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No matter how much time you spend practicing and going into the field, you can’t become a truly effective marksman until you start using the right pieces of equipment such as the best bow sight for hunting.
Natural skill and training can take you far, but the highest level is reserved only for those who have managed to merge their abilities with their equipment. For those bowhunters who want to reach that highest level, picking out a bow sight is a must.
Bow sights are not all created equally though. There are several factors and considerations that differentiate them from one another.
In this article, you will learn more about those factors that separate the best bow sights from the rest of the pack. You will also be introduced to some of the top bow sights that are available today.
Without further ado, let’s take a longer look at the hunting bow sights.
Our List of Top Rated Bow Sight
| # | Image | Bow Sights | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |  | Apex Gear(Best for Quick Field Adjustments) | $$$ |
| #2 |  | HHA OL-5519 Optimizer Lite(Most Durable) | $$ |
| #3 |  | Carbon Express IQ Bowsights 3-Pin Micro Bowsight(Easiest to Install) | $$ |
| #4 |  | Trophy Ridge Pursuit Vertical Pin Bow Sight | $ |
| #5 |  | Garmin Xero A1 Bow Sight | $ |
Apex Gear (Best for Quick Field Adjustments)
Hunting involves trying to take down agile, fast-moving targets. The animals you want to hunt down have learned how to skillfully avoid some truly dangerous predators. If you are unable to adjust to their movements quickly enough, chances are that your shots will land well off the mark.
The best thing about this Apex Gear bow sight is that it does allow you to make those split-second adjustments.
The aperture housing featured in this bow sight is conducive to different kinds of tilt adjustments. You can tilt it vertically or horizontally depending on what you need to hit your target.
When you need to adjust your sight to account for particularly strong gusts of wind, this bow sight will still be able to accommodate you.
As soon as you start using this bow sight, you will also see a green LED center dot show up in your sightline. In the off chance that you are having some difficulty seeing the LED dot, you can tweak its level of brightness to better suit your needs.
It also doesn’t take a lot of effort to apply those adjustments to this bow sight. You can even make them with just one hand.
Expect the initial installation process linked to this bow sight to be tricky though. The screws the manufacturers provided are not of high quality. You would probably be better served to just purchase some replacement screws.
- Allows for careful vertical and horizontal adjustments
- Sight can be fine-tuned for windage
- 11 different brightness settings for LED dot
- Adjustments can be made using one hand
- You may have to purchase replacement screws
HHA OL-5519 Optimizer Lite (Most Durable)
Once you get a bow sight, you will probably want to use it as much as possible. You don’t even need to be on a hunt. Even if you’re just practicing with your bow, the chances are that you will want that bow sight to be in working order.
If you want a bow sight that you can count on using for an extended period of time, this HHA creation is a great choice.
The housing of the bow sight itself is fashioned out of highly durable machined aluminum. It’s a lightweight material, which is good because you don’t want any sight weighing down your bow. Despite it being lightweight, the machined aluminum used in this bow sight is remarkably strong.
A bow sight can’t be regarded as highly durable if the housing is its only component that can weather long-term usage though. The manufacturers are well aware of that fact and that’s why they have also added features designed to keep the fiber optics intact.
As long as you don’t completely neglect this bow sight, it should remain a reliable hunting companion for an extended period of time.
With regards to working as a sight, this product does great during the daytime. Things are slightly different in low-light conditions. The sight can be tough to see when you don’t have that much light to work with.
- Made from 100 percent aluminum
- Fiber optics are properly secured
- Allows for tool-free adjustments
- Sight is not highly visible in low-light conditions
Carbon Express IQ Bowsights 3-Pin Micro Bowsight (Easiest to Install)
Installing a bow sight is something you may end up only having to do once, but even if that’s the case, you don’t want to spend too much time just preparing your equipment. The less time you to spend installing the bow sight, the better.
FeraDyne’s offering warrants strong consideration if you want a bow sight that can be attached to your weapon in a hurry.
You won’t need any special tools to get this bow sight installed. That’s not the only reason why this bow sight stands out as a user-friendly creation.
