Reverse Recurve Sight

tabashir

Supporter
Supporter
Hi all,
Bought a 3D printer recently. Been having loads of fun with it.

Stumbled across this: PrusaPrinters which was somebody making a 3d printable approximation of the AGF Technic-15 sight where the vertical rail is mounted directly on the riser and the sight pin bar extends out from that, so in reverse to a normal recurve sight.

Ignoring the shortcomings and fragility of a 3d printed version, looking at the AGF made me wonder why more sights are not made in the same design. With modern carbon fibre, it would be possible to make the extender rod incredibly light and non bendable to remove one of the more obvious potential flaws.

AGF term it as removing vibration, which from someone that has one of the SF Carbon sights with so many screws that I have to constantly check, I can definitely see the attraction of.

Any ideas as to why you don't see more of these designs available?
 

Timid Toad

Moderator
Staff member
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
Ironman
Fashion really. I've been shooting Spigarelli Carbon 30 and an Angel design for years. Lots of people used to make them, I think Arten were the first maybe 40+ years ago, with the Olympic. Yes, I prefer my mass on the bow. Have a look on Ebay. I'm looking to pick up a Yamaha version one day...
 

Stretch

Well-known member
The challenge was always making them simple enough to work well consistently. The Spig was a good compromise - easy to see how it worked and not much to go wrong (unless an Audi 80 ploughs into it - then even that design did not survive :mad:.) The way it tightened ensured the bar returned consistently after adjustment. From the two I had the original design was better (stolen) the later design was a bit cheaper to make (Audi’d). After the car accident I had to switch to a Shibuya as the Spigarelli was temporarily not available in the UK - after some minor adjustment I shot just as well with the 9” extension as I had with my pin at 11”.

The AGF Technic was actually pretty light and was lovely to use (minor pain of short M4 sight pins). However, it was so complex in design it frequently failed. I traded mine under warranty when it gave up the ghost after 8months. Didn’t look so cool held together with electrical tape after sighters at the British Champs. The AGF Safari was a more robust design.

The Arten Olympic was a piece of junk - sorry I know people loved them but… mine used to lock to the sight bar when it was hot And rattle loose when cold. Also the extension bars were not strong enough and very prone to twisting. Which was OK when Arten replaced them, not so OK when your stuck with a twisted sight. £80 for an Olympic is just insane, that is more than most of the ones on the market cost new.

The Yamaha YSV is faultless but will rattle loose in a bow with a lot of vibration. Some also have a “sag” problem - don’t we all! - so if you don’t tighten it just the same it will not be in the same place (Arten did this too). Carbofast also made something that was a bit of a copy of the YSV but it wasn’t good - at least I didn’t know anyone who was happy with theirs…

A few months ago I picked up a German Hallstein on ebay for just over £100 (they were around £300 new back in the 90s)- it was advertised as an AGF because it doesn’t have a logo on it. Probably the best of this kind of design - very solid on the bar - no clicks and not that easy to dial exactly the same for distance changes and not that light - think Rammstein rather than Kraftwerk. Tiny bit of rattle in the windage adjustment due to age but fixable.

Never tried the Angel but most Angel products are good and I have known quite a few people to enthuse about them. Not sure why they are not more popular, maybe just availability.

Bottom line is that in this design there is a lot more weight on the movement mechanism that frequently leads to sag or just inconsistency (sideways movement as you tighten them). It takes higher quality production to make these in a way that the sight pin will always be in the same place for the dialled numbers. Shibuya have had that nailed since pretty much forever - and same for K-Type, most Sure-Locs and the new boy on the block in Axcel. So T-Type is the default because it is easier to make without ballsing it up.

Stretch (who has owned too many sights)
 
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