Once secured and affixed to the bow, the Kit transforms the bow from a vertical position (i.e. having a bottom and top limb) to a very stable horizontal shooting position (having the limbs parallel to the ground). Think about this as opposed to the standard method of the bow being held and shot in a vertical manner. 

Sound intriguing?  I thought so as well, so here is an explanation of a very interesting system called the Horizon Bow Conversion.  Bear with me here as we go through set-up as it may sound a little strange in the beginning.  First, your sight will be mounted just above the sight window/centerline of the bow.  This allows you to set the bow up to shoot in a horizontal fashion, 90 degrees of what you are used to.  The centerline of the bow is where you would normally mount accessories on the Riser, such as an arrow rest; the whole conversion kit is mounted here instead, with all accessories such as your sight & arrow rest mounted to the conversion kit. 

The Horizon Bow Kit adapts without drilling or altering your existing bow.  The main bracket of the Kit makes a ninety-degree turn at the bottom of where your Rest will be mounted, with the Sight Window being over the arrow and the side of the main bracket / sight mount to the left, making this setup very safe, which is another detail one must not overlook.  One then mounts the Sight on the main bracket, putting the Sight Block on top.  This sandwiches the Sight and Kit together, thus making the Sight stronger than it normally would be.  Once these steps are completed, you then simply attach a rear sighting mechanism and go start tuning, shooting and having fun.

When you order the Horizon Bow Kit it will come bow model specific and is available for many of the bows on the market. It comes complete with a custom wooden handle, Arrow Rest base mount, Sight Mount, Thumb Bar Rest and custom Wrist Strap & mounting hardware.  This along with the instructions (make sure you read them!) will get you on your way to shooting a whole new way and enjoying the Horizon Bow concept.  If worse comes to worse and you simply have no engineering talent at all, you can contact Horizon Bow, Inc and they will set your bow up and shoot it in for you for a small fee. 

I used a regular 3-pin Sight and a rear sight mechanism for the sighting system; you will need some sort of rear sighting mechanism, as you're not going to be using your peep anymore.  You will also need to shoot a loop.  It won't matter whether it is an aftermarket metal loop or a string loop, as long as it's a loop.  I found shooting a Release that is able to rotate in front of the trigger worked best for me, however this is really up to the individual.  Some, like myself, find it easier to shoot ½ inch shorter than normal.  When first learning to shoot the Horizon Bow Method, I suggest backing the weight off a few turns just to help get used to shooting in this new position.  It didn't take me long to get used to this shooting position, but it is a different approach and takes a few shots to get used to it. 

When shooting this bow, you shoot the bow with the wrist slightly bent back (like you held your hand out to say STOP!), palm open with the Grip resting on the bone at the ridge of the palm, hence the reason why one might want to turn the bow down a few turns as the muscle groups used to shoot the bow are different from the ones you normally use.

I tried the bow from a wide variety of positions and was amazed at how easy each was to shoot from.  All in all the Horizon Bow Kit though different, was a delight to shoot once I practiced and got comfortable, which was fairly quick.  I think its perhaps one of the best ideas for treestand hunters, but ground hunters and turkeys hunters especially should take a second look at this as it's the perfect ground bow. 

Finally, I wanted to mention something about this bow system that's important to myself since I am handicapped.  The Horizon Bow Method is endorsed by the PCBA  'The Physically Challenged Bowhunters of America', as it really helps one overcome the inherent problems that arise when one has to shoot a bow from a wheelchair.

Ratings:

• Assembly 3.5 of 5 - At first this might seem awkward however when you read and follow the directions, you won't have any problems.
• Durability 5 of 5  - This system took some real abuse on the MQ1 (some on purpose for testing reasons) had no problems; nothing broke or moved on me, I was impressed.
• Ease of use 4.5 of 5 - Once you and your body adapt to shooting this style, it was a delight to shoot.
• Comfort while shooting - this is a hard one, at first I felt it was a 3, but as I shot it more the bow found its own niche in my hand and became natural.  And I then gve it a 5.
• Truth in advertising - 5 + Once you get used to it, this bow does what it says and more.  It was an absolute joy to shoot once I learned the best method of drawing and shooting for me.
• Safety - 5+++++ - NO Broadheads will get past this setup and the hand is in a very safe position.  Even if the arrow were to fall, gravity would pull it down and away from the hand - this makes one feel a lot more confident when shooting heads
• Tuning - 4 of 5 - This is like any other bow and tuned it as such.
• Accuracy - 4 of 5 -  I was pleased with how little time it took me to get used to the different feel of the bow, though odd at first, soon I was shooting nearly as well as I was with any bow the first and second time around with it.  One of the nice parts was not needing the stabilizers and such to add unneeded weight to the bow for stability or balance.

 Horizon Bow, Inc.
 P. O. Box 1014
Mount Vernon, WA  98273
Toll Free: 1-866-NEW-BOW6 or (360)757-2923
Fax: 
Web Site: www.HorizonBow.com
Email: 1captnpat@horizonbow.com