How to shoot without a peep sight l Ranch Fairy 

I’ve been sending arrows at a target for only about a month now. I have a recurve, and have a dozen assorted arrows that I picked up from Walmart/sportsman’s warehouse. Eight of them are aluminum, four of them are carbon. No idea at the time of purchase what spine was. I’ve gone from not hitting the target to consistently hitting 4” groups. Granted that’s only at 10-15 yards. It’s thanks to Ranch Fairy, and AJA.

The thing I love most about RF is that he’s one of the few that break me out of my comfort zone and I get BETTER!

Great channel RF. After 25+ yrs of bow hunting it is easy to forget what things were like before peep sights and other cool stuff like fiber optic pins and d-loops.

Can't get enough of your channel- every time I hear you say "you're lazy" I pat myself on the back and say to myself "let em call you crazy, at least you're not lazy..."

Spot on as usual Troy. Haven’t used a peep in 30 years. Saw the issues right away and ended up putting a string dot served onto the bow string then when it was where I wanted it I epoxied it, painted it white and then glow in the dark paint. No issues since then. Thank you for all you do Sir.

I shoot with a peep but as someone who shoots traditional archery too I definitely agree you don’t need a peep on the compound. It’s all about your anchor point and consistent grip

Having that EZ-V Sight makes it nice too when you go peep-less. I finally went with just the EZ-V and Bowmar nose button last year and I have no problem stacking arrows out to 50. That said I am a hunter and not an archer.

I did this last season and no target panic. No doubt at the shot. And really smoked the buck after they fought. Awesome!

Totally agree on low light peep sights suck even ones with 1/4” holes. I’m sure many deer have been saved because of that fact. Biggest thing to remember is to write all your peeps, kisser buttons, loops, measurements down from a fixed point on your bow, so if something moves or gets out of wack, you can always put it back.

cheers bro. I had this exact prob last night. (I hunt 85% at night) I Draw on an axis deer in the dark, but took about 10 secs to find the peep and get orientated (despite all the practice).. then too late. You've convinced me to go for the kisser! Many thanks from Australia

Been considering ditching the peep for a while. Back in the day we never used them anyway. This year, I'm doing it. I'm breaking the ties with my peep sight. No more peep!

I love the channel I wish you’d post some hunting videos as well as top notch advice. Keep on keeping on sir!!

Left the peep and went to a Hind Sight rear sighting system about 15 years ago....and never looked back. Helps to train and ensure good form. No kissers. Great in low light. Better target view and better accuracy!

Years ago I took my peep out on one of my old Mathews bows. I used this bow on rainy, crappy close quarter situations, but then realized that I could shoot 50 yards accurately with a kisser and barely touching my nose to the string and using a fiber optic sight like you explained. It’s an awesome 3 point sight system that I now use on my Hoyt Vector Turbo and other bows too. It really works good. thanks and I think others do this, especially seasoned hunters that had peep sight issues in the past

I started bowhunting in 1990 at age 40. I had the problems you describe and especially low legal light. I tried a kisser but wanted tighter groups. I assembled a rear sight pin which I aligned with my bottom sight pin. Worked OK. Then I bought a Timberline NoPeep. It was an optical device, a forerunner to the Anchor Sight. Still own 3 of them, and 2 Anchor Sights. I even use on my peep sight equipped target bow to detect hand torque before the shot. Never a peep on the hunting bow.

Thanks for putting it out there. I too don't use a peep. Tried it probably 30 years ago. Had trouble finding my pins in twilight conditions . that was the end of the peep.

I 100% agree! Been doing the same for 30 years.

Personally... I really enjoy your videos, it's always a good idea to get somebody else's opinion. Especially those with somewhat different ideas. I've been shooting my compound bows instinctively since I got my very first bow. I don't use sights or peeps or anything like that. The only thing that is attached to my bows are cheap plastic flipper rest...they work great for shooting instinctive with fingers. If they break just screw another in. I would love to see you make a video on perhaps shooting instinctively or just your opinion on shooting instinctively with a compound bow.

