Archery Point of Impact Shift Calculator
Calculate how much your point of impact moves per click of sight adjustment.
Works for recurve, compound, and Olympic archery sights.
How Archery Point of Impact Shift Is Calculated
When you adjust your bow sight, the arrow’s point of impact moves by a calculable amount. Understanding this relationship lets you dial in your sight precisely and efficiently.
Sight Movement Formula:
Sight Movement = (POI Shift / Distance to Target) × Sight Radius
Where:
- POI Shift = how far your arrow landed from center (mm or inches)
- Distance to Target = shooting distance (same units as POI shift)
- Sight Radius = distance from sight pin to arrow’s pivot point (typically 400–600mm for recurve)
Golden Rule of Sight Adjustment: “Follow the arrow” — move the sight in the same direction as the point of impact shift.
- Hit low → move sight down
- Hit left → move sight left
Worked Example: Target at 18 meters (18,000 mm). Arrows hitting 60mm left. Sight radius = 500mm:
- Sight movement = (60 / 18,000) × 500 = 0.00333 × 500 = 1.67 mm to the left
Click Values on Sight: Most competition sights have adjustment clicks of 0.5–1.0mm. At 18m, each 1mm of sight movement = ~36mm shift at target.
Distance Scaling: A sight setting zeroed at 18m will need significant adjustment at 50m. As distance increases, the required sight movement per unit of POI shift decreases (sight pins converge toward a center point at long range).
Recurve vs Compound: Compound sights have longer sight radii (600–900mm) making them more sensitive. Fixed pins (compound): set each pin at a specific distance and switch between them.