The best bow sights combine simplicity with performance and give you a level of accuracy that leaves you walking out of the woods heavier than you walked in.
Whether you’re looking for a rangefinder bow sight, single pin bow sight, or multi pin sight, you’ll find the best here.
Best Bow Sights - Top Picks
(Full List Below)
- 6″ dovetail sight bar
- Quick release bow mount
- Micro-adjustable 2nd and 3rd axis
- Course horizontal and vertical adjustments
- Double pointer
- Tool-less adjustments
- Silent quick-release yardage knob
- Auto-ranging sight
- LED displays where to aim
- Creates pin stack based on setup
- Displays leveling info at pin
- Quick detach for travel
- Flight Apex feature shows arrow flight
- Xtra Distance mode allows for longer shots
- Vertical, inline pins
- Ballistix CoPolymer System reduces vibration
- Rheostat light
- 4 mounting positions
- Ultra-bright .019″ pins
- Right-hand and left-hand available
- Designed for unobtrusive sight of target
Best Bow Sights - Full List
- Auto-ranging sight
- LED displays where to aim
- Creates pin stack based on setup
- Displays leveling info at pin
- Quick detach for travel
- Flight Apex feature shows arrow flight
- Xtra Distance mode allows for longer shots
You don’t usually think of Garmin when you think of bowhunting unless you’re planning a trip that’ll require a GPS, but you will after their Xero A1i Pro rangefinder bow sight.
Truly one of the best bow sights made by anyone, it’s the pinnacle of technological advancements in the bowhunting world.
There really are too many features to cover here, so I’ll hit the main points. It’s auto-ranging, so you never have to pick up your rangefinder again.
It gives angle-compensated ranges out to 100 yards or up to 300 yards on reflective targets.
It shows you where to aim based on distance as well as your bow and arrow setup. You can also save multiple arrow settings in the sight so you can switch in seconds.
Its Laser Locate feature allows you to know exactly where the animal was when you ranged or shot when paired with a compatible Garmin GPS device.
Dynamic Level gives you leveling information right next to your pin, so you can keep your eyes focused on the target.
Flight Apex shows you the flight of your arrow above the pin, which will show you if your arrow will hit an overhanging limb on its path to the target.
And you get an estimated one year of battery life, or 25,000 ranges, from the included AAA batteries.
This Garmin rangefinder bow sight is one of the single best compound bow sights you’ll find anywhere. It comes with a hefty price tag, but if you can swing it, SWING IT.
- 2nd and 3rd axis leveling
- Micro click windage and elevation adjustment
- Solid 6061 aluminum construction
- Tool-less adjustment
- Stainless Steel hardware
- Rheostat sight light
- Weighs only 9.5 ounces
You can think of the Trophy Ridge React Pro as the multi-pin version of the React One Pro, which you’ll see below.
It includes all the great features of the React One Pro, such as tool-less adjustment, but also includes a rheostat sight light, which allows you to adjust the amount of light on your pins.
With React technology, you can be sighted in within 10 minutes because the pins “react” to one other. In other words, set your 20- and 30-yard pins, and the others react and are simultaneously set as well.
As far as multi-pins go, it’s one of the absolute best bow sights out there on the market today.
- 6″ dovetail sight bar
- Quick release bow mount
- Micro-adjustable 2nd and 3rd axis
- Course horizontal and vertical adjustments
- Double pointer
- Tool-less adjustments
- Silent quick-release yardage knob
The Fast Eddie has proven to be one of the best bow sights produced by Spot Hogg. It’s been wildly popular for years.
The XL Double Pin is based off that design, with a larger, 6″ dovetail sight bar.
The sight can be quickly detached, while maintaining pinpoint accuracy when reattached.
The 2nd and 3rd axes are micro-adjustable, while course adjustments are available horizontally and vertically. And adjustments are easily made without tools.
This double-pin sight has a double pointer, and it has a silent, quick-release lock for the yardage knob.
It’s a great sight with a lot of great features from a brand trusted and used by none other than Cameron Hanes.
- Displays distance and aiming point at any angle
- Auto-brightness detection
- Micro-adjustments
- Arrow drop calculations
- Ranges deer to 200 yards, reflective target to 500 yards
The Burris Oracle 2 is one of the best rangefinder bow sights on the market, and it’s priced considerably lower than the Garmin shown above.
It automatically calculates angle-compensated distance, shows you the range, and also gives you an exact aiming point, so there’s no guessing.
It automatically adjusts brightness based on ambient light, but you can also manually adjust the brightness as well.
It’s capable of ranging out further than the Garmin at 200 yards for deer and 500 yards for a reflective target.