Gotta start by saying thank you for the better edit/cut of the video transitions .it def helps people stick around . I just got a new bow bow for 2021 and shot a bunch and now my peep is off . I put a kisser on for the first time and wanted to go to a smaller peep but now im thinking your on to something ?. Practice like a traditional bow and arrow and learn your leverages and distances or do you have a spot on the string that you're looking at through your Target

I agree 100% I also scratch a mark on my sights an measure from my nock point to kisser button an write it on the bow so if anything moves i know where it was and the arrow rest just scratch a line from bow to the bracket so you can see if it gets bumps great video great information

Great video. Love the RF Attitude! I've had all three of those peep failures!

I ditched the peep last year and went with the nose button. It's set to contact center of my nose and this takes the string out of my vision. I did have to adjust the sight slightly to the right. First thing I learned was that I can now shoot both eyes open. This was a major plus as now I can see that better target walk in and shift targets that I couldn't before. I can shoot in any light that I couldn't before and I got more accurate at all ranges specially out past forty yards.

RF....CF(Crazy Frank) here peep off today. Couldn't be happier. Thanks man

I'm glad I started watching your videos. I've had my bow for a year now and the peep sight would not stay straight for me. I'm 10 fold more accurate without it, and I don't have an eye sight issue. I think I'll save the 90 yard shots for my rifle if I'm trying to shoot that far lol.

Dude, Thought I'm a noob I'm older and completely understand you lol, Your thing on the string makes perfect sense to me...Thanks for sharing.

I’m a new shooter totally considering going no peep. I figure if I just start learning that way to begin with. This video just made up my mind thanks

Shooting with glasses for years I could never get "peep comfortable". Shot a technically obsolete, by today's standards, Martin Warthog with a bungy peep for quite a while. Was glad to lose that old tech. Found the Peep Eliminator bow sight and never looked back. I like your rationales about our tendency to repeat whether it is good form or not, I feel this bow sight eliminates a lot of those issues, especially shooting with both eyes open, such as I did in sporting clays. I could elaborate further, but getting a broadhead bullseye one out of five arrows at forty yards with a 4" group, that's ok by me. Thanks for the practical and down to earth vids. Oh, stigmatism and 65yo...lol.

As a peep user, I understand. I've also shot traditional at a ren fest and centered a shot on the noise of a zombie. I can see the the ability to adjust when need

I have never had a problem hunting with a peep once I got them set up but they can be a pain in the ass getting the string twisted right so they stay where you need them. Kisser buttons though have always seemed to come loose over time. I just use a brass nock in place of a kisser button now and they stays put. Nice thing about archery and setting up a bow is playing around and seeing what works best for you. If it work it works, if it doesn't find something that does.

I haven't read all the comments, however I love using my "hind-sight". Attached to the riser and not the string. Gives you that rear sight, similar to a gun. Doesn't reduce shooting in low light conditions.

Don’t bow hunt, probably never will. But I love your rhetoric and the way you present your data is great! Keep up the good work! Content kicks ace!

My traditional recurve bow seems to be a lot more simplified than any compound. Love your channel Ranch Fairy,

Interesting video - I wish you would have depicted what your sight picture looks like without using a peep. Thanks for sharing your rationale.

For years I used a pair of brass nock sets in place of a peep, about 8 mm apart and Sharpied black. Creates a repeatable notch site on the string. Clamp them medium and adjust height and gap, then clamp down firm to set. They don't, move, rotate, or get out of alignment. Doesn't need a bow press and doesn't need to be tied in place. Can be enhanced with an optional kisser button. This was very accurate. But then again, I was only shooting targets at a fixed 20 yards in my back yard. Due to induced parallax you could miss right or left at greater distances since you are sighting on the side of the string and not through the string.

I removed my peep sight and I'm now more accurate than before. Thanks RF 🇺🇸💪🏽

I use a peep, and generally get the string twisted correctly so I'm aligned at full draw all the time, but during deer season, the peep will end your day earlier than allowable daylight allows. Especially from a blind, or a dark cloudy day. No hogs to shoot at night here in Atlantic Canada yet..lol

Could you add a demonstration of how you aim without a peep for us newbies? Thanks. Love the channel.

I got rid of my peep and don't miss it. Having a nose button helps. I 3D printed some anchors for my release hand too to help be consistent.

