7-pin IQ Micro Sight Review

[Band]

I picked one of these up a few days ago so I can practice shots from 20-80 yards without having to guesstimate where to aim beyond 60 yards, and have been noting some pros and cons.

Pros
- Appears to be made for durability
- Love the .019 pins.  Small enough so they don't unduly block the sight picture
- micro adjust and tool free locking knobs are a nice feature
- Adjustable 2nd axis to compensate for my natural cant

Cons
- The retina lock jumps around from shot to shot which makes it useless.  And this is the primary reason I bought this sight!
- More $ than I really wanted to spend
- Even when the sight housing is down all the way and the last pin is bottomed out, it only accurately shoots to 67 yards with that pin.

I'll almost certainly return it based on con #1.  I've seen that issue mentioned before and now I see why.

Not sure about the least invasive way to correct con #3 but if I'm going to go with a 7-pin sight (which I definitely want to do) I'm wondering whether all of them will have the same problem.

All that being said, I'd like your recommendation for a different sight.  My must have list is as follows:
- Must cost $150 or less (no Spot Hoggs)
- Must have 7 pins
- Must have micro adjustments and no tool locking knobs
- Must be durable

What say you?

[coachcw]

Your not too picky  I love my black golds

[go4itlab]

I'll second the Black Gold 

[hntrspud]

I'll put a third in for BG.   

[hollymaster]

Black gold for me too, but 7 pins is way to busy for me.

[Todd_ID]

Don't know anything about that sight, but you must use a very high anchor to only get 67 yards with it bottomed.  I've done that before by not putting my peep in high enough on accident.

[Band]

Don't know anything about that sight, but you must use a very high anchor to only get 67 yards with it bottomed.  I've done that before by not putting my peep in high enough on accident.

Hmmm, I suppose that's possible.  I put the knuckle of my index finger in the center of my earlobe.  Been doing it that way for years and it has proven to be a consistent anchor point.  Does it sound too high?

Thanks for the tips on the Black Gold, folks.  I'll take a look.

[Todd_ID]

Don't know anything about that sight, but you must use a very high anchor to only get 67 yards with it bottomed.  I've done that before by not putting my peep in high enough on accident.

Hmmm, I suppose that's possible.  I put the knuckle of my index finger in the center of my earlobe.  Been doing it that way for years and it has proven to be a consistent anchor point.  Does it sound too high?

Thanks for the tips on the Black Gold, folks.  I'll take a look.

The anchor point is up to you and what you like.  For me, the knuckle of my index finger is firmly planted on my jawbone.  That's only about a 3/4" - 1" difference from what you do, but I've put another peep in before at 3/4" spacing above my normal peep (2 peeps served into string), and that took my bottom pin from 70 to about 115, so it's an important 3/4" difference.  I'd say it's enough to cause any sight you try to only get that same 67 yard max, or thereabouts.

I'm not trying to change the way you anchor or shoot, because you're happy with the way you do it.  I'm just pointing out that it may not be the sight's fault entirely that you're not getting the range you wanted.  I'd guess with the sight frame bottomed out low, then your fletching is just barely clearing the bottom of the sight frame, so going lower with a different sight would only introduce contact which opens a whole other can of worms.

[Pathfinder101]

I got the 5 pin Micro IQ for my new Martin Eclypse.  Just got everything put together last week and spent 2 days shooting and getting it dialed in.  I only got the 5 pin because I am never going to take a shot past 60 yards.  My draw length is only 25.5", so I have a hard time getting max speed/distance/range out of any bow.
   
 After 2 days with it, here is what I found:

I love the mico/no tool adjustments.  Took me a little while to get used to them (caught myself moving the sight the wrong way a couple of times), but they seem to be true. 

I don't know if this will be the same for everyone, but I found all the "bells and whistles" took a while to get used to.  You have to watch the level, the retina-loc and place your yardage pin.  I found myself overholding because I was bouncing back and forth trying to get everything right.  I took shots that I shouldn't have taken, and of course, they were bad. At first, my groups were pretty bad, and I thought that the problem was with the retina loc.  Then I realized that I was breaking the rule that I preach to my competitive rifle shooters over and over.  I was doing everything in a different order every time I shot.  I needed a "shot plan".  So, after some experimenting, I decided to draw the bow and place it on my anchor point, check the level, then the retina loc, then place the sight pin. If I broke the order, I let the bow down and started over. My groups improved dramatically.  Just before I finished shooting for the day I robin-hooded one of my arrows at 50 yds. 

As mentioned above, the construction seems solid and the pin size is great. 