Thanks to the dual position mount, you have the option of basically changing where the bow sight is located easily. If you want the sight to be a bit higher up or lower on your bow, you can make that change right away.
Adjusting the sight’s elevation or applying tweaks related to the windage are other things you can do easily with this bow sight. Be warned that the adjustment knobs can be noisy. You need to be careful with them or else you may disturb your surroundings.
The manufacturers also added something known as Retina Lock Technology in the hopes of providing users with a sight that can provide instantaneous feedback on the shots taken. It’s a good idea, but it is not properly executed in this bow sight.
- Very easy to install on the bow
- Can be re-mounted quickly and easily
- Allows for elevation and windage adjustments
- Adjustment knobs can be noisy
- Retina Lock feature needs more work
Trophy Ridge Pursuit Vertical Pin Bow Sight
You can never predict when the time will be right for you to start hunting. Sometimes, the ideal targets will only show up during the day, which is good for you because it’s easy to see them and shoot.
There are also times when the prey you’re looking for will show up even though the day has not started yet. In those situations, you will need the services of a bow sight that can excel even with very little environmental light to work with.
This Trophy Ridge bow sight is designed with low-light shooting in mind.
The brightness of this bow sight can be adjusted in a variety of ways. You can make use of that feature to achieve the type of lighting necessary to shoot accurately within your current conditions.
In addition to the brightness settings, the glo indicator pins will also help you see better if there’s not enough ambient light to use. Even the fiber optic pin featured in this bow sight is bright enough to remain highly visible in low-light environments.
The fact that this bow sight can work remarkably quietly makes it even better to use during nighttime hunts.
Positional adjustments are easy enough to make with this bow sight, but they are not as precise as you would want them to be. Executing the exact type of shot you want is harder because of that.
- Offers numerous brightness settings
- Comes with glo indicator pins
- Fiber optic pin remains highly visible regardless of the conditions
- Does not allow for very fine positional adjustments
Garmin Xero A1 Bow Sight
The best way to describe this bow sight from Garmin is by calling it “ambitious.”
It comes with an auto-ranging feature that will automatically calculate how much distance the arrow needs to cover. The bow sight will then provide a corresponding LED pin based on the calculations.
This is made possible by the laser range finder installed on this bow sight.
You will also have the option of choosing what kind of pin is shown by the bow sight. If you work better with a single-pin, you can choose that. Bowhunters more comfortable with a multi-pin sight can select that too.
This Garmin bow sight also provides users with a silent trigger. The aforementioned trigger can be activated with a single push and it will allow you to set your range on an animal for up to 100 yards or up to 300 yards if you’re aiming at a reflective target.
The manufacturers certainly came up with some terrific features to install on this bow sight, so why then should it be regarded as “ambitious?”.
The main issue with this specific bow sight is that it is still prone to glitches and freezers. There are times when the sight will freeze up right as you’re in the middle of aiming. After working so hard to get a good look at the target, it can be frustrating when the sight causes you to miss your opportunity.
Were it not for the glitches, this would be a truly exceptional bow sight.
- Automatically calculates the distance between you and your target
- Allows you to choose from a single-pin or multi-pin sight
- Works silently
- Prone to freezing up and suffering from glitches
The Hunting Bow Sight Buyer’s Guide
The following factors are the ones you need to pay attention to when shopping for a new bow sight for hunting. By taking note of them closely, you will be able to obtain a high quality piece of hunting equipment.
Easy Adjustments
Using a bow sight for hunting means having to constantly tweak its settings until you have it lined up exactly how you want to. Unless you are incredibly lucky, your sight simply won’t be lined up perfectly each and every time you peer through it.
Since you will have to constantly make adjustments while using a bow sight, it would be best if you could apply those changes with minimal effort. You don’t really want to use a bow sight that can only be adjusted using tools.
The good news here for bow hunters is that many manufacturers have come out with numerous products that allow for tool-free adjustments. Make sure to look for that quality in the next bow sight you purchase or else you may spend plenty of time getting frustrated at a product that is actively working to make your hunting experience worse.
