The following article was written by Justus Nielsen. Justus aka “Juice” has been with us since the beginning. I remember handing him one of the first prototypes to test back in the spring of 2019. With his help, knowledge, and outright obsession with archery and bowhunting, we were able to thoroughly test both our original and current bars, ensuring they would hold up to the rigors of a hardcore bowhunter. In this article, Justus dives into two of the most popular high end hunting sights on the market and recalls his experiences with both, enjoy.
Having worked behind the counter at No Limits Archery (one of the largest pro shops in the country) now for three and a half years I’ve been asked countless times, “which sight should I go with?”. This depends on a vast array of things including, hunting style, budget, and preference of sight style. The questions asked to reach this conclusion will not be covered however, the differences between two of the most popular driver style sights, Spot Hogg and Black Gold will. Having never ran Spot Hogg I decided it was time to try them out in order to give people a more honest and thorough opinion on their sights. The Hogg Father has been on my bow for four months now. I’ve run multiple variations of black gold sights for the last four years and have been incredibly impressed with every sight I’ve run. We’ll cover the pros and cons of each sight and then compare and contrast the two. In the end I’ll share my preference of the two and why I chose it.
Spot Hogg
This year thanks to the help of good friend Keith Douglas I was able to run the Spot Hogg, Hogg Father sight on my Mathews vxr 31.5. I’ve had this sight on my bow for about 4 months now and have been blown away. As with any piece of equipment it has its pros and it has its cons. We’ll start with a basic rundown of the sights specs and then explain the good and bad.
Basics
• Quick Release Knob
• Detachable Dovetail Bar
• Micro Adjustable 2nd & 3rd Axis
• Coarse Horizontal & Vertical Adjustments
• No Tool Micro Adjust Windage & Elevation
• Micro Adjustable Pointer
• HRD Technology, No Bushings, No Slop, No Buzz
• Spreads Out Sight Marks
• Large Easy to Use Yardage Knob
• Removable Rack For Traveling
• Precision Laser Engraved Sight Scale & Knobs
• Universal Scope Rod
• Solid 6061 Aluminum Construction
• Traveling Case Included
• Sight Scale Compatible with Archery Programs
Pros
There’s a ton of things to love about the Hogg Father. From undeniable durability to incredible micro adjustments the sight seems to have it all. For starters it’s made of solid 6061 aluminum and its gears are all enclosed. There isn’t really a “weak spot” on this sight. One of the first things Keith said to me when he lent me the sight was “don’t worry about being careful you won’t break it”. I was obviously a little hesitant to be rough on the sight because it’s not cheap and it also wasn't mine. I found this to be completely true. I put this sight through the paces from Colorado, to Texas, to Illinois and took a total of 4 whitetail and plenty of geese with it. One of my favorite things about this sight is the covered gears. No chance for anything to get stuck in them and lock the sight up, in turn increasing the overall durability. The driver is INCREDIBLY smooth and never catches while dialing the sight. The driver wheel is very large making it easy to move whether you're sweating bullets in a blind in Texas or fighting frostbite in the Colorado cold. The micro adjust clicks are very consistent and very positive. Lastly the large dovetail is great in the fact that it gives you the ability to set the sight exactly where you want it. Whether you are torque tuning the bow or getting the housing to match your peep just right, this 6” dovetail will accommodate it.
Cons
As with all equipment the Hogg Father does have its shortcomings, the biggest of these being mass weight. This thing is a straight up brick. Coming in at a whopping 14.4 oz without the riser mount or dovetail knob. When I swapped my previous sight for this I had to adjust my back bar further away from the riser because of how much heavier it was. This wasn’t a huge issue for me but it was definitely noticeable. Second and honestly more important than weight is the fact that there is no first axis adjustment. First axis being the ability to square the actual driver of the sight. This can cause huge problems in long range accuracy if your driver isn’t tracking straight up and down. You will start to see left/right misses at distance and no one wants that. Because of this you have to level your second axis to the driver, when the driver is squared to the riser. In addition to no first axis, the adjustment for the second axis is not my personal favorite. Another thing that I really didn’t love is how dull the pins are in comparison to other sights out there. On multiple occasions I had to use a sight light to see my pins while in Texas. Without it they appeared as solid bars. On top of the pins being dull, Spot Hoggs pin adjustments are not my favorite. Some people absolutely love it, I however, am not one of those people. Keep in mind none of these bothered me enough to take the sight off my bow and none ever gave me severe problems while in the field.
