Rectifier
12-12-2010, 10:35 PM
Updated:
So I've had the no-peep a few months now and it's time to throw out an updated review of the thing. I have been extremely satisfied with it after figuring out a bit of 'growing pains' with it.
First off, there is no parallax error as I was concerned about due to eye/nock misalignment. I've taken it out past 60 yards and still punch 'em right into the bull. This is a huge relief.
However, you CAN introduce your own parallax error if you are not careful about the string blur. Now that you are not looking through a peep you are looking past the string. It is possible to anchor wrong and still have the sight light up OK if you put the string blur in the wrong spot. You have to place it in the same spot every time or you WILL miss side to side - try to keep it close to the pins - I drop it just on the right of the lighted points of my pins. If I start missing side to side I realize I have forgotten about the string blur. After a couple months of shooting it is no longer an issue, just part of my anchor routine.
I've taken it to a few 3d's and it is great out in the woods. I believe it to be as accurate as any peep. Ridgedale in the rain is a good workout for any bowhunting gear, I think. Gives a lot more visibility esp. for a wrong-eyed shooter like me (I close my left eye... I have a bad left shoulder and have to draw right.) and just gives a more open "archery" feel than peering through the little peep hole. Downside is, occasionally wiping rain off the lens. I only did it twice in a day of shooting though, you can see fine through the mist, but when it gets big droplets you have to wipe it.
I noticed I have almost completely stopped torquing the bow at all and usually draw right to my anchor point as indicated on the no-peep. It has definitely improved my anchoring.
Also I bought a new bow and it wasn't that hard to set up after I had done it once.
I noted about aperture effect before and as my eyes are good it doesn't affect me. But it may annoy shooters with bad eyes who rely on the peep aperture to sharpen up pins and target - and for 'pro competition' guys, that sharpness of the pins may slightly improve accuracy. I would say 99% of hunters won't care about this.
So, an updated summary...
Pros:
- very sensitive to torque
- rock solid anchor
- good vision in dim conditions
- no peep creep
- no parallax error
- 10fps faster without the peep
cons:
- a bit annoying to set up, but it's a one time thing
- loss of 'aperture effect' focus from peep
- watch out for the string blur!
- fogs up in heavy rain
Original post follows:
Peeps annoy me and I've been looking to try something of the sort for awhile, so when one turned up at Boorman's I jumped on it after a bit of inspecting in the store.
The no-peep has been discontinued, I believe if you want to buy a new one the "anchor sight" is a similar piece of kit with nicer adjustments for quite a bit more cash.
Anyways, I'm sure there are other guys wondering what these things are about, mounting one on my bow has answered a lot of the questions I had about it.
First off the no-peep is not a "sight" of any sort, think of it as a kisser button for your bow rather than your string. Once you anchor your string on your face, you then anchor the bow to your eye by looking at the no-peep. This gives a very robust anchor which is why you can then do away with the peep.
The no-peep itself is very sensitive to angle which is how it works. There is a fisheye lens inside that focuses a dot inside a circle to tell you you are looking straight down the barrel. To imagine how sensitive it is, if I grip my bow with a fist, the dot completely disappears from the sight picture. It takes very little torque to move the dot outside the circle.
On the downside it is a lot of work to adjust - it's still not dialed in quite right, my eye is too far from the string which causes a small amount of parallax error. You need really tiny allen keys to adjust it, what a pain! As it is, it shoots very repeatable, tight groups - but there is a parallax error of about 2"/10yds - which should go away once I adjust it properly (I hope.) I also had to move my sight pins (gang adjust only) since my anchor had moved a bit now that I am not looking through the string.
I felt it was really easy to see the targets on a dim and dreary day which normally has me staring through even my large peep, but since I was no longer looking through the tight peep aperture, the pins were fuzzier when focused on the target. This one really depends on your eyes I think, it didn't bug me since my eyes are pretty good.
Even sighted in kind of half-assedly I took it to the Abbotsford fun shoot 3d today with no peep on my string and it shot pretty nicely. The fiber that lights the sight is super bright, even indoors. I feel that I can see better and acquire targets faster than with my peep since there is one less alignment step to perform, and that it shows up bad form that otherwise is hard to notice.
