IQ 7 Pin Bow Sight

In my second season of hunting I decided that the best way to maximize my time in the field was to take up bow hunting. After doing little to no research (the theme of my early years) I ordered a bow online. The bow did not come with any accessories… so off to Bass Pro Shops I went.

I ended up buying the IQ 7 Pin Bow Sight w/ Retina Lock. My reasoning was that it was not one of the super cheap models (my mind reads super cheap as “not worth the money”) but not the $150+ price point, which I felt was over my needs. The sight was around $130 dollars (on sale at the time). According to Cabelas.ca it sits at $229.99 regular price.

The IQ 7 Pin sight seemed like a great idea to gain more range down the road, using the typical 20 yard start pin and increasing 10yds I could shoot out to 80 yards!!!

Things I liked about the IQ sight.

1. Easy to install as a beginner – Simple adjustment on the vertical and horizontal axis.
2. Micro Adjustment – Allowed for fine tuning with a slight loosening of the set screw.
3. Pins were very bright – Which were great in low light situations.
4. Retina Lock and Horizontal Level – As a new shooter the retina lock was a great cue for grip form!

Things I disliked about the IQ sight.

1. No third axis adjustment – Hunting the coulees in the Alberta badlands or out of a tree stand creates some steep shot angles.
2. Only the middle pin was a different colour – for me it was my 50 yard pin.
3. Having 7 pins was confusing – Especially for a beginner!
4. Lack of a controlled environment range and being a new shooter made adjusting the 50-80yd pins difficult for my early skill level.

I used this sight for two seasons and ended up putting a new sight on my current bow setup (which will be the topic of a future post). In my first season I was fortunate enough to have a great opportunity spot and stalk hunting a Mule Doe. She presented a perfect broadside shot and brother J told me she was at 40 yards. I quickly drew back and settled my “40 pin” and shot clear under (oops).

After re-accessing the shot I realized I counted my pins incorrectly and shot the 30 yard pin. Took a mental note in that moment that I needed to do a better job counting pins during practice.

With the 7 pins, my skill level only allowed me to accurately sight in to 50-60 yards. Looking back at it, even those last two pins were not great. So that meant that there were two additional pins that I was not even using.

Going to point number 4 above, in my second year I had another great shot opportunity at 50 yards. Being uneducated and knowing I had sighted in the sight to 60 yards I took my time, knowing the only red pin was my 50 yard pin. This time I shot clear over the back and center punched a tree! No meat there.

That day on the way back home I set up my target and laid a great shot at 50 yards, a perfect bullseye. Hm. 

Moral of the story, for a beginning archer/bowhunter, having pins past your real effective range, taking into account all the factors of a hunt,  can be a real poor decision. One should never shoot farther than they are capable of, despite having the equipment that can.

For these reasons, I would recommend a 3 or a 5 pin sight for a beginning archer/ bowhunter to avoid the pin confusion. IQ makes a great option with all the positive features of the 7 Pin Retina Lock Sight but with 3 pins. This will help a new bowhunter/archer with a clear sight window and minimize the confusion.

The IQ 7 Pin sight would be a good fit for a very experienced archer/bowhunter who commonly is hunting big game in the prairies and who may, with proper skill, be able to utilize the longer shot distances.

If you have any questions about this review let me know!

-R