This past season I switched the sight on my bow from a five pin sight to a single pin HHA Optimizer lite. I also switched from a string driven QAD rest to a limb-driven Hamskea rest. I figured I would give it a go this season, and decide whether to switch back in January. I believe single pin sights can work well in Iowa for whitetail. And I am going to continue to use the Hamskea rest as well. Here are a few considerations, and the set-up, I have for the single pin sight and a limb driven drop away rest.

The possibility of a whitetail running through your lane

Some hunters in Iowa do not want a single pin sight because whitetail have a habit of running by out of nowhere during the rut. With a single pin sight you may not have time to adjust the sight for the correct distance. This is a valid worry, but there are a few ways to avoid this.

If you set your bow on 26 yards you can make any shot out to 35 yards with modest adjustments. This past season I set my bow for the distance of the most likely trail and had no troubles adjusting for deer. You would be surprised how quickly you can adjust a sight and get into your shot. If you are trying to self film your hunt a single pin sight may not be the best option. Trying to film, range the buck, and adjust your sight is likely too many things to get done in the limited time you have. If you want to film your hunt I would stick with the five pin sight.

The Benefit of a Clear Shot window

If consistency is the key to accuracy with a bow, then the single pin offers superior accuracy from being able to consistently place the only pin right where you want it to hit every time. In the past I had issues with rushing a shot with a multi pin sight before i really focused on the right pin, with a single pin this is not an issue. Also, with a multi pin sight often you have to practice at the in between distances to understand how far your arrow will drop. With a single pin sight distances such as forty-three yards become much easier.

I think the benefits of always having the same shot window and clearly placing your pin outweigh the costs of possibly letting a buck run through your shooting lane. Just do a better job of ranging various trails and you shouldn’t lose many bucks to sight adjustments.

Limb Driven Drop away

I also switched to a Hamskea Hybrid hunter rest this year. This rest is a limb driven drop away. Before that I was shooting an QAD string driven drop away. I had a few issues with the QAD slipping a little bit on the string and being slightly inconsistent. Many shooters believe the limb driven rest is more consistent and for me so far the Hamskea has been reliable.

However, the rest is expensive. It is nearly twice as much as the string driven drop away. I am not sure I would say it is worth the money, but it is definitely nicer than the QAD. It is easier to tune, and more solidly built. The Hamskea is also a bit challenging to set-up the first time, but once you get the hang of it, the rest is quality.

If you are gearing up for turkey season and don’t want to mess with a bunch of new gear I would buy the single pin sight first. You can set the sight on 15 yards because turkeys are much more predictable than whitetail when it comes to guessing the distance the shot will be. The Hamskea is worth buying if you have some extra cash and time to tune on your hands, but the single pin is a more valuable improvement.