Usually when we participate in random online browsing, our go-to method of sorting falls under the ‘Best Selling’ or ‘Newest’ or even by price - starting with the cheapest or most expensive options based on your financial status. Of course, many people don't find themselves randomly browsing at all. They know what they like, so they know what they are going to buy when the time comes. There's nothing wrong with any of these methods, but allow me to introduce some ways that you might expand your scope of archery knowledge and understanding.
Maybe the next time you type lancasterarchery.com into your browser, you'll remember the advice here. If you're looking for a new sight, go to your designated ‘hunting’, ‘target’, or ‘recurve’ section as you normally would. Now, sort the results by ‘Best Selling.’ This may seem counterintuitive, but please hold all questions till after the presentation is over. Next, scroll or swipe to the bottom of the page and go to the last page of products that you can. Here, if we go with the hunting category, you'll find a bunch of Axcel Accutouch, Accutouch HDs, AccuHunters, and Landslydes (as of the writing of this article). Also included are some older Spot Hogg Fast Eddies and some variations of Black Gold Pro sights. These may not be brand new to the market, but they are still all very high-end sights, and we are offering them at closeout prices. You might've never seen any of these if not for this little trick.
Maybe you are married to a specific sight brand, and that's all well and good, I'm not here trying to convince you to go against what you've always used - except that I am. If you've shot a Trophy Ridge fixed sight for the past 15 years, maybe try out an intermediate CBE fixed pin? Heck, if you've shot a fixed pin for the last 15 years, and you're feeling stuck in a rut, try out a slider. There are a plethora of options out there for whatever style you do or do not feel like giving a shot. The same can be said for basically any accessory that has even a passing relation to the sport of archery.
I am not saying this to accuse you of being ill-informed or even ignorant of various products and brands within the archery community. No, I am simply saying that we, as humans, are prone to gravitate towards comfort - towards what we know. The more products you handle, and the wider range of that product type you build experience with, the greater your knowledge base will grow - that means quicker diagnosing of issues, a broader understanding of tuning solutions, and a mind better equipped to help out friends and family. What if your child one day asks you what your favorite arrow diameter is, or what your favorite vanes are, or what company makes the best mechanical broadhead, or which is the most reliable drop-away rest, or which slider sight has the best pins? You, having shot the same arrow setup with the same rest and sight for the last 20 years, won’t really have any information or experiences to help answer those questions.
Don’t take this the wrong way and think I am saying that being loyal to an arrow setup or accessory system is bad - it decidedly isn’t. I am sure at one point in my life I will have decided what I enjoy most and go with that choice the majority of the time. That will only happen, though, after I did the testing and the experimenting and the changing that afforded me the understanding to choose what is best, and not just what I happened to have around or what I’ve ‘always used.’
The search method or the arguments I’ve laid out thus far can apply to literally any part of your archery setup - be it for competition, hunting, or recreation. Much like when you hear a song on the radio that you'd never heard before, trying something new with your archery gear can lead you down a path of discovering something that you didn't know you were missing. A great way to start is by going through some of our discounted items and seeing some interesting products that you might not have known about before. Click HERE to look through our clearance and open box items, you never know what you might find.