I have yet to test every new-for-the-year bow sight on the market, and until I do, I never feel right about slugging one better than another. However, Spot-Hogg, as the manufacturer usually does, created an excellent bow sight for 2023, and it deserves high praise.
by Jace Bauserman
I’ve been slammed, more than once, for my allegiance to Spot-Hogg sights, but there isn’t a better bow sight on the market for the western bowhunter, in this writer’s opinion.
Bold?
Yes, I realize that; however, during my last eight years afield, hunting the West’s most demanding terrain, I’ve yet to experience a single sight malfunction. I’ve tested and used Spot-Hogg’s Hogg Father, Tommy Hogg, Hogg It, Fast Eddie, and Fast Eddie XL during that tenure. If there were a flaw, I would have found one.
Spot-Hogg sights have been hands-down the toughest and most reliable sights I’ve ever put on my riser.
For 2023, Spot Hogg has again raised the bar in sight design with its all-new Fast Eddie PM. The PM stands for Pic-Mount, and the Pic-Mount is a bar that sits in the sight’s clamp, designed to attach to the Picatinny sight rail attachment found on the risers of many flagship compound bow models. The purpose of this attachment is to reduce overall bow sight weight. With no mounting block or screws necessary, sight weight is reduced, as is bow weight. The sight attaches to the front of the riser to create a streamlined bow-to-sight bond, further squelches post-shot noise (more to come on this), and creates absolute lockdown.
Let’s dive in deep.
First Impressions
The Fast Eddie is nothing new, and as expected, the fit and finish were flawless. I requested the sight housing to be Spot-Hogg’s Triple Stack, a three-pin sight set on a vertical plane to reduce housing clutter and provide a trio of aiming points. However, the Fast Eddie PM, like other Spot-Hogg sights, is customizable. Archers can choose Spot-Hogg’s Single Pin, Double Pin, Triple Stack, 3-, 5-, or 7-pin MRT Housings. MRT (Multi-Ring Technology) gives the archer interchangeable housing rings in various diameters that create perfect eye-to-peep-to-sight alignment regardless of the light conditions. Pin sizes are also customizable.
The Pic-Mount bar looked simple enough, and I also noticed Spot-Hogg went the extra mile to provide the archer additional windage adjustment with the addition of a 6-Hole Spacer. I love this feature and quickly discovered how easy it was to remove the single 9/64 set screw, slide the 6-Hole Spacer off a pair of vertical posts, and then reposition the entire sight housing. Elevation can also be adjusted via the yardage wheel, but the gang-adjust bar sports several holes that allow the archer to set the ideal-for-their-setup elevation position of the housing to maximize the yardage rail fully.
Naturally, the sight is bomb-proof. Machined from 6061 aluminum and finished with a Type II anodized hard coat, this beast will stand up to the most demanding hunting conditions. Micro-adjust windage and elevation sweeten the pot.
Mount It
This section will be short, and that’s the beauty of it. Insert the Pic-Mount bar into one of the recessed Picatinny grooves in your bow’s riser. Please note that not all compound bows have this type of attachment system, so be sure and check the riser of your bow before making a Fast Eddie PM purchase. My bow is Hoyt’s new-for-2023 VTM 31, which has three Picatinny-rail grooves. After setting my bar in the bottom groove, I used a 1/8 Allen key to tighten down the single-set screw. The lockdown was absolute, with the Pic bar in the recessed groove and the clamp wrapped into the dovetail slits in the riser’s front.
Send It
After mounting Spot-Hogg’s Fast Eddie PM Triple Stack, I sent a few arrows to check my general windage and elevation and made a few adjustments to ensure maximum gang adjust was achieved. Next, I sighted my top pin in the trio at 20 yards. Each pin is individually adjustable under the sights housing. Next, I set my sight’s second and third axis. Setting the second axis on a Spot-Hogg is a breeze. Ensure the bow is level in a bow vise, and then place a four-foot level against your bow’s upper and lower limb pockets. Another option is to use a straight door jam in your home. The key is making sure the bow is level. The next step is to loosen the set screws on either side of the sub-mounting screw. The sub-mounting screw is the top screw that connects the sight to the gang-adjust bar. When done, loosen the sub-mounting screw (only the top sub-mounting screw). If the bubble needs to be rotated clockwise from the target side of the bow, loosen the set screw on the left side of the sub-mounting screw and tighten the set screw on the right. If the bubble needs to rotate counterclockwise, do the opposite. With your bow level and bubble level, you can lock down the sub-mounting screw and pair of set screws, and your second axis is set.
When it comes to the third axis, there is a pile of suggestions out there. Wayne Endicott, the owner of the uber-popular bow shop, The Bow Rack, has it right. Endicott notes that third-axis can only be accomplished at full draw. I recommend using Hamskea’s Easy Third Axis-Level, then taking a target and setting it at extreme up and down angles and shooting. Nothing builds third-axis confidence like a field test.
Regardless of what pin configuration you choose for your Fast Eddie PM, sighting in, thanks to included Spot-Hogg sight tapes and micro-adjust windage and elevation, is easy and enjoyable. The sight promises no slop — when you lock a feature down, it’s locked down tight. Plus, the Yardage Knob is ultra-smooth, and when your pointer is set at the known yardage, the Yardage Lock Lever located under the Yardage Knob is quiet and quick.
After sighting in at 20 yards and confident you’ve taken advantage of Spot-Hogg’s many elevation features to provide more adjustment on the rial, cut out and install one of Spot-Hogg’s calibration scale tapes. Peel off the back and slap the 20-yard mark right where your pointer is. Next, sight-in at 60 yards. Take your time doing this. This is a three-day process for me, and I want to ensure my 60 is my ACTUAL 60 before cutting out and attaching a more permanent sight tape. While shooting, take notice of how quiet this system makes your bow. The sight-to-riser marriage is absolute, meaning less post-shot noise and vibration.
When smacking arrows at 20 yards and 60 yards, look at the corresponding number on the sight calibration tape next to your pointer. That number represents the sight tape number you should cut out and start using.
This is Spot-Hog’s best and most advanced sight to date, and if your bow is fitted with a riser-mount Picatinny-rail system, it’s the sight for you.
