Garmin Xero Review - Best Bow Sight 2021

When I first bought the Garmin Xero, I showed it to a buddy of mine, and he said, "Well, that takes all the challenge out of archery." He was dead set against any sight with a built-in rangefinder that took the guesswork out of shot placement. His opinion was that hunting bows should only have a "normal" bow sights on them, and everyone should stick to more traditional hunting methods.

While the Garmin Xero does take the guesswork out of shot placements, my comments back to him were, "nuts." If that is the thought process of an average archery hunter then we should remove all technology such as compound bow setups and carbon fiber arrows and go back to a stick and string concept that everyone has to make themselves…  The Garmin Xero combines two pieces of equipment that most hunters use to give them the best chance at a perfect shot placement and a cleaner kill on the game we are hunting. 

The Garmin Xero does not help you learn the basics, such as stalking and finding the game to hunt in the first place.  The Garmin Xero's primary purpose allows the shooter to concentrate on where to shoot regardless of elevation and distance to make that perfect shot. 

And the Garmin Xero is excellent at shot placement. The sight setup still takes as much time as a regular bow sight to get it tuned, but it allows the shooter to do so much more!

I admit, it actually takes more practice with the Garmin Xero to get used to the sight because the shooter has an extra step during the draw cycle.  During the draw cycle, the shooter needs to get comfortable ranging the target at full draw to make an accurate shot.   Once you are used to doing it, ranging the target is a simple step.   Because of how the sight is designed, the user has a nearly unlimited number of choices to mount the ranging trigger.  I tried mounting the trigger on every side of the grip, high and low, before I settled on mounting it on the front of my bow near the top of the grip.  The sight comes with easy to use mounting tape to securely place the button and cord to the bow to make sure it will not come loose or snag on any foreign objects that you might encounter while hunting. 

There are two models to choose from, the Garmin Xero A1 and the A1i.  The sights are identical, but I purchased the Garmin Xero A1i for the extra features such as shot dynamics, the ability to set up multiple arrow profiles, and the option to pair with select Garmin GPS devices to help the hunter track their game based on where the arrow would have flown.   Otherwise, they are an identical sight such as angle compensation, auto-brightness, and ranging abilities to bring up a "pin" for perfect shot placement. 

Setup

I will not detail how to set up the Garmin Xero A1i, but I will hit the highlights.  The initial setup is straightforward, and while it does take some time to set up, it is not an enormous task.  The included instructions are sparse at best, so I highly recommend using the Garmin YouTube videos to help mount the bow's sight.  My one word of advice is to not fully mount the ranging trigger until you shoot the bow with it in different locations.  I made the mistake of firmly mounting it to sight the bow and then had to fight to remove it when I discovered it wasn't where I wanted to be located.  In fact, it nearly took me half a year to figure out exactly where I wanted the ranging trigger to be.

After setup and alignment, The Garmin Xero requires that you shoot at least three different ranges to give the shooter accurate shot placement for any yardages from zero to the longest known ranged pin.    For example, I needed to shoot at 20, 30, and 40 yards for the sight to give me the ability to shoot anywhere from 0 to 40 yards.

I also found that the more known "pins" saved into the sight, the more accurate it is for the in-between ranges.  I started with a 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 and will continue to add distances as I become more comfortable with the bow. 

Once the first pin is set, every pin afterward is easy to setup.  The Garmin Xero A1i has easy to follow instructions that come up on the screen to tell you when to shoot, and after the shot, it will ask if the arrow is high, low, or on target.  If, for example, your shot was high, it will ask how high in inches.  Once you select how high the arrow was, the sight will automatically adjust the pin and ask you to shoot another arrow at that yardage.  Once the arrow is hitting on target, it will ask you to move back another 10 yards and repeat the process.  It does take some time, but it is a simple process to follow!

It is incredible how accurate the Garmin Xero A1i sight is at any distance once you have set the "known" pins.  When I purchased the sight, I was hoping that the sight would at least be close to where I needed to be shooting, but in fact, it is precisely where I should be shooting. 

One item to note is that if your furthest distance is set at 60 yards, it will not give you a dialed-in pin if you at standing at any distance past 60 yards.  Instead, it will bring up all your saved pins so you can still attempt the shot if necessary.

The Garmin Xero combines two pieces of equipment that most hunters use to give them the best chance at a perfect shot placement and a cleaner kill on the game we are hunting and performs perfectly!

Shot Dynamics

The added shot dynamics of the Garmin Xero A1i has helped make me a better shooter the longer I use the sight.  The main feature that has helped is the sight measures the amount of roll each shot is from zero.  It took me a while to realize that I don't need to be at exactly zero roll on each shot for an accurate shot, but I need to be at a consistent roll value to shoot accurately.  I have found I average a 3 degree roll when shooting.  Once the roll level increases (or decreases), such as towards the end of a shooting session, each shot is less and less accurate. 

Another great feature of the Garmin Xero A1i is it will detect the vibration after the shot and display it in milliseconds.  This is a great feature to have when trying to make your bow as silent as possible for hunting and allows the user to add, move, or remove different sound deadening devices. 

The other nice to have on the Garmin Xero A1i shot dynamics is it keeps track of the total shots the bow has been shot and the total number of shots the shooter has taken in the current session. 

Multiple Arrow Profiles

The ability to store multiple arrow profiles is the main reason why I bought the Garmin Xero A1i, and it works flawlessly.  In the past, I typically set up my bow to shoot field points until about two weeks before hunting season, and then I would sight it in for my broadheads.  Once I was dialed in for broadheads, I did not want to shoot my field points anymore because I didn't want to pick up any bad habits, such as holding slightly high on my field points.  I believe this could potentially put me in a position to hold high with the broadhead accidentally during the stress of a hunting shot and miss my target. 

I also wouldn't try any other arrows out for most of the year because I didn't have enough time to set up my bow for a different set of arrows and then adjust back if I didn't like them.

All these issues were solved with the Garmin Xero A1i.  It is effortless to add in or delete an arrow profile.  If your bow is tuned correctly, all it takes is approximately six shots, and you can be using a different arrow weight, brand, etc. 

Overall, the Garmin Xero A1i is the best bow sight I have ever used.  Granted, it is an expensive option and not within everyone's budget, but in my opinion, it is worth every penny.  I am looking forward to hunting season next year and hopefully posting pictures of my success!