Cheap Cartel Sight Problems - suggested mods.?

[Joester]

Hi all,
After years of barebow Recurve shooting, I am starting to use a sight sometimes, with good results.
The problem is, as a rather insolvent archer, I am very much limited to the 'budget' end of the sight market.

Still, what I got for the money is proving too naff to use...

So, three questions:
1)
The horizontal (windage) thread on the Cartel 'Club' sight (£4.50) comes loose after every other shot, no matter how tightly I attempt to lock it off, this causes the little circle with the red dot in it to rotate flat - annoying !
Can anyone suggest any mods./tricks to stop the little bugger coming loose.

2)
I upgraded to a Cartel 'Tournament' sight - much better, except the clamp on the up/down adjustment cannot be made tight enough to stop it creeping downwards with each succesive shot (the 'Club' sight does this too).
I am about to try inserting a sliver of latex rubber between the clamp and the rail to give it something to bite on, but has anyone else found a good solution to this same problem ?

4)
Having to deal with the above problems does not exactly lend itself to good shooting.
What is the least I can spend on a sight to get something I can just attach and forget about ?, and can anyone suggest a few different models ?

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[teknohippy]

My Cartel Tournament didn't have enough thread on the up down clamps bolt, so wasn't clamping down enough to stop it slipping down.

Tightened it in with a pair of pliers and created some new thread, now it stays put.

It's still complete poo though, most cartel stuff is.

[Jumile]

Until recently I was using a Cartel sight that likes to come loose. In the end I eBayed a second-hand black Shibuya Dual Click Standard (from a forumite, no less) - solid as a rock for under £60. Though mine has a Beiter open ring square sight pin.

Given the choice, I wouldn't go back to a sight that didn't have a toothed-wheel adjustment of elevation. It also has a click wheel to control windage. Lovely.

[Russ]

Agreed, the Cartel Club and Tournament sights are not much fun, not useful for anything except showing a beginner "This is a sight - sort of." I used one at our club for months, had to fix it every other shot and was so fed up I was ready to hang it on the boss & use it as a target.

However there is another Cartel model (Cartel 2000 - although some dealers call it Cartel 2000 Tournament, just to be confusing) for about GBP 25. I've been using it since the start of indoor season; it stays put, functions well enough and I've had none of the same problems as with the cheaper Cartels. I've only used it up to 30m, so I don't know how it measures up on the longer outdoor distances; there's no precision "click" wheel but it does have micro-adjustment, so I imagine with just a bit of trial-and-error it should be possible to set it up for 50m+. Have a look: http://www.merlinarcherycentre.co.uk...ent_Sight.html

There's also the Cartel K (also called Championship) sight: same as the Cartel 2000, but with a solid metal arm (the arm on the 2000 has CNC machined cut-outs and is therefore lighter). For the small price difference I'd get the lighter one.

You can also use different sight pins with the Cartel 2000, as long as the screw size is the standard 8/32 for recurve; I've actually never used the original pin that came with the Cartel, but tried a number of Spigarelli and Beiter pins, finally chose one of Beiter's big Ø12mm open rings. http://www.merlinarcherycentre.co.uk...ht_Tunnel.html

I know it's a big step up from the Club sight, but GBP 5 is pretty cheap - maybe too cheap - and the 2000 is the only mid-range sight I've found that isn't a waste of money. Anything better than this and you're looking at GBP 60+.

Good luck with it!

[KevinH]

I agree with Russ, except that I don't see the point on spending more on the lighter 2000 over the cartel K sight.

I've been using a cartel K sight ( costing the whole of £17 ) on my indoor bow for the last two years, as I didn't see the point in having an expensive sight if you hardly ever move it. It's been perfectly reliable, and has seen me to many PB's including a 590 portsmouth. I have made one slight modification; I scratched on some marks on the windage knob, so that I can accurately make 1/4 turn adjustments.

[napolienne]

I also use a K-sight, have had the same one for 4 years now. No problems to report - its solid and thats all I need.

[CPlater1]

where is 3) ?

I gave up on cartel sights when I shot recurve, so for a while I used a Skorton 'Locksolid' TC1. The pin is clamped so it can't twist unless you want it to.

It locks down tightly and doesnt move. You can buy them from targetcraft.

[N.Vodden]

started with a cartel maxi sight that i had with my beginner bow but being made of plastic it wobbled like a sonova, and was really beginners kit only.

Was on a bit of a budget then so was limited in choice, but went for the Cartel 2000 ( labelled 2000 tournament ) and its a really nice sight, very solid, the adjustments nice and never had any problems with it wandering off. and at £25 you cant fault it really.

tempted to buy a merlin Omega classic, but debating if its worth it as theres nothing wrong with the one im using.

[Jumile]

Originally Posted by N.Vodden

tempted to buy a merlin Omega classic, but debating if its worth it as theres nothing wrong with the one im using.

This is the one I was going to buy if I hadn't won the Shibuya sight on eBay. It looks very good. Anyone care to wax lyrical about it?

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Jumile

This is the one I was going to buy if I hadn't won the Shibuya sight on eBay. It looks very good. Anyone care to wax lyrical about it?

Some folk who have it posted here: http://www.archery-interchange.com/f...in+omega+sight

Aside - (don't mean to hijack the thread, but...) I've read somewhere around here that Merlin is replacing their current omega sight with something new. Anyone got any news?

And back on topic - it's probably a really good sight, but I think this would cost about 2-3x more than what Joe had in mind.