I'm sorry you had all those problems with the peepsight. That's a shame. I haven't had those issues, but I'll keep all this in mind if problems ever arise. It works for you, and I've seen lots of high level target shooters not use a peep, so there's definitely some merit to this.

Watching these videos stress me out it all makes so much sense that it makes me nervous about not shooting before every hunt 😳😳

I shot without a peep for 2.5 years until about three weeks ago. I went peerless because I hated the peep always turning sideways on me. I also can see much better in low light without one. However, over the summer I noticed I would be up to 6” low at 20 yards one week and then the next week I’d be back on spot. Then I’d be low again. After several days I’d finally adjust my sight and be fine for a few days and then all of a sudden I’d be high 6”. I lost confidence and had a bruiser I was after so I installed a peep and killed the buck. So far my practices have been consistent and I’m not high and low. I wish I was better without the peep.

If you're not going to shoot with a peep....consider taking a look at IQ sights. They have an alignment circle at the top of the sight....put the black dot in the middle of the green circle and you're aligned. It at least gives you a secondary alignment point to provide consistency. I've found my IQ sight show me when I'm torquing my bow slightly due to my grip. I'm a western hunter, so 40-50 shots are more the norm and the added accuracy helps.

Every one of those situations has happened to me and I completely agree with your logic. But I did find a peep that works for me. So I'll stick with it for now. Though as I get older and vision becomes more of an issue, I can see myself switching.

I keep a plastic baggie with a couple feet of serving and a few inches of D-loop material taped to the front of my riser for backcountry repairs.. but that said, you're not wrong. That's a big point of failure for a lot of folks, and they need to learn how to fix it, or learn how to do without it.

I've personally had all the same issues with peep sights. I've though about getting rid of it before even seeing this video, but I also did away with my kisser button years ago... don't miss it.

Makes sense to me. I mean I run a peep on my hunting bow, but I've also shot a lot of carp with a fishing bow with no peep or sight or even a release. When I was a kid I ran some dental floss around the string on my Pearson stick bow. Poor boys no peep aim point and it worked great.

Never tried a kisser sight, but I haven’t had much trouble with my peep thus far. I absolutely agree that the peep sights with tubes are not great. Tubes slip off too easy, lessen arrow speed, and don’t feel as reliable

I shoot a blackwidow longbow. No sights,no peep,no fall away rest,no cams, no stabilizer, no hand held release, no let off. And I keep on killing things.

No peep sounds like a no brainer. I will certainly try that. Thanks for your information Regards SteveR

YAHOO.... hate peep sights-especially with low light or SNOW... my anchor point does allow the use of a "kisser button" but YAHOO-your nose button idea saved the day.... getting tighter, more consistant groups. pretty good for an 80 year old shooter...never too old to learn ... THANKS

Awesome video chief

First time I shot without a peep o said this is insane I can't do this haha.. but u gave it a few shots and kinda liked it.. I have a hamskea peep I'm now but I'm always thinking about pulling that sucker out! It takes time to learn to shoot that way after shoot 25 yrs with a peep.

Hey I shoot a while without a peep sight no problem had a friend tell me he never used one and take a nock point squeeze it onto string with the v part out and of course you will have to play with it to get it where you need it but then you can kind of use it like a rifle sight line the grove up with the pin

Another advantage to this is to adjust or fix a peep, you could be in a situation where you need to press your bow. Whereas you could tie on a new kisser or nose button in the back country no problem.

Man that #elite #kure looks like such an amazing and really well thought out technical bow. Btw I dont use a peep- tried every kinds and I hit inside of a 6 inch circle in the dark out to 60 yards. I think I'm going to be fine.

I shoot No Peep. I use a kisser button and a nose button to keep consistent anchor point. I can see so much better with out the peep and don’t have to worry about it twisting wrong as a peep often does. Low light in the woods with a peep just did not work for my eyes, these dang ol deer around here just don’t carry nice orange dots on there sides for me to focus in on.

#TRADONLY #NOPEEP...I have a BNL that came to hunt with me years ago...the first afternoon he was standing by the truck waiting on me as I walked out 30 minutes after sunset...he asked “Where have you been?”...I answered “In the stand until time ran out.”. He was shooting a teched-out compound contraption. I reminded him that he was losing hunting time using that peep.

