The first bow I ever purchased was (and still is) a Hoyt Pro Defiant Turbo with limbs that range from 60 to 70 lb draw weight. I chose this setup based on what Cameron Hanes’ was using in 2016. Having learned a hard lesson from my early days as a spear fisherman that buying subpar equipment will cost you more money in the long run, I figured if I mimicked Cameron Hanes’ setup then I only had myself to blame when the arrow missed the mark. At the time of purchase I felt that my strength level warranted a 60 lb draw weight but I wanted the ability to increase the poundage so when I eventually moved onto bigger game I wouldn’t have to purchase a whole new set up. [similar to my thinking with my recent Rifle purchase]

Fast forward to Spring 2020 and I am preparing for my first Western archery elk hunt. Now to be clear the Hoyt Pro Defiant Turbo with a 60 lb draw weight would most likely do the job on any elk within 50 yards (or further with a well placed shot). However for both peace of mind as well as what I have determined to be an ethical* choice I made the decision to max out the draw weight on my current setup.

Cranking up the draw weight was a bit nerve-wracking; firstly because well, change and two if it ain’t broke don't fix it, right? After some words of encouragement from other bowhunting friends I felt I was capable and had enough time before the season opener to get used to the change, dial in my sight, and feel confident in my abilities ... Four full rotations of each limb bolt later the draw weight is now 70.4 pounds. Using the same arrow set up as before I can say with confidence that this is a significant step up. The 440.6 grain arrow flies faster and hits harder. I was able to use the chronograph at my local archery shop, I now know that my arrow is traveling 281.5 fps, that’s nearly 10% faster than it was at 60lbs.

Bow Setup

**Hoyt Pro Defiant Turbo**
- Limbs 60-70 Pounds
- Axel-to-Axel: 33 inches
- Brace Height: 6”
- Draw Length 28.5”
- Strings: Winner’s Choice
**Arrow**
- Easton FMJ Microdiameter 4mm w/ Deep Six Inserts
- Fletching: Bohning Blazer Vanes 2” 4 fletched @ 90o
- Wrap: Elevated Archery 4”
- Nock: Nockturnal Lighted Nock
- Broadhead: Muzzy Trocar (deep six)
- Arrow Weight: 440.6grains = (9.8gpi*28”)+(20g insert) + (100g broadhead) + (4*6g Blazer vane) + (7.2g arrow wrap) + (15g Nockturnal)
**Sight**
- Spot Hogg Hogg Father Double Pin Adjustable
**Quiver**
- Apex Reactor
**Stabilizer**
- New Archery Products Apache
**Release**
- Spot Hogg Wise Guy

One of the attractive parts of a compound bow is the cam system that allows for the draw weight of the initial pull to be let off while holding the bow at full draw. To put this in more simple terms I am not holding 70lb the entire duration I have the bow pulled back.** The cam system is engineered to enable let-offs from 75% up to 95%. The DFX cams on the Hoyt Pro Defiant Turbo allow for 75% let off. Being that my draw weight was recently measured at 70.4 lbs at full draw I am holding 17.6lbs. In Colorado as of 2020 a maximum let off of 80% is the law. I don't know of a single game officer who would ever be able to test this or know by looking at your setup, however always hunt within the regulations so you don't ruin it for the rest of us.

The four full turns of my limb bolt was the most nerve-wracking time in my archery history including my two whitetail success stories. I don't know why I was so hesitant to make this adjustment other than low self-esteem and lack of a physical mentor. It's easy to watch a John Dudley video and feel like you're the next best bow mechanic but if things go wrong you don't have many places to turn.

I started the re-sighting in process at 20 yards with the same pin setting I used for the lower draw weight. A very loose rule of thumb is that the trajectory of an arrow on any bow with a draw weight over 55lbs will be relatively flat within 25 yards. After grouping five or six arrows at that original setting I started to experiment a few ticks in each direction. I actually found that the sweet spot was a about 2 ticks below my previous setting (ie. I had to float the pin down a touch because the trajectory of the arrow had become noticeably flatter). This did not come as a surprise to me after sending a few arrows down range, I could feel that the arrow was flying faster both by the sound of the arrow in the air and the tone of the impact on the target. It was as if I traded in my old rifle for one with a significantly higher caliber. This is the moment when my feelings changed from nervousness to a confidence inducing excitement. Which made me realize that this adjustment was the exact right thing to do for where I'm at in my archery life.

