The past couple of months the BowCountry.com test crew had the opportunity to examine the Spot Hogg "Hogg It" sight and put it through the paces. The "Hogg It" sight is Spot-Hogg Archery Products premier archery sight, but more about the sight in a minute. First lets take a brief look at the history of Spot-Hogg Archery Products.
Spot-Hogg Archery Products is a relatively new company in the archery industry, but owner Steve Johnson has been producing archery related products as far back as 1987. Steve, a machinist and extremely enthusiastic archer, started with the introduction of the Cascade relax release aid in 1987 and hasn't stopped since. Some of Steve's accomplishments such as the Cascade release, Golden Premier arrow rest, Spring Master, Super Star, Ultra track, 3-D Rover and the Answer release are well known sign posts along the archery "highway". These are just a few of Steve's accomplishments! If your interested in the complete history of Spot-Hogg Archery Products you should check out the history section of their website at Spot-Hogg.com.
When we received our sights and removed them from their packages we were all very impressed with the craftsmanship that went into the sight. One thing all of us noticed immediately was how stout this thing was built. One of our staff shooters said, and I quote, "Man this thing is built like a tank!". This means rock solid construction or, depending on your perspective, overbuilt. The construction of the Hogg-It Sight is, to say the least, BEEFY! Now don't get me wrong, the "Hogg It" sight isn't excessively heavy or bulky because weighing in at exactly 9.5 oz. really doesn't make it more or less unusual than any other competitive product. The overall finish of the sight is outstanding, machined from all aluminum and finished in a flat black anodizing. The "Hogg It" sight is stylish and functional. Form really does follow function! All adjustment increments are laser etched in white for maximum visibility as well as the Spot-Hogg boars head logo. The edges of the sight are machine rounded and finished giving the "Hogg It" a sculpted look and feel.
The "Hogg It" sight is feature rich. The sight actually is several different models of the same sight. Make sense? I didn't think so. Let me try again. You can order a "Hogg It" sight with a 6" or 12" extension bar. You can get it with a 2" or 2 3/8" sight aperture. You can get it with .019" or .029" fiber optic pins or even with plain white pins. You can get your "Hogg It" sight with magnification either 2x, 4x or 6x and, if you're a real techno gadget type of archer, you can get it with a lazer accessory unit built into your sight. If you happen to have a older version of the sight don't feel bad, you can have it updated for a small charge.
Function is really what this sight is all about. When Spot-Hogg engineered it they had accuracy in mind as well as style and accessories. The "Hogg It" sight is one of the most adjustable pin sights I have personally ever seen. This pin sight is everything the discriminating target archer is looking for. The "Hogg It" comes standard with a micro drive system for both the vertical and horizontal as well as gang adjustments for both. The 2nd and 3rd axis as well as each individual pin, utilize a micro adjustable system, which could best be described as a pivot type system. By loosening a set screw and relieving pressure from the side of the pivot, and applying pressure to the other side, one can adjust the 2nd and 3rd axis or sight pin setting to exactly where the archer needs them. The pins on the "Hogg It" are so adjustable, they could be laid right on top of one another. The sight aperture also incorporates a fine vertical wire to aid in sight pin alignment. By using this wire there is no mistake about all five sight pins being directly vertically aligned. If you're a target archer, this wire works perfectly for target acquisition when you come up from under your target, like I do.
When the BowCountry.com staff shooters started testing the "Hogg It" sight we did encounter a problem with two of the screws loosening up on the 2nd axis after only a few hundred shoots. We contacted Tina Johnson at Spot-Hogg, she informed us that they too had encountered this problem and they had retro screws that she would send out immediately. (Which she did, by the way.) When we received the new screws, the installation was no more than the removal of the old screws and screwing in the updated screws. Once we made our swap we had no further problems with screws loosening up. Sighting in the "Hogg It" was as simple as any other pin sight on the market, with the exception of the 3rd axis, for this we used our Spot-Hogg Hooter Shooter. Any target archer or bow hunter that shoots up or downhill such as one would from a tree stand should seriously consider finding a archery shop with one of these shooting machines and have there 3rd axis set. The 3rd axis can make a considerable difference in your uphill and downhill shots. Ever see two arrows shot one after another into the same hole? With a properly tuned bow and a Hooter Shooter to confirm the tuning you can.
Once we had the sight set we spent about two months putting a whole lot of shots through a variety of bows. The setups ranged from 3-D ASA competitions to extreme hunting setups. All feedback from the BowCountry.com staff shooters was the same, "rock solid"! I used the "Hogg It" sight on my hunting bow when archery season opened in Georgia. I was anxious to learn how well it would work with the smaller .019" fiber optic pins, in the low light condition of the pine forests Georgia is famous for. My first Whitetail of the year here in central Georgia made any anxiety disappear. Even with the smaller target pins installed, the "Hogg It" still gathers plenty of light at dawn and dusk when you need it the most.
There are very few products on the market that we can't find something wrong with, either functionally or mechanically. It's not that we look to unduly criticize any manufacturer, it's just that we feel we owe it to you to "call 'em as we see 'em". One thing that we noticed about the sight was the large set screw that is used for locking down the extension bar. On most target sights there is a large knob that is used for a quick and easy removal of the sight, but on the "Hogg It" you must have an allen wrench. We're not sure this is a bad thing, because the wrench system does provide much more holding pressure ensuring your sight won't loosen during shooting session. The second thing we noticed was in the pin adjustment, although extremely adjustable, the adjustment process itself can be a little tedious. The fine tuning of the pins is extremely sensitive and takes a few tries to get it nailed down. Both of these issues are more of an inconvenience rather than flaws.
Due to the rock solid construction, versatility, and adjustability of the "Hogg It" we gave it a 4 star rating. We believe this would be the choice sight for the discriminating target shooter who wants freestyle adjustability in a fixed pin sight, as well as the casual 3-D shooter/hunter. If your looking for a hunting sight that will last a lifetime and that you can take to the range with you on the weekend then this is it. The "Hogg It" is a little pricey at $179 compared to a standard pin sight, but it could be argued you are actually buying a dual purpose sighting system and saving money. It's all in your perspective.
We'd like to take a moment to thank Spot-Hogg Archery, and, in particular, Tina Johnson. We appreciate manufacturers who listen and actually do what they say they are going to do. Too often, we find manufacturers have it all figured out for us. When we make suggestions or ask questions they act like our concerns are trivial (and sometimes they are) or tell us to read the manual. Not so with Spot-Hogg. This company has people like Tina and Steve Johnson, who understand that listening skills are more important than marketing skills.
