I went into a local pawn shop and they had 3 plastic totes full of random archery items, they were full of items from the 60s to maybe early 90s. I grabbed a couple random things from the bins and I noticed a long slotted peep sight called a "Fletch Site" and a small "Mini Peep", it caught my eye because on the package they are shown on recurves..
Did people use to use these on recurves?? If so did they work? any history on these?? Just find it interesting. Thanks
Possum2546
Did a google search and could not find anything about them other then the photos I posted.
Not a lot of folks did, but some did. Of course, they were used in conjunction with sights. I'd say more people than didn't used sights back in the 60s and early 70s, but not so many used peeps with them.
Used by target archers.
1970 through 76 most bowhunters used recurves and most used pin sights. This was NJ NY PA area. This area of the country bowhunting was very popular. Before that 1965 to 1970 I saw fewer set ups but these were all recurves too not remembering if they had a sight. I never saw anyone use that peep though. I only ever watched target archers shoot one evening late 60s and they stood at full draw a LONG time and had all kinds of attachments on their bows but I don't remember seeing a peep then either but they could've used one without me seeing.
I recall the popularity of pin sights and kisser buttons and am unfamiliar with peep sights being utilized in my area.
Sights were the standard for indoor season. I recall seeing only one other bow, other than mine, on one occasion that didn't have sights during that 1969/1970 indoor season.
I was just starting out Bowhunting for big game in 1970 and in the sticks of PA don't recall seeing any sights, except an occasional white mark on the belly side of the riser.
:coffee: :campfire: :thumbsup:
I may be off a bit here but the guys that I hunted and shot with back in the late 60's in NJ did not have any sight on their bows at all....
That peep looks kinda neat though.
Just sayin.
It's just a peep sight. You can still buy them in archery stores today. They're mostly good for shooters using sight pins. However, IF, and ONLY if, you shoot with a vertical bow, it will help with instinctive shooting by guaranteeing the arrow nock is in line with your eye. It will likely tighten your groups into a vertical oval.
However. Shooting canted wth a peep will create all kinds of problems and I would avoid it.
As you can see they are in a package showing a recurve and yes they were used with recurves and sites. I have maybe 25 or more new old stock peep sites that my dad sold back in the late 50's and thru the 60's until he closed the doors on the store.
Not sure what I am going to do with all of them, probably toss them.
Checked an old catalog and the and the Fletcher Model sold for $1.00 and the Fletch Site sold for $.75.
Neat piece of history.
:campfire:
Peep sights were used by target archers back in the day and by some hunters. That is why the Fletch peep was developed mainly for hunters because it let in more light making the sight pins more visible in the low light conditions. I always used the Fletch peep when using sights back then. I would even use an exact knife to remove plastic from the inside of slot making it larger for more light entry.
FYI, one can use a single pin sight with a canted bow providing that can't remains the same at different distances.
From time to time lately, been thinking about using a sight. Sure would like to find a couple of those Fletch sight peeps.
Back in the 1960's when I started there were lots of archers bowhunting with sights, probably more than those who didn't. It wasn't a "crime" like it's looked upon these days.
Kelly, PM me an address. Not sure if I have the exact peep you want but I will send you a couple at no charge.
Folks who used the peep with the round hole would heat up a nail and push it thru the hole to make the hole larger .
Thanks Jon really want a couple of the long slotted ones. Never thought about using a hot nail to enlarge the hole on a round peep.
Well at $0.75 each i thought they were cool enough to buy all that they had lol have 9 of slotted and 3 of the mini peeps, Kelly i will send you a fletch (slotted) peep if ya want one just PM me.
put a mini on my longbow and added some paint pen pins and tried it out, wow does it work or what!!!
12, 15 & 17 yards
7, 10, 13 & 16 yards
I did have to anchor much lower so I see where a small tie on kisser might be a good thing.
I checked and all of mine have the small hole which can be opened up with a heated up nail.
You can also use a drill bit the size ya want chucked into a T tap handle.... works like a charm. Go slow....
I do think that I will open the hole up a little bit, it doesn't let much light in as it is.
Possum, lowering the peep in the string will enable you to raise your anchor. Start with whatever anchor point you are most comfortable and lower/raise the peep to where you can see through it. I used first finger in the corner of mouth.
I recall the target shooters in the club I belonged to in late 60's early 70's using something similar. After I watched on of our group using sight, peep, and target bow shoot 4 arrows in a group in the bull at 80 yards I never said anything about "cheating" using sights.
Quote from: Kelly on July 15, 2020, 04:26:39 PM
Possum, lowering the peep in the string will enable you to raise your anchor. Start with whatever anchor point you are most comfortable and lower/raise the peep to where you can see through it. I used first finger in the corner of mouth.
It's probably hard to tell in the picture but it's down all the way to my serving (white string and serving). I guess I could just re serve so I could lower it some more.
I started shooting bows back in the 50's, I was about 6 at the time. By the time I was in high school, the mid 60's, all the serious bow hunters used sight pins of some sort. I believe Bear Archery sold bow sights that were mounted to the bow by way of a threaded insert in the riser. My brothers an I used either a sight pint or a piece of white tape (medical adhesive tape) on the back of the riser as a front sight. We never used a string peep but relied on a consistent anchor point. I shot with a bow sight up until I got caught-up in the c******d bow craze.
When I returned to the recurve 20 years or so ago I made a sight for the bow I was hunting with. While I have tried several times to transition to bare-bow shooting I just can't make it work. I can achieve my accuracy objectives with a single sight pin and solid anchor point so that's what I am doing. Its working for me.
Best Regards,
JMC
I use to shoot bare bow pretty well until I got TP, since I'm then I really struggle without sights. Sights are not a fix all by any means but it helps.
Cool find, and a note in history. Mostly peep sight were early day adaptions that went further in compound archery. They go completely against instinctive archery for multiple reasons with the biggest advantage in tradtional archery, getting an arrow off the bow, into meat on a fire, quick.
Im not going to argue precision, a peep sight can be very precise in a static situation, that stated any kid that shot a thousand stumps traditional growing up, thats who I would bet on making a real shot on live game.