The Sight In Process

To (re)sight in a bow with an adjustable pin the general rule of thumb is to shoot a group at 20 yards, again at 60 yards and use a mathematical equation to find your correct sight tape. Fortunately for us Spot Hogg has taken the guesswork out of this by creating calibration tapes. Once you find your 20 yard setting you put the calibration tape on that point, you work your way back to 60 yards (Adjusting your slider accordingly) and when you are consistently shooting tight groups around the bullseye the indicator on the slider will be pointing to the sight tape number you should apply to your bow. I don't know if this is me or every bowhunter but there's always a moment that creeps into my head that questions If I am even good enough at archery to make this adjustment or is user error playing a dominant role right now. Over the past three years I’d like to think that I've matured as an Archer and that my patience has increased as well. (I also hope these improvements can apply to my life outside of archery but that's another story) I have now implemented a rule that I will shoot the bow on three different days before choosing which site tape to apply. This new self imposed rule comes with the assumption that every time I shoot the weather is slightly different and so am I as well as the condition of my bow by averaging these 3 outings I can be a bit more confident in my tape selection.

Another interesting consideration is that I am currently using a Spot Hogg: Hogg Father double pin adjustable sight. At 60 lb of draw weight the two pins were exactly 17 yards apart (So if my sight was set at 20 yards the second pin would hit a bullseye at 37 yards). Being that I increased the draw weight significantly I expected this pin gap to close by 2-3 yards. The magic of an adjustable sight is, once the correct sight tape is applied one can confidently shoot a target out to 100 yards using a rangefinder and very little guesswork. The knock against most adjustable sights is that if your animal moves after you are at full draw you may have to let down the arrow, re-range it and adjust your slider accordingly. This is the reason I chose the spot Hogg double pin, because it offers a pin gap. What this means is my top pin will be directly correlated to my slider and the second pin will be a known distance away, now that I have increased the draw weight to 70 pounds that gap is exactly 15 yards. A little more of my logic here … knowing that the arrow flys flat within 30 yards. I feel confident leaving my bow set at 30 yards and knowing that second pin falls directly at 45. Adding in that I would not feel comfortable taking a shot at an animal past 50 yards I feel like I have all of my bases currently covered.

Over the years I've gained the ability to hit a Target at a 100 yards within a 2 ft radius. Would I ever shoot an elk or any animal at this distance? Absolutely not. But I like the idea taken from Cameron Hanes that one should train out to 2X the distance they would be comfortable shooting an animal. The other thing I love about Hoyt manufacturing is I can keep my riser and interchange my limbs to a 70-80 pound configuration so that I could step my game up once again if I felt it necessary. As I continue to push myself and grow I would like to be able to maintain my personal code of ethics. Train hard and often for if I am to take on a pursuit that involves ending an animal's life for my sustenance, I want to be able to do that as quickly and painlessly as possible. One of my favorite quotes is "ethics is doing the right thing even when doing the wrong thing is legal." Some people like to point out that they perceive a hypocrisy with the act of bowhunting because if decreased pain and suffering is the goal "then you should only hunt with a rifle" My counter to that is that a well placed arrow can end an animals life within seconds and is generally less cruel then what mother nature already had in store (Bears, Wolves, Coyotes, Mountain Lions, the Antlers of other Elk, a harsh winter or a vehicle). The wonderful wildlife biologist of CPW and every other state work very hard to allocate hunting tags that have the best interest of the animals in mind. Knowing the carrying capacity of a region, rates of harvest, winterkill, how often animals get wounded by hunters, vehicle interactions and many other factors that affect the size of the herd is what allows them to determine it is okay for people to hunt with a bow. Another interesting thought experiment in the realm of wildlife ethics is "how many fish die in catch and release scenarios?" But that is a post for another time.

Some Notes on my sight-in Journey:

It is interesting how my mentality and physicality affects my ability to shoot a bow. The days I head onto the archery range with a clear mind and a good attitude have extremely different result then the days I dont. Especially If I got good sleep, am well fed (but not stuffed) and have stretched or worked out a bit. My focus is sharper and my groups tighten up

If my first group at 20 yards is tight it builds my confidence in terms of my ability to shoot at 60 yards. One caveat to that is sometimes I like to start with a 60-75 yard shot to get me focused for the session

This might be more of a reflection on my personality but I find that taking notes as I go not only is good for record-keeping and reference but also keeps me in the zone. It adds a level of focused and accountability. Note taking as I go removes the jumble of thoughts from my head and organizes them on a sheet of paper. Sometimes Ill even talk to myself out loud (ie. ‘you’re grouping to the left’ or ‘make sure to follow your shot sequence’)

Lastly during this process I noticed a nick in my strings, they were original to the bow and over 3 years old, I decided to upgrade to Winners Choice Strings, which ironically made me start the entire process over again.

*Ethics (relative to hunting): For the purposes of this article I will define ethics as doing everything within one’s personal ability to minimize the pain and suffering experienced by a hunted animal.

**It is believed that Archers in the time of Genghis khan (the Mongols) had bows with draw weights exceeding 150lbs meaning at full draw it was equivalent to holding 150lbs of weight (while shooting from Horseback!)