Burris has made setup extremely easy with this sight, so you can get shooting quickly. It has micro-adjustment knobs for adjusting the 2nd and 3rd axes.
And like the Garmin, the Burris has the ability to store multiple arrow profiles, so you can easily switch back and forth quickly.
It’s one of Burris’ best compound bow sights and one that should definitely be considered for the bowhunter that isn’t shopping on a tight budget.
- React Technology effective from 265-330fps
- Sight in 20 & 30 yard pin, then sight is set to 100 yards
- Fiber optic yardage indicators
- Sight light included
- .010 fiber optic
- Tool-less micro click windage and elevation adjustments
- Right-handed use ONLY
The Trophy Ridge React One Pro’s React Technology alone makes it one of the best bow sights available.
You simply sight it in at 20 and 30 yards and the mathematical precision of React guarantees it to be set out to 100 yards.
The React technology is effective from 265-330fps, and fiber optic yardage indicators are included to increase accuracy.
For even more accuracy, 3rd axis leveling is also available with this sight.
Tool-less micro-click windage and elevation adjustments make setting this sight up and making changes even faster.
It includes 10 custom sight tapes and a lens retainer ring. It accepts 1-5/8″ lens sizes.
For those looking to get their single-pin sight set up quickly and with extreme precision, the React One Pro should be high on your list.
- Dovetail mounting system
- Hybrid elevation adjustment
- 2nd and 3rd axis adjustments + quiver attachment
- Quad Track Design utilizing delrin tracks
- Rapid Drive for fast adjustments
The CBE Engage Hybrid Bow Sight is one of CBE’s best bow sights, featuring frustration-free pin adjustments. Engage and move just one pin at a time.
Loosen a hex screw to engage the chosen pin, turn the knob to make micro-adjustments to individual pins, and you’re done. It’s that simple.
The Armed Guard Fiber Management System protects the fibers from block to pin, and there are 12 inches of fiber for brighter pins.
The Quad Track is a four-track stability adjustment system that eliminates rocking and rattling. And the machined Rapid Drive elevation adjustment system is the fastest high-precision adjustment available – one turn = 1.5″ of travel.
- R.D.S sight tape technology
- 20-80 yard tapes in 5 yard increments
- Infinite Adjust Slotted Slide Bracket
- 2nd axis adjustments
- Made in the USA
- Tooless Windage and Elevation Adjustments
- 100% Lifetime Warranty
Built off of their original Optimizer platform, the HHA Optimizer Lite X features a new Infinite Adjust Slotted Slide Bracket, which greatly simplifies the sight-in process.
This sight features tool-free windage and elevation adjustments and includes HHA’s water-resistant, patented R.D.S. Sight Tape Technology in five yard increments.
This sight accepts a full line of accessories including lights, sun shades, and magnified lenses for those looking to spend a little more to maximize their accuracy.
The Optimizer Lite is one of the best bow sights in the mid-tier price range.
- Vertical, inline pins
- Ballistix CoPolymer System reduces vibration
- Rheostat light
- 4 mounting positions
- Ultra-bright .019″ pins
- Right-hand and left-hand available
- Designed for unobtrusive sight of target
The Trophy Ridge Peak 5-pin sight was designed to give the most unobtrusive view of your target. Its vertical, inline pins give you 5 pins to use for quick aiming, but your visibility isn’t affected like traditional multi-pin sights.
Its Ballistix CoPolymer construction is as strong as aluminum, while reducing vibration. It offers tool-less windage and elevation adjustments, and it has a glow-in-the-dark housing ring.
It’s a great sight that offers a lot of great features at an amazingly affordable price point.
It’s definitely one of the best bow sights if you’re on a tight budget, and it’s also highly rated.
- Smart mount multi-positioning
- Tool-less elevation gang adjustment
- Tool-less windage gang adjustment
- .019″ Blade pins
- Fluorescent peep alignment ring
- Designed to flip for left handed archers
The CBE Tactic Micro Bow Sight features a Smart Mount multi-positioning system, which allows you to place the mount in the right location from the start before fine-tuning.
Elevation and Windage gang adjustments can be made without tools and have visual laser-engraved markings for precise adjustments.
It also includes Armed Guard fiber management system, which protects fibers the entire way through, from block to pin.
And there are 12″ of fiber, increasing pin brightness.
The 5 Blade-pin housing is laser engraved for adjustments and is designed to flip for left handed archers.