You didn't talk about your sight set up and how you execute a shot without a peep. I'd like to see that. I grew up shooting without a peep. Used the the old pins with locking nuts on them, kept eyes open and looked thru the string at the pin and let it fly. I do currently use a peep but after 17 years as LEO and 12+ years teaching guys to shoot pistol/rifle in real world scenarios, I'm a a stickler for precision shooting. None the less would like to what your set up and how you execute the shot. I love to tinker with new methods.

This old guy with old eyes switched to peep less, much better at low light especially with an EZV sight. But stick with whatever works for you, until it doesn’t.

Haven’t hunted with a peep in 35 years! I agree RF!

I like a large 1/4" peep sight in combination with the EZ-V. I have zero issues with my peep. I have it tied in properly along with a quality kisser button. I have small boxjaxs to my string. They do quiet the string. The real benefit however - If I notice the slightest rotation in my peep, I can slide one of those boxjax within the strands a few mm. This corrects any rotation for the next 50-150 shots. My peep matches the housing of the EZ-V sight quite well. If I center my peep, I never have left or right issues with EZ-V sights. The shots are dead center. To shoot without a peep sight, because of the lame reasons given here is not wise advice in my opinion. Have a high qualiy large diameter (good in dim light) peep added. It will enhance your accurancy with the EZ-V. Another tip - I have made the V on my EZ-V sight smaller. I wrapped a thin strip of black electrical tape at the top of each side of the V. The bottom of the black out V is the first tick mark. When it's crunch time, I know everything should range within a smaller V. My eyes are as old as me, & I don't see the tick marks that well. The black tape on top has been a game changer for me. I almost gave up on the EZ-V until I made this slight change. Like the Ranch Fairy, I find stuff still dies shooting this way.

Peep can stay lined up with d loop. Adjust d loop so at full draw peep is lined up. Tighten d loop on string. Peep site hole size at full draw should, when looked thru, be about the same size as the main site outer ring. Once set up should last a long time. Used to use a kisser button too and now use Bowmar nose button instead. All this assumes you're using a release not fingers of course. I still use a recurve once in a while and no beep site or release so to each there own.

I also tell people to learn to shoot without a peep and then add a peep later if they so choose. Gets your fundamentals right

Great vid but would you recommend this for people who don't shoot the ezV because the string is running right in line with the pin/pins

Good strings and a proper tie in I have no issues. Once strings are shot in.. make one adjustment, done.

How much do you need to change to go from looking through the peep to shooting without one? (Other than removing the peep, of course)

I am right eye dominant left handed compound shooter. Due to injury and age I am stuck with that combination.any ideas on how I should set up a sight. Thanks

Hadn't used one since 1978, I'm agree 100%.

In 54 years of bowhunting, I have only tried to use a peep sight in a hunting situation once. When I had to let the big boar walk because I couldn't see through the "O" at twilight, next day I couldn't get that peep off fast enough.

I still use the old tube after 30 years I super glue mine and have had a couple pop offs in that 30 years but I always have a knife and can pop it right back on and if the tube is no good then that's my fault for not replacing it. I had an golden eagle predator compound bow hanging on the wall from when I was younger I don't know what type of rubber they used for the peep but it's still good wish I could find rubber like that I'm lucky to get a year now.

I have been really considering removing my peep (further help with old eyes). Where do you focus when shooting (around the string, through the string, etc.). Does it just naturally come as you focus on framing it in the (EZ) V?

I have experienced all of those scenarios with the dreaded peep. Even used a peep with a verifier for awhile, that's alot of fun hunting in inclement weather... One of those things that you love to hate, but are reluctant to let go.

0H MY GOSH, TROY...................What are you talking about......your accuracy will suffer!......Just kidding!. I too chucked out the peeps years ago because I got to a point that I could not see through them anymore. At some point I put on a Timberline sight that had a dot in the middle to help align everything....the predecessor to the Anchor Sight. That was great as a tool to help train me, but it all came down to consistency. I sold that years ago as well and now it is all about consistent form. I have used a kisser and now I use a nose button. For my own piece of mind, after I tied in the nose button to the spot which worked for me, I used a silver sharpie to mark the bowstring to index the nose button, should anything ever go wrong. That way I can easily make a repair in the field. I have been peepless for over 20 years and once I could see my quarry, there was never any doubt as to why I have never returned to the peep....Take Care......MD Saddle Hunter

Great video, I know this is off topic but what is your opinion on grizzlystik broadheads. They look really good. I’ve never heard you talk about them

Why adults don't use strings or cables on their bows. Throw your arrows like an adult. HAHAAAA!!! -Ranch Fairy 2021

I shoot longbow, so no peep sight anyhow! Lol. I do have a compound, but sighting it in just feels like so much work to get spot on.