Black Gold
Basics
Black Gold’s new Wing Truss Dovetail System
Micro Adjust on each Individual Pin
Vertical and horizontal micro adjustments
Indicator needle is indexable for easy re-sighting should your set up change
Splined vertical drive gear increases durability by 80% and provides a quieter, more solid feel
High performance PhotoChromatic shell – 80% tougher, changes color faster
More range and adjustability than traditional hunting movable sights
Angled (45°) sight tape can be seen from side or back
54 sight tapes included
Precision 1st, 2nd and 3rd axis adjustability
Works great with one-piece quivers (unlike most movable sights)
Quick, smooth and quiet adjustment
6061 aluminum
Pros
Black Gold has been my go to sight for about four years now. There are so many things to love about their sights. I’m currently running a custom sight from them made up of their new four inch wingtruss dovetail base and their revenge head with three .010” pins going green, red, green. One of my favorite things about this sight are the first, second, and third axis adjustments. This allows you to ensure that every piece of the sight is level and tracking properly which translates to consistency down range. Along with the axis adjustments I love the micro adjustments on windage, elevation, and the pins. I much prefer the micro adjust pins on the Revenge head in comparison to the Spot Hogg. Coming in at only 10.5 oz this sight is super lightweight for being all metal construction. The pins are the brightest in the industry and one of the biggest reasons I love these sights so much. Because the pins are so bright many people worry about a halo effect but because of the photochromatic fiber cover you don't have to worry about it. The photochromatic shell turns purple when exposed to UV light and dims your pins to keep them from being too bright, then clears back up when in low light situations or indoors to keep them bright. The pins are next level tough and I’ve never had a single issue with them. Black Gold calls them their bomb proof pins and they hold true to that name.
Cons
Black Gold too has their flaws and some of them could be improved in the design process. The biggest for me is the windage bar. The portion of the windage bar where the actual sight housing attaches is not the toughest and could end up causing some problems if it bends. While I personally have never had any problems with this, some of my friends have. Granted it took quite a bang for them to bend it but nevertheless it still bent. I would also love to see Black Gold change the way the bubble level is attached to the sight ring. Currently it’s just glued to the ring which can wear off over time. This could cause some issues in the field and would be nice if it was a little beefier.
Which do I prefer?
At the end of the day it’s incredibly difficult to choose a favorite between these two sights. They each have incredible features I wish the other had and they each have some things I don’t particularly love. When it comes down to it however, I’ll be bolting a Black Gold to my bow. I have the utmost confidence in their sights and there are just a few minor things that give them the win over Spot Hogg for me. Mainly the fact that the pins are noticeably brighter and they have a first axis adjustment. I am by no means strictly Black Gold and it honestly wouldn't surprise me if some of my bows in the future have Spot Hogg sights on them as I did really enjoy using the Hogg Father and had great success with it. These are my opinions based on experiences I’ve had and information I love sharing with you. I urge you to buy a sight based on the things you find important not what I do. Thanks for reading!
As you can tell, Juice knows his stuff. Spending several months bowhunting every year will do that to a person. When you have so much time behind your bow, the qualities in certain products you enjoy become more apparent. When you need to choose your next sight, it is wise to lean on your local pro shop or other personal friends who have experience with multiple products. I’d like to thank Justus for writing this for us, and be sure to check out his Instagram page @justus_nielsen for lots of awesome hunting content.