# G5 Optics XR 4 pin/floater sight



## rockymountainelk (Jan 18, 2009)

Anyone use this sight? Just wanting to get some reviews on it.


----------



## nelsonccc (Jul 8, 2014)

rockymountainelk said:


> Anyone use this sight? Just wanting to get some reviews on it.


Pretty sure it will be my next sight. I've been reviewing tons of sights. I want one with a few fixed pins for normal hunting scenarios, but also the ability to shoot out to longer distances at the range.

I only wish you could get it with a dovetail. The black gold is essentially the same but with a dovetail, however they quoted me $300+:shock:.

The apex sight is adjustable but doesn't have any fixed pins, but it's my close second. I read somewhere that it's possible to modify the Apex to have indents so you could quickly, without looking adjust to certain pre-set yardages.


----------



## Bowhunter50 (Oct 14, 2014)

Sorry I haven't used the sight before but I've been eyeing it for a while now. I've read a lot of reviews and haven't heard anything bad about them. I think it would give you the best of both worlds. I've been using a fixed pin sight the whole time I've been hunting archery but would like to get an adjustable sight to shoot at longer yardages. The only problem is I don't want a single pin sight because I don't want to have to fumble to switch from 30 yards to 40 or 50 really quick and miss a shot opportunity. I know some guys are fine with this and make it work but I don't think it's for me. But with the G5 you would be able to have 20, 30, and 40 yard pins and keep the adjustable set at 50. Then if you are thinking about taking a longer shot at 50+ you'll have the time to adjust it. The way I see it is I wouldn't want to take that far of a shot unless the animal is calm and not moving. I haven't shot at an animal past 50 yards though so I'm not sure if I would use the adjustable pin for practicing at longer ranges or for hunting to.

This is just my 2 cents. I haven't tried this but in theory is sounds great to me.

I'm sure these were your thoughts, I guess I just really like the idea of it.


----------



## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

I have used a single pin adjustable sight for several years. Many advantages as far as I am concerned. 1) more accurate at any yardage than a fixed pin. 2) the pin is always centered in the the sight ring. 3) you don't have to split pins. 4) should you for one reason or another not be able to see your pin, you simply center the sight ring on your target and you will still have good shot placement. 5) once you set the sight, there is no chance of using the wrong pin. 

My opinion, but... if you feel you don't have time to set the sight for a shot, the animal is too nervous and you shouldn't be shooting anyway.


----------



## Bowhunter50 (Oct 14, 2014)

Hey bow dude I completely agree with you shots at nervous animals are no good. I meant sometimes I don't always get a lot of time to get a shot off because the animal might be in a shooting lane for a short amount of time. Not because it's nervous, just because it's slowly walking or only pauses for a short time in the lane. I just think I might not have enough time to make an adjustment. Now I've never used an adjustable so that might not be the case...


----------



## blazingsaddle (Mar 11, 2008)

I used the XR for a few years. Overall I liked it. It was solid and very light weight. Mine was set at 30, 40, 50, 60-95. I found the floating pin to track well too. You shouldn't be disappointed.
Setting all the slider yardages was a pain. I ended up marking every 5 yards.


----------



## nelsonccc (Jul 8, 2014)

bow_dude said:


> I have used a single pin adjustable sight for several years. Many advantages as far as I am concerned. 1) more accurate at any yardage than a fixed pin. 2) the pin is always centered in the the sight ring. 3) you don't have to split pins. 4) should you for one reason or another not be able to see your pin, you simply center the sight ring on your target and you will still have good shot placement. 5) once you set the sight, there is no chance of using the wrong pin.
> 
> My opinion, but... if you feel you don't have time to set the sight for a shot, the animal is too nervous and you shouldn't be shooting anyway.


I wonder how big of a deal it is to have to adjust it before the shot. I like the idea of no clutter, A LOT. Seems, based on the terrain, you could kind of pre-set it on what you think the likely shot will be. If you're walking in the woods, set it at 30, if you're on a bare hillside, set it at 40.

Do you find that you're ever rushed to range the animal, set the pin distance, then draw and shoot? I would think that if you have enough time to range the animal then you can probably take the 2 seconds to rotate the wheel to the correct range.

Maybe you could also keep it at 30 and just know that if there isn't time to adjust you could hold high or low.

Part of the reason of my renewed interest in a single pin is that new Apex Covert Pro. It's a green dot/crosshair that's adjustable. Looks pretty good!


