Another good trick is to pick up a clarifier housing only and use it as a peep. With the round pin guards that are so popular today, it is very natural for your eye to center the system. Very small peeps are terribly hard for most to use in low light(hunting) conditions, essentially negating their usefulness in comparison to the larger ones.
From: Straight —» Arrow
26-Jul-06
I also like the largest diamter I can get. Super Magnum! No tubes!
From: Trophy8
26-Jul-06
large
From: JTV
26-Jul-06
Mine is a 1/4in and my sight housing fits right inside it at full draw. Makes it easy to align...Jeff
From: BFB
26-Jul-06
for hunting, bigger is better. I prefer a 1/4 inch peep that is served in very securely.
For target....a smaller peep may give you better long range accuracy...but they suck in low light.
From: SkiFishMT
26-Jul-06
I have tried both. I used a mega peep and couldn't seem to find the center and therefore, my groups suffered tremendously. I put back in the smaller peep and the groups tightened right back up. To me, the confinece in my shooting from the tighter groups far outweight any supposed benefit of extra light at questionable shooting times anyway.
From: Gator
26-Jul-06
Large, for reasons given.
From: mongo
26-Jul-06
check out the venom peep sight it made from a blue plastic and is larger than normal hole but in low light situations I haven't seen anything better great for hunting.Just type in venom peep sights in google
From: Ziek
26-Jul-06
The size of a peep sight depends on your set up. You should be able to center the round pin guard in it. For me, a 1/4" peep just allows me to see the pin guard. Any smaller woudn't work and I've never seen one bigger. If the string is closer to your face at full draw you may be able to use a smaller peep, or go larger for the reasons given. The point is, you need to try differnt sizes and not just pick one based on others recommendations.
From: nchunter
26-Jul-06
the only drawback i have experienced going from a small to a peep slightly over a 1/4 inch is that for some reason i am now flinching. i have never done this in 20 years of bowhunting. i have not done it on a deer but on the shooting range after about 10 shots its starts. the peep may not have a thing to do with it but shortly after changing to a large is when it started. but that large peep gives me another 10 to fifteen minutes of shooting light.
From: Lance
26-Jul-06
i would say large Peep without hesitation. Low light situations you cant see through the small
From: lariat
26-Jul-06
Same as JTV.
From: EggZ
26-Jul-06
I thought that the peep is supposed to match the round sight when come to full draw? Is this correct or not?
From: Ziek
26-Jul-06
EggZ, I think that is ideal from an accuracy standpoint. However, you can go larger if you want more light, IF your set up allows it.
From: huntindoc
27-Jul-06
Another option is to use a 3rd plane adjustable sight. You can then pick the size peep you want and adjust the sight to make it fit your sight housing perfectly. Sights come in different size housings also. Sword makes a 1 1/2" or a 2".
hd
From: Roland
27-Jul-06
I've had good luck with the specialty archery hooded peep. I prefer the original model, but also have 1/4" version.
From: Jeremiah Johnson
27-Jul-06
I've never had a problem in low light with my peep matched to the size of my round sight aperature. Too small and you don't know when you're centered. Too large and that's one more thing to line up. Just right and you know you can fire when the peep glows orange around the edges (the outer edge of my sight aperature is orange).
From: Spike Bull
27-Jul-06
I use a 1/4" peep for hunting and 3D. Sunday I shot at a McKenzie Jake turkey about 34 yards away. Pretty small x ring but made even worse by the fact that he was positioned under some very dark pines while I was standing out in the sunlit field. There is no way these old eyes would even see the target without a large peep. (I run my adjustable sight arm in or out until the housing matches the opening. But don't tell anybody I told you the secret!)
From: NDbuck
27-Jul-06
Thanks a lot for all the input I received. This gives me the knowledge to make a good decision on what size peep to go with. Once again Thanks to all.
From: Bassman
15-Mar-20
After shooting recurves ,and self bows for the past 20 years I decided to try my old PSE Diamond back compound out again with a 1/4 inch peep for some indoor target 20 yd. shooting.It is a one cam 37.5 inch long compound that I can shoot better now than I ever have. I am having fun with it again. I think my peep is to large for good target shooting . Thanks for the tips.
From: Bou'bound
15-Mar-20
1/4 inch red meta peep on my hunting bow.good luck:)
From: carcus
15-Mar-20
I match my peep to my pin gaurd, 1/4"
From: carcus
15-Mar-20
I match my peep to my pin gaurd, 1/4"
From: pav
15-Mar-20
As has been mentioned already, I use the smallest peep size that will align with my sight aperture at full draw.
From: midwest
15-Mar-20
Wow....14 year old thread.
carcus has the correct answer. Regardless of what size peep you use, make sure your pin guard matches up to it either by changing to a different diameter housing or, ideally, having your sight mounted on an adjustable dovetail.
From: bowdude
16-Mar-20
I use the smallest pin guard I can find, a 10 mm I believe. I match up my peep to the size of the guard, a 1/8 or 3/16 inch. I've tried larger, but too much slop in and around the picture. I get plenty of light with the smaller peep and shoot much tighter groups with the small peep. The old adage, "aim small shoot small" holds true.
From: CurveBow
20-Mar-20
Largest one I can get. I use a 5/16" one only because I can't find a 3/8" one!
From: gluetrap
28-Mar-20
Large bow or gun, target or game imo.