- ZERO-IN adjustment dial with over 80 included pre-marked yardage tapes for simple setup
- Tool-less yardage lock
- Extra-long, fully-protected wrapped fiber
- Ultra-smooth bracket movement for easy one-hand adjustment
- Adjustable yardage-stop customizes maximum yardage setting
- Laser marks for windage and elevation adjustments
- Adjustable for left and right handed shooters
The TRUGLO Range Rover is a single-pin sight on the premium side of things.
It includes a ZERO-IN Adjustment Dial for ultra-smooth, precise micro-adjustable elevation tuning.
Tool-less yardage lock makes sure you know your distance won’t change once set. Extra-long, fully-protected wrapped fiber stays in tact and bright.
Ultra-smooth bracket movement allows for easy, one-handed adjustments. The Range Rover’s 1.8″ aperture sight picture gives you plenty field-of-view through the housing and accepts 1.87″ scope lenses.
It also includes a 2nd and 3rd axis illuminated level, laser-engraved marks for windage and elevation adjustments, and 40 pre-marked yardage tapes.
A quiver can also be mounted straight to the bracket.
And a huge bonus with this sight is that it’s adjustable for left- and right-handed shooters.
With everything included with this sight, it’s easy to see why it’s one of the best bow sights on the market.
- Reversible sight mount
- Green hood accent
- Includes a sight level
- Sight light Included
- Aluminum bracketry
The Trophy Ridge Joker 4-pin sight is one of the best compound bow sights for those on a tight budget.
It provides you with all the tools you need to make a successful hunt, but not much else.
It has a reversible sight mount, which means it was designed for use with left and righthand bows. Sight acquisition is quick and easy with its green hood accent.
Laser etched aluminum markings make it easy to set and keep track of your windage adjustments.
The Joker also includes ultra-bright .019″ medium horizontal fiber optic pins, multiple mounting holes for added adjustability, and a precision-installed bubble level.
Best Bow Sights - Features
Not all sights are the same, but the best bow sights all share a handful of the same features. For starters, tool-less micro-adjustments to windage and elevation.
Low-end sights still have the option to adjust windage and elevation, but you usually have to use an allen wrench to loosen it, then slide it in the desired direction by hand.
If you’ve ever used one, you know just how hard it can be to get it just right. You try to slide it and it doesn’t want to move, so you try a little harder and it jumps way past where you wanted it to go.
So then you move it back and still end up too far off. It’s a tedious process that usually leaves you settling with “just about right.”
Tool-less micro-adjustability allows you to simply turn a knob to make slight changes. It’s the absolute quickest way to sight your bow in. Changes can be made in just a few seconds without laying your bow down.
Another common feature among the best is a rheostat light. The fiber optic pins pick up light from the sun, allowing you to see them well as the sun starts to fade.
But in very low-light conditions, such as the last 30 minutes of legal shooting light under the canopy of timber, it can be extremely hard to see your pins.
What a rheostat light does is gives you the ability to turn up or down the brightness of the pins so they stay easily visible against your target, even in low-light conditions.
There are a lot of different features that the best compound bow sights have, but they all share tool-less micro-adjustability and a light.
Single Pin Bow Sight vs. Multi-Pin Sight
Choosing between a single-pin and multi-pin sight involves a little more than personal preference. Your style of hunting and the game you pursue should have the biggest impact on your decision.
Single-pin sights are phenomenal at allowing you to dial in on specific distances to the yard. For example, you’d use a dial to set your sight to 37 yards instead of aiming low with a 40 yard pin on a multi-pin sight.
They’re especially great for those who shoot 3d archery and who like to push their limits and shoot out to 100+ yards.
Western big game hunters who can see great distances before stalking a grazing or bedding animal reap the benefits of the single-pin design because they often have the time needed to set their sight to the proper yardage before taking the shot.
Also, those who primarily hunt preset stands over a bait station where shot distances are predetermined can do well with a single-pin sight.
Where you run into trouble with a single-pin is when you hunt low-visibility areas, and where distances can’t be known until it’s time to draw back.
Mobile hunters of the Southeast are a great example of those who are better suited to a multi-pin sight.
Multi-pin sight housings may be more cluttered than single-pins, but they offer you the advantage of simply choosing between 3-5 pins in a split second when a shot opportunity comes out of nowhere.
With a multi-pin, you can (and should) range several objects after getting set up in your chosen location. That way, when an animal appears, you already know which pin you should use without having to pick up your rangefinder.
With a quickly moving animal, such as a buck chasing a doe, there isn’t enough time to range him before shooting. That’s when a multi-pin really shines.
There is no right or wrong answer. Just one that’s better than the other given your situation. A list of the the best bow sights includes both single-pin and multi-pin sights.
How does a single pin bow sight work?
