October 28, 2010
It's a story of the all American dream. An entrepreneur takes his favorite hobby and decides to make a business out of it. In this case it did not start as a sight manufacturer, but instead a small archery pro shop.
It's a story of the all American dream. An entrepreneur takes his favorite hobby and decides to make a business out of it. In this case it did not start as a sight manufacturer, but instead a small archery pro shop. When setting up his own bow for a shoot, Mark Whitt became disheartened. Mark realized that he carried an array of quality bows, arrows, rests and stabilizers, but could not find a quality pin sight to put on his own bow. Soon afterward, in 1999, Extreme Archery Products was born.
Now, five years later, extreme Archery Products has set the benchmark. According to Mark Whitt, president of Extreme Archery, "One-piece machined aluminum sights are certainly harder and more expensive to make, but they are also stronger and more reliable. In the end, that is what the consumer wants. Whether they are hunting hard through brush or walking the 3-D course, Extreme sights are durable enough to inspire confidence in their equipment." If, however, you should ever find a way to damage your Extreme sight, there is no need to worry. Extreme offers a full, lifetime warranty.
Extreme's Sniper XLT (600) features a solid one-piece construction and all of the performance characteristics needed in a hunting sight including the fluorescent-orange ring around the pin housing.
According to Mark, Extreme plans to stay focused on making the best sights and target scopes possible. "Being the top sight manufacturer has been our focus from the beginning and one that we are still committed to."
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Hunting Sights
Six solid sights complete Extreme Archery's lineup. As referred to earlier, Extreme is about quality over quantity. Model 100 sights are a straightforward line of sights that use a mounting plate that mounts directly to the riser via one of the three sets of holes. This gives the archer the option of picking a sight length that can add a little more precision or a bit more stability.
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Model 100 sights are available with .019, .029 or .040 fiber optics installed in the sight pin. They are available in black or Realtree Xtra camo.
Two other features will increase accuracy and consistency on the Model 100--the bubble level and optional lens. On any sight, a bubble level is an advantage. Whether you are standing on the platform of your tree stand leaning to make a shot or surely-footed on uneven ground stalking elk in rugged terrain, a bubble level will keep the brain from being fooled into canting the bow and causing a solid shot to be a poor wound.
The Model 100 can also be fitted with an optional lens in 2X, 4X or 6X power. The main factor to consider when adding a lens to a hunting sight is to keep the power low enough to gain advantage without having to fight perceived pin movement on the target.
The Sniper Model 500 includes all of the bells and whistles and is available in target colors to match both
Hoyt and Mathews bows.
The Model 200 is akin to an upgraded version of the Model 100 using the same sight head and features, but instead of the direct mounting plate, the 200 uses a five-inch adjustment bar and a dovetail mount. The dovetail mount gives the archer more versatility in sight length and the added convenience of removing the sight when traveling or storing your bow in its case. The Model 200 is available with .019, .029 and .040 fiber-optic pins; it's available in black or Realtree Xtra camo.
The Model 300 is an economical version of the Model 100. The bubble level and lens option are out, but for a lightweight model with a one-piece sight housing that is as tough as they come, the Model 300 would be hard to beat.
Sniper Series
The Model 400 reflects the newer trend of sights featuring a round pin guard. Previous to using a round pin guard on my sight, I centered each individual pin in the center of the peep sight. This caused a slight change in anchor point for different distances. With a round pin guard I can center the entire guard just inside the peep sight, and while maintaining a consistent anchor I can use the appropriate pin for the distance. The Model 500 is the flagship of the Extreme Archery Products line and amounts to a Model 400 with a five-inch adjustable dovetail assembly. For target shooters looking to score a few style points, the 500s are available in three colors to match Hoyt bows and four colors to match Mathews bows.
Probably the most exciting sight in the Extreme line is the new Sniper XLT, Model 600. The XLT uses a round pin guard, comes with three pins (more can be added), has a bubble level and uses a direct mount plate. Where the Model 500 was designed to give maximum protection to the fiber optics, especially from the front and sides, the XLT's pin housing is still constructed as a single piece but has larger pin tracks that lets more light into the fiber-optic pins. The pins are available in either .019- or .029-inch fiber optics and are available in black and Realtree Xtra camo.
Extreme offers target scopes in two sizes, 13/8 and 13/4 with 2,3,4 or 6x power and can be used with a dot, drilled center or optional steel and fiber pin.
Target Scopes
All of the quality that goes into Extreme's pin sights can be found in its target scopes too. Target scopes come in 13?8-inch or 13?4-inch diameters and a variety of colors. Lens options come in standard (no fiber optic): the Lightning Fire, which has a hole drilled through the center for a hank of fiber optic; and the Fire Lite Up Pin, which uses a long piece of fiber-optic cable and a stainless steel "up" pin. All of Extreme's lenses are Plano convex crown glass with Zeiss multi layer anti-reflective coatings to provide scratch resistance and a clearer target image.
Your equipment is only as strong as your weakest piece, and sights are no different. If you were looking for a solid sight or target scope you would be hard pressed to beat Extreme's quality and price. For more information on these or other products, contact: Extreme Archery Products, Inc. Dept. PB, 7120 Rt. 60, Ste. B, Ashland, KY 41102; (606) 928-9447; www.extremearchery.com.