Are you new to archery and looking to pick up a sight specifically for 3D archery? Maybe you’re a more experienced archer and you want a dedicated pro 3D sight for shooting in tournaments. Whatever your reason, it’s important to consider all of the factors and get all of the info before you click that buy button.

There’s a lot of info out there when it comes to bow sights, but not as much specifically catered to 3D archers. Even if you’re just a casual 3D shooter, you want a quality sight that’s designed with you in mind.

So let’s get to it. I give you my short answer on what is the best sight for 3D archery in the paragraphs below, and you can continue reading if your want more information and details on buying and using the best 3D sights.

And the winner is:

After having tried many 3D sights myself I would have to agree with the hundreds of archers polled who chose CBE sights as the best 3D archery sights hands down. While some runners up were from Axcel and Sure-Loc, CBE’s 3D sights are simply the best sights for the majority of 3D archers.

My Recommendations

Here are my recommendations for the specific CBE 3D sights you may want to consider, listed by the number of pins in each sight. Archers who prefer 3 pin sights would be wise to check out the CBE Tek Hybrid Pro and the TL3, both being great sights for 3D.

If you like 4 pin sights better, the CBE SL4 4 Pin Sight is an awesome choice. Those of you who shoot with 5 pin sights will definitely want to check out the CBE Tek Hybrid Pro.

And for all of you out there that use single pin sights, the CBE Tek Hybrid Pro Single Pin Sight is pretty sweet! Which ever sight you decide to go with, if you stick with CBE you can rest assured you’ll be getting a high quality 3D sight.

What to Look for in a 3D Bow Sight

An important thing to keep in mind when you’re shopping for a new sight is to buy the best sight that you can reasonably afford, as if you don’t you’ll probably be buying a lesser sight that you’re not going to be happy with. Then, you’ll eventually have to buy another sight – costing you more money. It’s far smarter to save up if needed and just buy the best, highest quality sight from the beginning.

I have a CBE sight that’s a pleasure to shoot with, especially when I’m shooting at targets of varying distances. It’s a solid, well made sight that holds up to quite a bit of wear and tear. Plus it holds everything exactly where I set it, without things getting banged out of position if I accidentally bump into something.

I used to shoot with a Sword Pro sight, but once I first started shooting with CBE sights – the difference was night and day.

I guess that the most important thing that you should get from this page is that I strongly suggest that you never buy a bow sight (for 3D or otherwise) for less than $100. I’ve tried out lots of them, and they just aren’t any good. They don’t tend to stand up to much wear and tear, the settings get all out of whack easily and they’re just a pain to use.

Rather than buy some cheaply made sight you found online for $75, my advice would be to save up for a quality sight instead. Even if you have to wait and take the time to get something decent – it’s well worth it to do so.

Should I get a single pin or multi pinned sight?

If you’re using your sight primarily for 3D archery, you can use whichever you prefer. Single pin sights will give you a much larger sight picture and you’ll never shoot while aiming at the wrong pin.

Multi pin sights are standard for hunting, as your target may move while you’re aiming at it. If you were using a single pin sight you would have to let your draw down, adjust your sight for the target’s new distance and then draw your bow back again. All of this might spook an animal and cause it to run off.

That being said, many hunters actually prefer to hunt with single pin sights. As I mentioned above, not only do you have a nice big sight picture – you won’t accidentally shoot while aiming at the wrong pin and scare the animal off.

I personally love to use multi pinned sights for 3D archery. I like being able to aim and shoot at targets of all different distances without having to stop to adjust my sight (like you have to with single pin sights). Currently, my main 3D sight is a 3 pin sight.

How many pins should I use?

There are a lot of different things that go into choosing how many pins you should use. In some ares of the country the land is such that you’ll be shooting over large areas of open land. While in other areas, there are a lot more trees, branches brush and the like obscuring your shots.

How many pins you’ll want to use will also depend on if you find it comfortable to gap shoot, which is the method that most archers use when shooting with multi pinned sights.

EXAMPLE: Your pins are set at a distance of 10 yards, 20 yards and 30 yards, respectively. The target is 25 yards away from you. You’ll have to use the gap between the 20 yard pin and the 30 yard pin as your aiming point.

Some archers will also gap shoot with single pin sights as well. You would have to aim high or low using only the one single pin to judge the yardage of your shot. This can get tricky – quite a bit more so than gap shooting with a multi pin sight.

