Peep Sight
Peep sights for compound bows, the small aperture served into your string that lines your eye up with the sight pin on every shot. Pick between tubed and tubeless styles, then choose an aperture size that fits your sight housing and the light you actually hunt in. A bigger hole lets in more of the last ten minutes of legal light. A smaller one tightens up groups at the range.
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What a peep sight does
A bow sight gives you a pin. The peep gives you a rear reference so your eye lands in the same spot behind that pin every time you draw. Without one, a slight change in anchor or head position moves your point of impact, and at 30 yards that can be the difference between a double lung and a long night of tracking.
The common way to set it up is to center the round housing of your bow sight inside the circle of the peep at full draw. Get that ring-in-ring picture right and the pin takes care of the rest. That is why aperture size and housing size need to work together.
Tubed vs. tubeless peeps
A tubed peep has a length of rubber tubing that runs from the peep to the bow's cable or down cable. When you draw, the tubing pulls the peep around so it faces you. It is reliable on almost any string, and the trade is a little extra noise and a tube that can wear or snap in cold weather, so carrying spare tubing is a good habit.
Tubeless peeps skip the tubing and rely on the string to come back to the same position every draw. They are quieter and cleaner, which is why a lot of bowhunters prefer them. They work best on a quality string that has settled in. If your peep comes back crooked, a few twists of the string halves at a pro shop will usually fix it.
Choosing an aperture size
Peep apertures are listed as a fraction of an inch. Hunting peeps tend to run on the larger side, like 3/16 or 1/4 inch, because they pass more light at dawn and dusk. Target archers often go smaller, like 1/8 inch, for a sharper sight picture in good light.
Think about where your shots happen. A stand hunter in thick timber at last light benefits from a bigger aperture. If your sight housing looks crowded inside the peep at full draw, go smaller. If you can't find the housing at all, go bigger. Some peeps accept swappable inserts so you can test sizes without re-serving a new peep each time.
Installing a peep
On most compound bows the string has to be split into two even bundles of strands to seat the peep, and that usually means putting the bow in a bow press. Peep height is set with you at full draw on your normal anchor, then the peep is tied or served in so it can't creep. If you don't own a press, any archery pro shop can do it in a few minutes.
While the bow is in the press, it is a good time to look at the rest of the setup. A new arrow rest, a release that matches your anchor, or a stabilizer for a steadier hold all play into how consistent that peep picture looks at full draw.
Peep Sight FAQs
What size peep sight is best for bow hunting?
Most bowhunters land between 3/16 and 1/4 inch. Larger apertures pass more light in low-light hunting conditions. Pick the size that centers your sight housing in the peep without crowding it.
Do I need a bow press to install a peep sight?
On most compound bows, yes. The string has to be relaxed enough to split the strands evenly. A pro shop with a press can install and set the height for you.
Why does my peep sight turn sideways at full draw?
The string is rotating as you draw. A tubed peep corrects for it with the rubber tube. With a tubeless peep, the fix is usually adding or removing twists in the string halves until the peep comes back square.
Is a tubeless peep sight better?
It is quieter and has no tube to break, which is why many hunters prefer it. A tubed peep is more forgiving on strings that rotate. Both work well when set up correctly.