----------



## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

Nelson... you hit it right on the head. I will set my pin for the most likely yardage the terrain will permit. I also know that when I set my pin for 35 yards, I hit 3 inches high at 20 yards and 5 inches low at 40 yards. It is pretty much a point and shoot system from 0 to 40 yards as long as I aim center mass. No pin clutter and you don't have to guess and you don't have to hold high or low... just point and shoot. You will hit vitals. Beyond 40, generally the critter is far enough away that you have even more time to range and adjust. That pin gap distance will be different depending on your arrow speed. Set up the pin for 30, then hold on target at the various distances and see what kind of drop you get. I am shooting 65 lbs with a 30 inch draw at a speed of 315 fps to achieve this kind of flight.


----------



## Bowhunter50 (Oct 14, 2014)

Bow dude, I think you have me convinced! I think my next sight will be a single pin slider.


----------



## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

Everyone is different, but I like a small peep and a small sight aperture (sight ring). I shoot the smallest sight ring I can get, a 30 mm, and a 3/16 peep. The old adage, aim small, shoot small certainly holds true. I have never found light to be a problem for me and I have old (61 year old) eyes. If possible, I would test drive a model before you go thru with it just in case you don't like the system. I use a sight made by SureLock. They are very expense but very repeatable when it comes to dialing accuracy. I also have a computer program (T.A.P.) for making sight tapes and a chrono so I can make adjustments for different arrow weights and sizes. Seems I am always making arrow changes depending upon what I am doing (playing golf, shooting 3-d, hunting different game species, etc)


----------



## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

Sorry for the rant... another reason I like a single pin and a real advantage if you are into accuracy, is the ability to always have the pin in the center of the aperture (sight ring). I read an article written by Randy Ulmer a number of years ago and he was discussing the advantage of setting your peep sight height for the optimum distance you want to shoot. Seems kind of strange, but it works very well. I was getting ready to shoot in a 3-d shoot one year, so I looked at the yardage that was being shot, set my sight at 40 yards and then drew back and set my peep. 20 yard shots were hitting as well as 30, but the amazing thing was my best shot was 40 yards. I can't tell you how many of the red dots I hit. That convinced me that Randy knew what he was talking about. He said that depending upon what type of tournament he is shooting in and the distance, he will setup his peep for that distance. I generally setup my peep for 30 yards now. With things centered, it is amazing how the accuracy will increase. For a fixed pin, you can do the same thing, decide what distance you like (I used to center my 30 yard pin in the sight ring) and then place the other pins above and below. Makes your 30 yard shots incredibly accurate. Now if you are satisfied with hitting a paper place and not a 1 inch dot, then you probably will never see the accuracy difference. Most people are so caught up in being able to shoot long distances, that they squeeze their 20 yard pin at the top of the sight ring and then place the rest as the pin gap requires. It works, but at quite a sacrifice to accuracy. When I first started shooting a faster bow, my pin gap was so close that I had to decide upon setting pins at 20, 40, 50 etc or going to a single pin. (The pins not being used were covering the target or I couldn't see thru them) I am anal about accuracy and as Randy Ulmer once said, close enough is not good enough, I want to be exact. So, I always range everything, but just in case, I can make a quick shot by holding center mass and know i will hit vitals on a deer size critter.

Good luck in your quest.


----------



## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

I had a single pin slider sight for a little while and it serves its purpose when you have time to adjust and aim. If you practice enough you will even get good enough to "shoot the gap". However, I changed to a Black Gold Ambush 3 pin. The reason why is because although the bottom pin is designed to be the floater, as you adjust it for longer yardages, the other two top pins adjust also. It will adjust for close quarter scenarios as well. If you have your sight tape adjusted correctly, and have the pins set in 10 yard increments, they have a wide range of adjustment for most any situation that dictates the shot distances.

I know a guy that hit nice bull high one year with a single pin slider when he was hunting an aspen pocket and adjusted his sight for 60 yds, knowing that most shots in that area would be that +/- 10 yds. He forgot to set it back to 30 when hunting more dense timber and shot the bull that was 35 yds out, consequently hitting it high ("no man's land" and did not get the bull). Forgetting something like that in the heat of battle can cost you. Just something to think about. 

I bought my MBG from sandsarchery.com, pretty decent price.


----------



## APD (Nov 16, 2008)

I haven't used this sight but the xr2 they had was complete junk. i went through 2 of them and both had major factory defects that any decent QC would have caught. After dealing with customer service, G5 components are now off my list of accessories.


----------