So far I feel I like it, I'll follow up when I get it tuned in more and get more shooting with it under my belt
So I've had the no-peep a few months now and it's time to throw out an updated review of the thing. I have been extremely satisfied with it after figuring out a bit of 'growing pains' with it.
First off, there is no parallax error as I was concerned about due to eye/nock misalignment. I've taken it out past 60 yards and still punch 'em right into the bull. This is a huge relief.
However, you CAN introduce your own parallax error if you are not careful about the string blur. Now that you are not looking through a peep you are looking past the string. It is possible to anchor wrong and still have the sight light up OK if you put the string blur in the wrong spot. You have to place it in the same spot every time or you WILL miss side to side - try to keep it close to the pins - I drop it just on the right of the lighted points of my pins. If I start missing side to side I realize I have forgotten about the string blur. After a couple months of shooting it is no longer an issue, just part of my anchor routine.
I've taken it to a few 3d's and it is great out in the woods. I believe it to be as accurate as any peep. Ridgedale in the rain is a good workout for any bowhunting gear, I think. Gives a lot more visibility esp. for a wrong-eyed shooter like me (I close my left eye... I have a bad left shoulder and have to draw right.) and just gives a more open "archery" feel than peering through the little peep hole. Downside is, occasionally wiping rain off the lens. I only did it twice in a day of shooting though, you can see fine through the mist, but when it gets big droplets you have to wipe it.
I noticed I have almost completely stopped torquing the bow at all and usually draw right to my anchor point as indicated on the no-peep. It has definitely improved my anchoring.
Also I bought a new bow and it wasn't that hard to set up after I had done it once.
I noted about aperture effect before and as my eyes are good it doesn't affect me. But it may annoy shooters with bad eyes who rely on the peep aperture to sharpen up pins and target - and for 'pro competition' guys, that sharpness of the pins may slightly improve accuracy. I would say 99% of hunters won't care about this.
So, an updated summary...
Pros:
- very sensitive to torque
- rock solid anchor
- good vision in dim conditions
- no peep creep
- no parallax error
- 10fps faster without the peep
cons:
- a bit annoying to set up, but it's a one time thing
- loss of 'aperture effect' focus from peep
- watch out for the string blur!
- fogs up in heavy rain
Original post follows:
Peeps annoy me and I've been looking to try something of the sort for awhile, so when one turned up at Boorman's I jumped on it after a bit of inspecting in the store.
The no-peep has been discontinued, I believe if you want to buy a new one the "anchor sight" is a similar piece of kit with nicer adjustments for quite a bit more cash.
Anyways, I'm sure there are other guys wondering what these things are about, mounting one on my bow has answered a lot of the questions I had about it.
First off the no-peep is not a "sight" of any sort, think of it as a kisser button for your bow rather than your string. Once you anchor your string on your face, you then anchor the bow to your eye by looking at the no-peep. This gives a very robust anchor which is why you can then do away with the peep.
The no-peep itself is very sensitive to angle which is how it works. There is a fisheye lens inside that focuses a dot inside a circle to tell you you are looking straight down the barrel. To imagine how sensitive it is, if I grip my bow with a fist, the dot completely disappears from the sight picture. It takes very little torque to move the dot outside the circle.
On the downside it is a lot of work to adjust - it's still not dialed in quite right, my eye is too far from the string which causes a small amount of parallax error. You need really tiny allen keys to adjust it, what a pain! As it is, it shoots very repeatable, tight groups - but there is a parallax error of about 2"/10yds - which should go away once I adjust it properly (I hope.) I also had to move my sight pins (gang adjust only) since my anchor had moved a bit now that I am not looking through the string.
I felt it was really easy to see the targets on a dim and dreary day which normally has me staring through even my large peep, but since I was no longer looking through the tight peep aperture, the pins were fuzzier when focused on the target. This one really depends on your eyes I think, it didn't bug me since my eyes are pretty good.
Even sighted in kind of half-assedly I took it to the Abbotsford fun shoot 3d today with no peep on my string and it shot pretty nicely. The fiber that lights the sight is super bright, even indoors. I feel that I can see better and acquire targets faster than with my peep since there is one less alignment step to perform, and that it shows up bad form that otherwise is hard to notice.
So far I feel I like it, I'll follow up when I get it tuned in more and get more shooting with it under my belt