# dot size for field shooting



## FV Chuck (Dec 11, 2004)

This is 100% personal preference...

Aiming systems/ colors/ styles are as personal as shoes and socks... this will probably get a better response in GenPop.

Moving there..

Chuck


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## pdgilbert (Sep 26, 2011)

Disclaimer: I'm still fairly new to freestyle shooting. 

My own humble opinion: Don't use a dot.

The theory is that when you have a dot, it covers the spot, and can cause target panic since you can't see what you're aiming at. Myself, I've got a fluorescent orange 1/4" circle on mine, which I find lets me focus on the spot, while getting that circle floating around the spot. My scores went up considerably when I quit using the dot. I was having problems with switching focus between the dot and the target when I was shooting a dot, and that was throwing my shots off.

However, I've seen guys shooting really well with dots too. The great thing is you can try them all! If your scope lens is single piece glass, most of the sticker kits come with rings and dots, so you can switch them around until you find one that's comfortable. Different size rings, different size dots, multiple colors, or combinations thereof. Once you've decided for sure that you want to do dots, that's when I'd invest in a lens with a center hole or a pin.

As was said before, it's all personal preference. The bonus here is that trying these out is very inexpensive compared to switching scopes, sights, lenses, bows, etc.


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## 2little2late (Dec 25, 2006)

I don't remember because it's been a while since I had to replace my dot, but I think you could go 50/50. That is a dot size that doesn't lose the spot on a 50 cm face at 50 yards will serve you well at all distances from 20 feet to 80 yards with the corresponding face sizes. Trying a circle might work if you're always chasing the dot.


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## Kade (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks for the move Chuck. :clap:

Like was mentioned earlier. Everyone is different. Dot size and style andante a personal thing. I use a fiber. But I shoot a bigger fiber then a lot of people do. I shoot a .40 fiber flared out to about a .55-60. Color doesn't matter. I look for a certain sight picture. Most people are color blind to some degree and I am not at all. I see them all great. But some are too bright or don't give me what I like. 

Hunter orange i love but it can be too bright at times. Green I see awesome but it's to distracting to me. I can see yellow and it's not overwhelming at all but it can go bye bye with the right light situation for me. 

I shoot orange now. It's a short fiber so it doesn't burst on me in light, but I can see it well in normal lighting. When other fibers burst or disappear on me red actually gets really dark for me and almost is a glowing black for me. When I shoot FITA I shot a black dot or fiber. The short red turns almost black when it's super dark in the woods it's like a glowing black . I fought fibers one shoot and actually figured out that my black fiber showed up on field faces for me. It freaked me out but it worked. Now when my fiber goes dark I can still shoot and it feels normal. 

Some like circles. I can't shoot a ring in my scope for more then a handful of arrows. It's just a strange sight picture to me. I don't like crosshairs at all either. I like dots but I haven't found a size I like yet. 


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## Monster X (Oct 19, 2010)

simple, the smallest dot that you can see good. i stair through my dot at the X. if you stair at the X, the dot only leaves a image.


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## rsw (May 22, 2002)

I prefer a small flour. orange dot for field. I move my sight bar in and out to find the most perfect size target spot for the dot size I use. However, I use a lot more power than a 4x so my small dot would be larger than yours. I also use a blue optic fiber with adjustable intensity on occasion which also works well, but sometimes the light situation is not conducive to the fiber, for me. I guess I would first try the smallest dot that comes in the paste on dot selection and adjust the sight bar in and out to see if you find a comfortable sight picture and then try a larger dot and do the same thing until you find the best picture for you.


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## kkromer (Sep 14, 2004)

That really is a personal deal - kind of have to play with it to see what gives you the most comfort at full draw. I'd get the sticker set that has rings and different sized dots and shoot a couple of scoring rounds indoors at a 5 spot, make notes and see which one you feel most comfortable with. 

For me green and orange have been the best dot color, they work on every face. 

Shooting any spot round I like a dot that just leaves a small ring of color around the 5, or vegas 9 - it covers all of the x, or 10 plus some. That sight picture gives me total comfort at full draw. If you play with it you'll find a sighting system that won't make you feel anxious. For some, like me, that means covering what they want to hit, others that's looking through a ring at what they want and still others like to have a tiny dot they look though at what they want to hit. They'll all work, just have to figure out what's best for you.


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## EmersonL (Oct 27, 2009)

Orange circle for me. I tried to switch to a dot after hearing Dave Cousins and Liam Grimwood talk about why they prefer dots over circles. I gave it a hearty college try but I found I shot worse. I would tense up and try to keep the dot on the spot too much and the more I put my consciousness on aiming, the worse it got. I felt like i couldn't see what i was trying to aim at. After 2 or 3 weeks I went back to a circle and it was a giant breath of fresh air! I could aim! I could see what I was aiming at. I gatta agree with everyone else. Just do what feels the most comfortable!


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