For what it is worth, it took me over 5 hours of shooting to get completely comfortable with the set up, but as I said earlier, the whole rig is new, so there was a learning curve there anyway, no matter what sight I was going to use.

 

[Jellymon]

The retina lock doesn't move, the dot moving shot to shot is actually your form/grip/anchor changing from shot to shot. That is the point of that feature, to make sure you're doing the same thing every time and help you become more consistant. Maybe you can stick with the sight and learn to line it up every shot, it will help you in the long run. Think of it as a training aid.
As for the sight being low, it can be fixed by raising your peep. Just a 1/8" change can make a huge difference in your sight housing position.
If you want another sight you can get a spot hogg right on for around $150. Great solid sight.

[Band]

I think you guys are right about mt anchor point being too high.  I'm not going to change it this close to bow season but I'll certainly look into changing it up after the season is over so I'll have plenty of time to get my shooting consistent with a new anchor point.

The retina lock doesn't move, the dot moving shot to shot is actually your form/grip/anchor changing from shot to shot.

I understand what you're saying but I still have the peep on the string which forces consistent shots.  Most of the time in order to get the retina lock lined up I actually have to look at it from the outside of my peep!  I learned quickly to ignore the position of the retina lock when it is way off and continue to shoot tight groups.  It is definitely moving from shot to shot- sometimes it lines up fairly closely, other times it's not even in the ballpark.  I noticed while making the initial adjustment the mechanism became loose and lost the clicking in the micro adjustments.  It's a good idea for those who have an inconsistent anchor point and no peep but for me it's actually counterproductive.

[Pathfinder101]

I think you guys are right about mt anchor point being too high.  I'm not going to change it this close to bow season but I'll certainly look into changing it up after the season is over so I'll have plenty of time to get my shooting consistent with a new anchor point.

The retina lock doesn't move, the dot moving shot to shot is actually your form/grip/anchor changing from shot to shot.

I understand what you're saying but I still have the peep on the string which forces consistent shots.  Most of the time in order to get the retina lock lined up I actually have to look at it from the outside of my peep!  I learned quickly to ignore the position of the retina lock when it is way off and continue to shoot tight groups.  It is definitely moving from shot to shot- sometimes it lines up fairly closely, other times it's not even in the ballpark.  I noticed while making the initial adjustment the mechanism became loose and lost the clicking in the micro adjustments.  It's a good idea for those who have an inconsistent anchor point and no peep but for me it's actually counterproductive.

Did you sight the retina loc in?  If you can't line up the retina loc when you are looking through your peep, then it is definitely way off.  I spent 20 minutes at the archery shop where I bought it taking shots at 10 yards and having the guy who installed it adjust the retina loc until everything lined up. 

[Band]

I think you guys are right about mt anchor point being too high.  I'm not going to change it this close to bow season but I'll certainly look into changing it up after the season is over so I'll have plenty of time to get my shooting consistent with a new anchor point.

The retina lock doesn't move, the dot moving shot to shot is actually your form/grip/anchor changing from shot to shot.

I understand what you're saying but I still have the peep on the string which forces consistent shots.  Most of the time in order to get the retina lock lined up I actually have to look at it from the outside of my peep!  I learned quickly to ignore the position of the retina lock when it is way off and continue to shoot tight groups.  It is definitely moving from shot to shot- sometimes it lines up fairly closely, other times it's not even in the ballpark.  I noticed while making the initial adjustment the mechanism became loose and lost the clicking in the micro adjustments.  It's a good idea for those who have an inconsistent anchor point and no peep but for me it's actually counterproductive.

Did you sight the retina loc in?  If you can't line up the retina loc when you are looking through your peep, then it is definitely way off.  I spent 20 minutes at the archery shop where I bought it taking shots at 10 yards and having the guy who installed it adjust the retina loc until everything lined up.

Yep, I followed the set-up instructions and had that retina lock set perfectly.  It stayed that way for a few shots and then started going all over the place.

[Pathfinder101]

I think you guys are right about mt anchor point being too high.  I'm not going to change it this close to bow season but I'll certainly look into changing it up after the season is over so I'll have plenty of time to get my shooting consistent with a new anchor point.

The retina lock doesn't move, the dot moving shot to shot is actually your form/grip/anchor changing from shot to shot.

I understand what you're saying but I still have the peep on the string which forces consistent shots.  Most of the time in order to get the retina lock lined up I actually have to look at it from the outside of my peep!  I learned quickly to ignore the position of the retina lock when it is way off and continue to shoot tight groups.  It is definitely moving from shot to shot- sometimes it lines up fairly closely, other times it's not even in the ballpark.  I noticed while making the initial adjustment the mechanism became loose and lost the clicking in the micro adjustments.  It's a good idea for those who have an inconsistent anchor point and no peep but for me it's actually counterproductive.

