Open Sights vs Varizone Scope

[exocet]

Very good stuff gents!! Believe me, I loved the Varizone scope, and may eventually get one, but will give the F/O & Peep a try first. I will shoot no further than 30 yards, so I imagine it should work well. My eyesight is very good. Thanks to all that commented Jack.

[Tom]

With a scope you gain with some and lose some other factors. Normally, I find it this way, with peep sights you can be quicker to get your sights onto the animal but with a scope, it will magnify light in low light conditions. Also a scope has a tendicy to narrow your sight of view when looking through it, but you are able to get alot closer look at where you actually want the arrow to enter (you know, picking out the hair you want to hit, instead of a 6 inch area). With a bow, needing a scope is not really necessary as peep or pin sights will be accurate enough to take down any animal.

I personally went to a scope on my bow because only my shotgun would be without a scope (have since put one on it too). I wanted to have the same familular feeling when shouldering my choice of weapon.

Again, the use of a scope or a peep sight on a bow is only a choice. Choose what you want then go and enjoy shooting.

Good luck.

[wabi]

Bob,
I'll agree the scope adds about 10 minutes of shooting light to each end of the day, but I've also blown a shot with the vari-zone because I failed to see a small cedar branch in the arrow's path through the scope in low light. That shot wasn't not so fortunate as to be a clean miss, but drew blood. However I lost that buck Spent half the night and most of the next day tracking, but never found him. That's another reason I went back to the peep & f/o sights. In my opinion if it's too dark to see the sights it's too dark to be shooting at a deer. Yep, I've had to let a few walk without shooting, but there's no guarantee it wouldn't have been another bad hit because I failed to see well enough to notice some potential problem with the shot.

[JCB]

Wabi: Excellent Point about not being able to see twigs and small vines when the light is low. Scopes can sometimes make these things disappear from view in low light.

And it is something to watch out for even when gun hunting with a scope--that you are not taking a shot through brush that you cannot see in the scope in twilight.

Sometimes scopes with AO can adjust to see things between you and your target, but no one puts a scope with AO on a Crossbow!

[hikerman]

I was considering buying a scope for my exocet my self, you guys have some great info!!

[wabi]

Bob asked

My first question to folks experiencing telescopic sight issues is are you using a crossbow scope?

Yes, I was using an Excalibur Vari-Zone when I shot the one buck in low light. The cedar brush was only a few feet in front of me and I never saw it in the scope. I went back the next evening and sat in the same stand and repeated the shot sequence as best I could trying to figure out how what looked perfect had gone bad. The cedar branches were not visible in the scope when I was sighting at where the deer had been standing (about a 6 or 7 yard shot). Another big problem was that the arrow did not show up in flight or at the time it hit the buck. I often loose sight of the arrow in flight at 300 fps, but almost always can see it when it hits the target. In that low light situation I had no idea (and still don't know) where I hit the buck. I thought I had made a perfect double-lung shot, but the blood trail didn't look just right. Good bright red blood for about 40 yards, then slowed to a few drops, then disappeared. Found one drop where he crossed an old broken down fence (regular crossing) at about 80 yards, one more drop on a trail at another 30 or 40 yards along, and a drop about every 30 or 40 yards for the next 100 yards or so. When he hit a major intersection in the trails I lost the trail completely. Went back many times and never found any further sign of him. I'm guessing the arrow hit the brush and went through back muscle.
I'm not blaming the scope for my poor choice to shoot that late in the day, or for my not even noticing there was brush low in the shooting lane. I an saying that for me the factory sight might be a better option, and have since switched back to it. If I can't see the sight clearly I quit for the day. The only time I feel a scope would be a better option is when I'm in my pop-up ground blind with the black interior. When in it the fiber optic doesn't get enough light to see well about 10 or 15 minutes sooner than I can still see it outside. I do have a Dan Miller quiver bracket mounted above the f/o front sight to add protection to the sight itself, and it blocks off some of the light, too. I might loose a few minutes of hunting time, but I don't like tracking all night in vain, and hate to loose a deer that I don't know where I hit, so the loss of a few minutes doesn't bother me that much when I look back and remember that late evening shot that went bad.
Again, not condemning your choice, not trying to be argumentative, just trying to explain my choice of sights.

[JCB]

bstout and wabi: I managed to get the FO sight zeroed yesterday (Thanks, Wabi!) so I think I will try it on deer with the FO sight. I will take a shot only if it is light enough to be sure of a clear shot and only if it is under 40 yards. I'm thinking 35 yards may be my limit until I shoot this Exomax a lot more. (Thank God for the rope cocking aid!)

bstout: If and when I get a scope it will be a crossbow scope--but it will have to be one that compensates for Exomax trajectory. And as far as I know only the Excalibur Max-Zone scope will do that.

I wonder where the parallax is set on Excalibur scopes? 25 yards?

[Digger]

bstout: If and when I get a scope it will be a crossbow scope--but it will have to be one that compensates for Exomax trajectory. And as far as I know only the Excalibur Max-Zone scope will do that.

I wonder where the parallax is set on Excalibur scopes? 25 yards?

I think you will find that the Varizone is much better than the Maxzone scope for your Emax. Once it is sighted in, if you change bolts or BHs of diffeerent weights you only need to dail the speed ring to your new fps. With the Maxzone you have to start all over sighting in.
The Maxzone is for bolt speeds from 300 fps to 350 fps, the Varizone does 250 to 350 fps.

[GREY OWL]

I have a Varizone on my Exomag, and open factory sites on my Vixen. Both can kill a deer within range. My Exomag is much heavier maybe causing skaking when held up to long, but with the Vixen, its extremely light. The open sights on the Vixen can be seen till its almost time to stop hunting. Lets not forget the possibly of a wounded animal which has to be tracked in the dark. I always shut down early for this reason alone. Morning hunts are different, I would rather have my scope to maybe see a bit better in case its cloudy and a bit to dark. I've then got all day to track my animal if wounded.

Grey Owl

[ComfyBear]

In my opinion to trying compare the factory optic sights to the Vari-zone is like trying to compare a prop plane to a jet.

Not only for hunting, but especially for 3D using the Vari-zone will help improve accuracy and versatility. Those who choose not to use one are definitely not getting the full potential out of their Excalibur.

ComfyBear,
I'm not trying to start a pi**ing contest by any means, and I respect your opinion, but I have to disagree about getting the full potential.

Actually wabi you're right, for hunting, an "eagle eye" like yourself could get by without a scope.

However, with my eyes getting worse with age, at different yardages without a scope, I wouldn't be able to "hit a dimple on a pimple on a flea's left ball", not that I can with a scope, but almost, at least in my younger days.

On the other hand, since my mind is as sharp as ever, I don't have a problem remembering which "pin" to use. Hence why I use a scope.

I guess that's why they say different strokes for different folks.

[Bruno-TL]

Wow, some great comments.

I guess I personally agree with Wabi. My only wish is for a fibre optic sight with more light gathering ability. I have not tried a scope on my ExoMag but I do enjoy open sights. On other cross bows I have used a red dot scope and was satisfied with it. I like to see more of the object I am aiming at and I feel I get that with Open sights.

And yes there still needs to be that one moment that you try and pick out a hair.