The Perfect Western Hunting Bow Sight, made Perfecter...

March 20, 2018 4 min read

S&S Built Black Gold Verdict Bow Sight

We are constantly trying to find outstanding backcountry gear that offers value and performance. While that may sound easy enough, throw in durability, excellent customer service, and of course lightweight. Now you have a pretty tall task. Fortunately the Black Gold Verdict falls right in line with our core values. And Steve Speck even said it was the Perfect Western Hunting Bow Sight. But now we’ve taken it a step further.

The S&S Built Black Gold Verdict starts with our favorite bow sight, the Black Gold Verdict. Then we have it built with all the features we want, and nothing we don’t. This is how we make the perfect backcountry bow sight..well…perfecter. Here is what we do:

Take the Verdict

The Verdict is Black Gold’s answer to the western style hunter’s need for a lightweight, yet durable adjustable bow sight. From 3rd axis adjustments on all versions, to the 45 degree sight tape viewable at full draw, this sight has it all. The Verdict goes from having the brightest pins in the industry at low light, to almost no blurring of the pins in bright sunlight thanks to keeping its fibers in a photochromic shell that turns a dark purple in bright sunlight. All of this and it’s also affordable!

Start with the 4” dovetail

We start with the 4” dovetail. While many other dealers my say its a waste to upgrade when the length is the same as the standard base, I say “it's not the length, it's what you do with it”. The standard base has 3 mounting positions. Why? Well that is how you line up your peep so that its just barely outside of the sight housing at full draw. With the standard base you can get it lined up pretty close with those 3 positions. The 4” dovetail however offers you 10 mounting positions (notice the offset divots on top and bottom allowing for more fine tuning). You can get your peep lined up perfect with that much adjustability. And I would also argue that is where most of your consistency comes from. Also important to the western style hunter is 3rd axis adjustability that comes with all Verdicts. Taking a shot past 40 yards up or down hill requires this setup to be correct. If not you could be to the left or right 3-4 inches. Farther distances only increase the need for this accuracy.

Add the Widowmaker Housing

The widowmaker housing offers micro gang adjustment, but not the micro pin adjustment. If you’re a hunter that sets up your bow once a year, this is perfect.The micro gang adjustment moves the entire sight housing vertically or horizontally. Loosen the bar with a hex wrench, then turn the micro click wheel in the direction you want to move your arrows (chase your arrows). One full turn = 1 inch at 20 yards. then tighten down once you’re dialed in. Requiring a hex wrench to make adjustments assures they will not come loose in the field. I call this backcountry insurance.

Choose 3 Pins or 5 Pins

The S&S Built pin setup is really what sets our build apart from the imitators. For hunters with very fast arrow speed, we recommend the 3 pin. The pins start at .019 for the top 2 pins, and .010 for the bottom. The pin size is important because at 30 min before sunrise (legal shooting light in most states) the .010 pins don’t have a lot of brightness, but the .019 pins are easily visible. So we setup or sights with .019 pins out to about 40 yards, which is the longest shot we feel comfortable shooting in low light. And the .010 pin is better for those long distance shots, where you want a smaller aiming point. This is also usually your slider pin, and when you are able to dial up a yardage, you’ll want a more precise and accurate pin. The 5 Pin setup is similar and made for hunters like me shooting a slower arrow. This can be the case if you are pulling lower poundage and or shooting a heavier arrow. I would say the cut off speed would be around 285 fps. But to be fair the number of pins you shoot is really personal preference. Our 5 pin build has the top 3 pins being .019 and the bottom two .010. Again, out to around 40 yards we like to have the .019 pins. The color combination we use seriously cuts down on the need to count pins and makes it easy to justify going to 5 pins. The green pins are simply the best in low light, and blur the least in bright sunlight, so we go all green except for a yellow pin in the middle to break up the green pins. Using that middle pin for my 40 yard pin is a great starting point. No need to count pins, as the pin i want is only 1 pin away. For whatever reason this pin setup simply works and doesn’t require much thought on my part. And I’m all about that!

Serve up hot and fresh!

The best part about this "made in the USA" sight is that we do our very best to keep it in stock and shipping FAST. We’re on our second year selling this very popular sight and is easily our best selling sight ever. Do yourself a favor and consider our S&S Built Verdict if you’re a western style hunter. You’ll have the fixed pins you need to make a quick shot on that bull that's coming in fast, but also the adjustability and long range accuracy for that high country buck that is so hard to get close to. And as always expert advice is just a phone call way, and at S&S Archery we always offer free shipping.