Did you sight the retina loc in?  If you can't line up the retina loc when you are looking through your peep, then it is definitely way off.  I spent 20 minutes at the archery shop where I bought it taking shots at 10 yards and having the guy who installed it adjust the retina loc until everything lined up.

Yep, I followed the set-up instructions and had that retina lock set perfectly.  It stayed that way for a few shots and then started going all over the place.

Sounds like a defective sight.  Mine definitely doesn't drift.  I can account for my bad shots (trigger, tourque, etc...)

[Band]

Yep, sounds defective to me too.  I just got off the phone with the folks at IQ and it's going back to them for warranty service.  I'll let you know what happens when I get it back and try it out again.  Should be about 2-3 weeks I'm guessing.

[dreamingbig]

2 to 3 weeks!  Season starts in two weeks!

[Band]

2 to 3 weeks!  Season starts in two weeks!

No problem, I'll be using the sight I've had for a few years.  Works fine for shots to 60 yards and I won't shoot an animal beyond that range anyway.

[mburrows]

I picked up this sight back in April and have been using it ever since.  Took a little extra work to sight in but it has been great.  I also have a Black Gold 7-pin and they are comparable.  Honestly, I think it all comes down to preference.  If your form is well off there is really no need for the retina lock but it is handy and interesting to see when your torquing your bow especially in unorthodox shooting positions (leaning, kneeling, etc.).  I'd rate it 5 out of 5 because it does exactly what I expected it to do.  I didnt buy the sight expecting it to allow me to shoot 5inch groups at 80 yards, I just wanted to see how and when I was creating torque.

[Band]

Follow up - I decided to give the sight another chance before sending it back for warranty service and here is what happened:
- The IQ moved all over the place during 2 shooting sessions and stayed relatively constant during 3 other shooting sessions.
- I found that the combination of wondering whether the IQ was right for each shot and having to monitor the IQ, the sight level, and the pin to be very distracting and my shooting absolutely went to h*ll.  Worst I've ever shot.
- I toyed with the 2nd axis adjustment many times to get it to accurately account for my natural cant on the bow but the adjustment was so imprecise for me that I never did get it right.
- I had to adjust my quiver in an odd way so the sight wouldn't be in the way when I removed the quiver, and even then it is a pain to do.

All things considered I couldn't see myself keeping the sight even if they were able to fix the IQ problem so I returned it.  For my needs, getting rid of the IQ and lowering the price a bit would make me a customer because I like many other things about it.

Got my old sight back on, dialed back in, and I'm shooting great.  Time for the season and not a moment too soon!

[returnofsid]

I've never used the IQ, but have found the idea interesting.  As for suggestions of other 7 pin sights...

I shoot the Fuse Carbon Interceptor 7 pin Micro Adjust.  The only reason I went with the 7 pin is because it was almost $100.00 less expensive than the 5 pin!  This was due to it being a non-packaged unit.

My 7th pin, completely bottomed out, I'm still hitting slightly low at 80 yards.  I 'could' fix this, by dropping the entire housing, and then raising each pin individually.  I may actually do this, eventually.  However, right now I'm shooting pins 1-6 great and I don't want to make that drastic of an adjustment right before the season starts.

I just know how low I'm hitting, at 80 yards, (about 10"), and compensate while practicing.  It's not like I'm going to take an 80 yard shot at an animal anyway.  At our club range, we do have 2 targets that are 80 yards. By compensating that 10", I'm able to score decent.

[Band]

My 7th pin, completely bottomed out, I'm still hitting slightly low at 80 yards.  I 'could' fix this, by dropping the entire housing, and then raising each pin individually.  I may actually do this, eventually.  However, right now I'm shooting pins 1-6 great and I don't want to make that drastic of an adjustment right before the season starts.

I just know how low I'm hitting, at 80 yards, (about 10"), and compensate while practicing.  It's not like I'm going to take an 80 yard shot at an animal anyway.  At our club range, we do have 2 targets that are 80 yards. By compensating that 10", I'm able to score decent.

I've arrived at the conclusion that I was having this same problem because my peep is too low on the string.  With your bow drawn, look at your sight from just above your peep and check out the way your pins move in the sight picture and you'll see what I'm talking about.

After the season is over I'm going to have the peep moved up about 1/2" and then get a different 7-pin sight.  Got my eye on the Trophy Ridge Hitman.