I actually did the opposite. Used to use kisser and peep, got rid of the kisser, but honestly it’s all about what you like and if your hunting in the dark.

i have all these same problems but ive always been to scared to try sumn new with it

i shot a tube peep for the first time when getting into archery. it was a few months after my lasik eye surgery. slapped me right below my eye. i was paranoid and never used a tube peep again.

Thanks RF - I saw this a while ago and was hesitant to try it as I am a complete novice and wasn’t even sure how to take the peep out. AnywayI had all the vision problems you speak about so took it out today and this evening tried it out in daylight and then low light with the EZV and nose button - I won’t be needing to put it back.

I had stopped shooting a peep the last 10 years before going back to trad. One way you can omit the kisser serving worry is to SIMPLY just use a brass nock as the kiss button. Even though it's small it falls right into place. Don't even worry about the hunk of plastic.

SO TRUE!!

That’s magic and sorcery! 😳

I wish I could. Much of my hunting is either face covered or I can’t feel my face. I live where the wind hurts. Upper Midwest gets cold (and even colder lately)

I took 2nd place in an indoor archery league W/O a peep. I've shot 3D from a stand out to 60 yards W/O a peep. I have a shot progression after I'm @ full draw which makes that possible. I do however prefer the nose button to the kisser cuz I'm always wearing a mask. In warm weather to cold always have one. It's just 1 of the best advantages u will ever have as an ambush hunter. If u shoot a target which is a dot with rings around it u r using the peep as a ring to put around it. An animal like a deer moves & if it moves @ very close range u won't pick it up & wreck a hunt. Not to mention wounding the animal. I tried to shoot an oblong animal through that round Light Inhibitor & failed a chip shot due to the movement. It is more important to be 100 @ the moment of truth rather than tempting fate on the shot of a lifetime during crunch-time.

Great stuff RF! The arrows over your left shoulder, do they have Zinnger fetching on them?

That tube snap and whip had to hurt !

Peep rotation is normally caused from string not being stretched correctly if at all when it was made. If you need to train your string replace it. Dominant Strands, veteran owned and quality builds.

Not lazy but curious if the string is lightly hitting the tip of my nose, is that not enough?

So how did you feel about the Zinger fletchings you had on those arrows in the background?

8:42 haha a watched that like five times😂

Use to have peep twist but good strings eliminate that issue ( Threadz , GAS , ABB ) is all I use now peep twist is no longer a issue

Mr. Fairy what is your opinion on the vpa 2 blade double bevel 300 grain broadheads? I was eye balling those meat heads (toughheads) but right now the internet site says that they are out of stock.

Well funny I should watch this video as I was just thinking this morning that I should do away with the peep on my back up bow and tie a kisser button in. I am a bearded guy, and only reason I drag my feet on it, is because it will pull the hair on my face. How do you deal with it or is there a trick I do not know. Because I shoot really good with a kisser button and lived shooting that way.

I still shoot a peep but if it’s low light I get on the deer come out of the peep and aim a little right and let it eat works great

I agree with this

Hey RF, I'm looking at trying to make an EFOC set up. I'm shooting a bow at 78lbs, so running 300ish grains of point weight has been making it hard to find arrows stiff enough to fly well. Would you recommend something like the Grizzlystik 170 tdt's for a higher lb bow setup with heavy weight up front?

A good quality string you get no peep rotation. A bigger sized peep helps in low light conditions. I didn't have a problem whacking my buck this past fall with a peep.

Are you able to use "adult arrows" with a recurve bow or just with a compound? Not sure if you covered that already.

I use “ total peep “which allows 20 degrees of rotation to each side without inner circle distortion. Then I added a nose button and I’m dead on unless I’m torquing my grip or I get extra twitchy lol