A single pin bow sight is not complicated, but it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it design either. With a multi-pin, you sight in all your pins and then don’t touch it again unless something moves or you change your setup.
With a single pin bow sight, you have to set it up properly, place your sight tape, then work a dial with every change in distance.
Shooting at 23 yards? Rotate the dial to raise or lower the sight to match 23 yards on the sight tape.
Next shot is at 32 yards? Rotate the dial to 32 yards. It may obnoxious when moving from a multi-pin, but the accuracy is unmatched.
And multi-pin sights often don’t have enough pins to shoot out past 50-60 yards when starting with 20. The beauty of a single-pin is that you can often push them out to 100+ yards, giving you the ability to practice at greater distances.
What is a micro-adjustable sight?
Micro-adjustable sights allow you to simply turn a dial by hand to adjust windage and elevation, and can be done in minor increments.
Sights that aren’t designed for micro-adjustability require you to loosen an Allen screw, adjust by hand, then tighten the screw.
On the other hand, a micro-adjustable sight requires you to simply turn a dial by hand to adjust windage and elevation.
The time it takes to sight in your bow is greatly reduced, and the accuracy at which you can do it is greatly increased.
Making minor tweaks to windage or elevation takes mere seconds with a micro-adjustable sight. That’s why the best bow sights include micro-adjustability – they not only increase accuracy, but they do it in a fraction of the time of those that don’t.
How to sight in a bow
If you’re trying to figure out how to sight in a bow, don’t worry. It’s not difficult. It just takes a little trial and error.
Different sights may require a slightly different process for setup, but there is a general way of sighting in a bow with both a single pin bow sight and a multi-pin sight.
For a multi-pin, after mounting the sight, you’ll start with windage (left to right) and elevation (up and down) generally set in the middle, with your 20-yard pin – the top pin – set near the top of the sight.
You’ll start by shooting at 20 yards. If your shots are drastically high, move the sight housing up. If they’re only a little high and you have room to move the pin up, just move the pin.
And remember, the best bow sights give you the ability to make micro-adjustments to the sight housing using a small knob instead of a tool and your hand, so don’t let your sight be an afterthought.
Put some time into choosing the right one. Now, back to sighting in.
You always follow the arrow when adjusting your sights. If you’re hitting left, move the sight to the left. If you’re hitting low, move the sight housing/sight pin down.
When your 20-yard pin is hitting where you’re aiming at 20 yards, it’s time to repeat the process at 30, 40, and so on until you’ve sighted in all available pins.
For a single-pin, after mounting the sight, you’ll generally start by dialing it in at 20 yards. The same principles for windage and elevation apply to a single-pin, but for moving that actual pin itself, you’ll work a dial on the housing to raise and lower it.
Again, remember that you always follow the arrow with your sight. If you’re hitting low, move it down. If you’re hitting right, move the housing right, and so on.
Once you have it dialed in at 20. You’ll follow the manufacturer’s instructions, which may have you do the same at 60 or some other higher distance.
Then, you’ll choose the sight tape that correlates with where your 20- and 60-yard shots were on the dial itself, and place the sight tape on the sight.
You’d then be set up to shoot in 1-yard increments out to whatever yardage the sight is capable of.
If that sounds confusing, don’t worry. It wouldn’t be if you had a sight in your hands. It’s really a pretty simple process, but you need to see one in action for it to make sense.
*NOTE: minor issues with windage will become more evident the further out you shoot. So, at 20 yards, you may be grouping inside a center ring on your target, but at 30, you’re a little to the left. And at 40, you’re even further left. What does that mean?
It just means your windage is a little off, and 20 yards isn’t enough to really show it. Just get the windage right at further distances and it will be correct at shorter distances as well.
What's the deal with a sight bubble?
Getting your sight bubble to center before you release is of the utmost importance. It should be an unwavering part of your shot process. To illustrate the importance, let’s say you’re standing on a hill, and you draw your bow. Naturally, it will lean to one side. Your sight bubble will make that abundantly clear.
If your bubble is showing that the top of your bow is leaning left and you release an arrow, you’re going to hit to the right of where you’re aiming.
How so? Well, let’s take that hill and make it flat. If you’re holding your bow well, you’ve now got a level sight bubble.
If you then tilt the top of the bow to the left, what do you have to do to leave it with that amount of tilt, but get it back on target?
You have to swing the whole bow to the right, thus causing you to hit right.
You can imagine how the miss will be exacerbated the further out you shoot. So, always make sure your sight bubble is centered before releasing.
Questions and Comments
I’d love to know what sight you’re using this season and if this article was helpful.
If you think a sight should be added to our list of the best bow sights, let us know!
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And good luck this season!