“How you practice is how you play.” This popular sports slogan applies to archery and hunting in particular. When a turkey gobbles, a buck grunts, or an elk bugles, you can expect your heart to pound and your blood pressure to soar. With this much excitement, it’s easy to good up, so the best way to perform consistently is to implement a simple, easy-to-follow practice regimen. I’m setting up a Mission 320 crossbow for an elk hunt and experimenting with sights. This bow shoots a 400-grain arrow so flatly that the standard crossbow scope with multiple sighting points borders on confusing.

I wondered, Would a single-dot scope cover my range from 20–40 yards without worrying about selecting the correct sighting reticle? The Mission 320 shoots a bolt at 320 feet per second. By sighting the dot dead on at 20 yards, the 40-yard impact is only 6.5 inches low. Since I’ll be elk hunting from the ground, I’ll sight in the system for 30 yards and have a solid kill zone from 20–40 yards. If you’d like to experiment with this promising gear change, check out the following manufacturers’ websites:

Aimpoint Red Dot Sights | Mission Crossbows | Truglo Red Dot Sights

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