gregvisser

Hey guys,

I realise we're all about hunting over here, but for practice I shoot 3Ds with my club. I find it helps me stacks with general shot placement and distance judging. Well, last weekend we had a national 3D shoot (IFAA) and I signed in for Unlimited Bowhunter. I use a Spot Hogg Hunter sight and on bow inspection was told my sight is illegal. I was not allowed a sight level (which is ok since I can tape it out for the competition), but was also told I had to cut out my pin alignment wire on my sight. I told them to stuff it and ended up having to shoot in the freestyle unlimited class.

Does anyone know if they've got the cat by the tail? Surely this is as much of a hunting sight as they come. What's going on here?

Thanks,

Greg

Bigpapascout

they take things way to the extreme at some of these events but If you want to play you have to play by their rules.

I was told the same thing about uaing a mover sight. the judges told me I could not shoot in the unlimited bowhunters class with a mover and a scope and I responded then why do you call it unlimited.
Get this one some hunters classes dont allow the use of pendilum sights now if that aint a crock of shihooey I dont know what is.
if the accessories you have on youre bow is the accessories you hunt with it should be allowed I wonder if they disallow someone to shoot in unlimited hunters class if they are shooting a bow with target colors instead of camo? I doubt it, about the same difference IMO.

mjqood0

Being inexperienced in these 3D things still, I didn't want to chime in right away. But I'd have to agree with Bigpapascout. My idea of the Unlimited Hunter class was that you could have unlimited gear as long as it is what you hunt with (ie. no 30 in. target stabilizer, etc.)

Sounds like you just got a very strict judge...

Arthur P

Those rules have been on the books for many years. When you shoot tournaments, it's up to you to know the rules and use equipment that's legal for the class you want to shoot.

I've had to file off 1/8" from the end of my stabilizer to be legal before. I've had to paint the sight window and belly side of my riser one solid color to be legal to shoot in competitive bowhunter class. (They just recently changed the rule to allow camo risers in that class.) Once, to be legal in traditional class, I had to paint the belly side of the riser on a recurve because it had constrasting lines that could be used for elevation references.

Try being a tournament director and having to put up with guys telling you to stuff it because you have to enforce the rules they disagree with. It's better to enforce the rules before the tourney starts than it is to wade through a half dozen pissing matches on equipment protests afterwards. I've been on both sides and, believe me, you're on the easy side of it.

By the way, the limited bowhunters class is for fingers shooters. Release shooters are unlimited.

Bigpapascout

Arthur P

Ya I know but I cant help but complain
I definately think that a few of these rules need to be changed

Arthur P

I've been a club officer for many years now and one thing I have learned: A whole bunch of guys can't help, but take every chance they can to complain.

Seriously though, I know what you mean because I've been engaged in this exact conversation many times before. The argument goes, "If you hunt with it, you should be able to compete in bowhunter class with it." So, some goober with a bow decked out with a click adjustable 4X scope sight, V-bars and 3' stabilizer thinks he should be able to shoot bowhunter class, because "this is the rig I hunt with." That's no exageration! I've been confronted by exactly that argument with exactly that equipment more than a few times!

It's almost always some sandbagging sack of dung who's a little too anxious to 'win' a trophy.

In this case, with the alignment wire... Frankly, I've never really understood the whys and wherefores of why that kind of pin sight isn't legal for bowhunter freestyle class. All I can guess is somebody using a sight with an alignment wire sometime in the past was kicking everybody's arse and got his sight outlawed. Tournament rules are written by the losers, ya know.

gregvisser

I thought you guys were tough and all about hunting, yet I bust some of you plastic animal shooters!

Sounds like I'm not the only victim of strict bow inspections. The guys shooting barebow had to tape up the whole riser (facing them while aiming) on camo bows as blothes could be used for sighting. *sigh*

I can't quote the rules word for word, but if I can recall, you can only use a sight with five fixed points of reference. A point of reference is just that - a point. A wire is a line - so although this fixes your left and right, it doesn't fix your up and down.

Oh well - guess I'm going to have to cut my wire out if I want to keep competing in the off season - or keep shooting unlimited freestyle against the scope boys.

Thanks for the inputs anyway - good to get some more opinions!

Cheers,

Greg