Easy Installation
It’s not just the adjustments that should come easy for a good bow sight. The installation process should similarly require minimal effort on your part.
Don’t think of installation as something you will only have to do once and completely forget about after the fact. When it comes to bow sights, there may come a time when you find that it is simply not positioned properly on your bow, so removing it and re-installing it is the only move.
Considering that circumstances change all the time once you’re outdoors, it would also be great if the bow sight you’re using can be removed and installed using only a few or even no tools at all.
Ability to Work in Low-Light Conditions
All hunters would love to be able to hunt on a clear spring day when they can comfortably wait for their targets and expect to take accurate shots because the conditions are conducive to success.
Of course, things don’t always work out that way and there are times when the only windows you’ll be given to hunt are either at night or very early on in the day when the sun hasn’t even risen yet. It would be a real shame if you were rendered unable to hunt just because it’s too dark outside.
To get around that potential problem, you will need the services of a bow sight equipped with features designed to make hunting in low-light conditions possible.
Examples of features that will allow the bow sight to work well in low-light environments include adjustable brightness settings and even just brighter pins in the sight itself. Check for those features if you want to be able to hunt effectively even while it’s still dark out.
Durability
It’s always advisable to shop for new pieces of hunting equipment with durability in mind and that remains true in this scenario. Apart from sturdy housing, you should also look at what kind of pin the bow sight features to get a sense of how durable it is. The most durable bow sights are usually the ones with the vertical pin sights.
Bow Sight Buying FAQs
What are the important things to look at when evaluating the pin sights?
You can’t properly determine how helpful a bow sight is until you get the opportunity to work with its targeting mechanism, and more often than not, the mechanism in question is either a pin or multiple pins.
Let’s start with the size of the pin. The high quality bow sights usually have the smaller pins, but there’s a catch. If a pin is smaller, you’ll obviously have a tougher time spotting it. The precious time you need to spend just finding the pin could be the reason why you miss your target.
If you’re choosing a bow sight with a .010 pin, make sure that it is bright enough to be easily detected. When it comes to pin size, you may want to just split the difference and get a sight with a .019-sized pin.
You also have to consider the number of pins used in a sight before buying one.
Having multiple pins present in your sight is really helpful when you have to fire at long distances. It’s easier to gauge the distance between you and your target when there are pins serving as reference points.
The problem with having too many pins on the sight is that it can really clutter up your vision. Instead of being able to clearly see your target, some of the pins may get in the way.
Inexperienced bowhunters can probably benefit more from using sights with multiple pins. Those who already know their way around the bow should be able to comfortably handle the single-pin sights.
This isn’t necessarily about the pin in the sight anymore, but you should also put some thought into whether you need a pin sight or a reticle sight.
Pin sights are more durable, but the downside to them is that they can take longer to align perfectly with your target. Reticle sights don’t last as long compared to the pin sights, but they are remarkably easy to use and great for those who are transitioning from using hunting rifles.
What are the different types of bow sights?
There are four different types of bow sights for you to choose from, with those being fixed pin, moveable pin, pendulum, and target sights.
Starting with the fixed pin sights, these are the items that many hunters still prefer to go with due in large part to how much they can improve your accuracy while remaining very user-friendly, according to BowHunting Info.
As soon as you get the pins to where they need to be based on your preferences, you should be able to use these sights with no problem.
Movable pin sights typically provide users with only a single pin to use for aiming. It will then be up to the bowhunter to adjust the positioning of that pin in order to get the best shot.
Movable pin sights are fun to use if the sight itself has features that allow for quick adjustments. If that’s not the case, don’t even bother to get a movable pin sight because it will be more trouble than it’s worth.
Pendulum sights are specifically designed for bowhunters that prefer to use tree stands. This type of sight creates a better downward angle that will be helpful to the bowhunter working from the top of a tree. They’re not quite as useful if you’re hunting with your feet on the ground.
Last up are the target sights. These are arguably the best bow sights in terms of accuracy, but you will have to fork over quite a bit of green to get a hold of one.