On the other hand, there are some archers out there who shoot with sights that have 6 or 7 pins – way to cluttered of a sight picture for me! While some people may like that setup, it would just drive me crazy.

I recently wrote a guide all about how to choose a bow sight. It covers single and multi pinned sights, information on pin sizes, fiber optics, bubble levels and more. So check it out if you want even more in depth info on selecting the right sight.

3D Sights and Field of View

If you were buying a sight for hunting, or for both hunting and 3D you would want to consider the sight’s field of view. Generally, you’ll want a bigger field of view for hunting. But if you’re looking for a sight specifically for 3D archery – the sight’s field of view doesn’t matter nearly as much!

When you shoot 3D archery, you never have to worry about your target getting spooked and running off before you can get the the shot lined up and shoot. You’ll never need to worry about hitting a running target, or shooting at one 3D target – when you suddenly notice that there’s a larger (higher point) animal just next to it. The point being that all of the various issues that hunters have to worry about don’t apply to 3D archery.

Simply put, the sight’s field of view just doesn’t need to be any larger than it takes to fit the scoring rings into your sight picture. I’m not saying that you should look for a sight with a small field of view, just that the overall size of a sight’s field of view isn’t as much of an issue for 3D archers.

You might want a larger field of view if…

For those of you who use higher powered lenses, a bigger field of view will probably be a good idea. The same is true for those who have the scope a further distance from your eyes. I know some archers who keep their scopes out pretty far – too far for most archers.

I would personally recommend starting with a 35mm sight for most archers. Unless you’re using a high powered lens or have a strange setup as listed above, a 35mm sight is probably a good choice for your first 3D sight.

3D Sight Manufacturers

Below is a list of the top sight manufacturers as well as a few lesser known companies. The manufacturers below currently cover about 90% of the bow sights that are on the market today.

While I can’t personally vouch for any or all of these companies, it’s pretty safe to say that sights made by these companies are a less risky choice than if you were to buy a sight made by a company that you’ve never heard of.

While we’re on the subject, there are a lot of low quality, cheap sights that are made overseas. These are made by companies that don’t care at all about quality – they simply want to sell as many as they can, as fast as they can. This is why, as I mentioned above, you really only want to buy a quality sight. Trying to save a few bucks could just end up with you wasting money on a crappy sight that breaks after two days of use.

CBE
CBE stands for custom bow equipment, a manufacturer of bow sights, stabilizers and quivers. Their equipment is used by several pro tournament archers.

Axcel
Axcel specializes in making sights and scopes, and some bow sight accessories. They produce several models of both tournament sights and hunting sights.

Sure-Loc
Based in Superior, Wisconsin, Sure-Loc is a manufacturer of bow sights and sight accessories. They currently make about seven tournament sights and four hunting sights. All of their products are made in the USA.

Sword
Sword is a sight manufacturer with around 25 different sights currently. Started as a family owned business in Jackson, Kentucky, sword is now based and run out of Northwest Ohio.

Avalon
Makers of the Tec-X line of bow sights, Avalon sights are widely available online.

HHA
HHA makes sights for both target archery and hunting, they also make a few different models of crossbow sights.

Shibuya
A Japanese company, Shibuya is a manufacturer of tournament target archery sights. Their sights have been used by many medalists in both FITA and World Archery tournaments.

Spot Hogg
Spot Hogg is a maker of sights, releases, arrow rests, targets and accessories. They claim to make the “world’s toughest archery products”.

So there you have it, you should now have a better idea of what to look for in a 3D archery sight. As I mentioned above, you can also read my guide to choosing the right archery sight for even more in depth information on sights and all of the available options and features available to you.

You can also check out my guide to the easiest way to sight in your bow for help setting up your new sight. There’s some helpful stuff on that page, so do bookmark it for when you get your new sight.

So I hope that this guide has helped you to know a bit more about exactly what type of sight you want to buy. If you have the option of trying out several different sights, it’s always a good idea to just go with whichever one feels most comfortable to you.

If you’ve got a local archery shop near you, it may be a good idea to swing by and check out a few different models. If you have the option to shoot with several different sights – all the better. You’ll get an idea what each of them has to offer, as well as a feel for actually shooting with them before buying.

I wish you the best of luck when choosing your new sight. And as always, get out there and get shooting!