Garmin Xero A1 sight - thoughts if worth it?

[540-Virginian]

Couldnt find an older post, but anyone have experience with the Garmin Xero or any other bowsight with built in RF?

i still hunt whitetails and can stalk bedded deer to within 40 yards. Would be great to not have to do extra movement of ranging then drawing. And I'm not good at estimating.

understand the pros but anyone experienced any cons? Aside from the chance for a battery to die.

thanks!

 

[Blktailhtr]

the battery issue is not really an issue. I have the same batteries in from 18 months ago. Just change each year before the season and you are fine or each time you do a software update. The biggest issue is that the housing limits the distance you can shoot. Depending on your setup it may max out around 60 yards if you shoot a slower speed. it is also not a round housing so it is a little different if you are used to getting your peep perfectly around the sight. Weight is another issue people bring up but the garmin and burris are both similar to my fast eddie XL and HHA kingpin. The Burris is similiar to garmin except for the light bar with LEDs that I am afraid of breaking but i usually use my garmin between the 2. The other big drawback is they just raised the prices back up 200 after burris released their new model.

 

[540-Virginian]

the battery issue is not really an issue. I have the same batteries in from 18 months ago. Just change each year before the season and you are fine or each time you do a software update. The biggest issue is that the housing limits the distance you can shoot. Depending on your setup it may max out around 60 yards if you shoot a slower speed. it is also not a round housing so it is a little different if you are used to getting your peep perfectly around the sight. Weight is another issue people bring up but the garmin and burris are both similar to my fast eddie XL and HHA kingpin. The Burris is similiar to garmin except for the light bar with LEDs that I am afraid of breaking but i usually use my garmin between the 2. The other big drawback is they just raised the prices back up 200 after burris released their new model.

Good info, never heard or considered sight housing ring shape. Any issues with ranging under 20 yards? I heard some complain that at 10 yards the thing stops working and goes bonkers. I wouldnt need to range at <15 as thats super close for me.

i dont shoot past 40 excpet when target practicing (out to 80-100 when i find space). I shoot around 275-280 fps arrows.

 

[Throwin Darts]

I took a look at them and decided that I didn't need another complicated gadget to worry about going on the fritz and ruining a hunt.

 

[Blktailhtr]

i havent ever had to use under 15. I will get it out and try it closer today. At your speed you should get out to 80ish with it. The one thing with garmin is it will only give you pins out to the max distance you calibrated at. Burris is more like a sight tape and will guess for you past where you calibrated at.

 

[540-Virginian]

I took a look at them and decided that I didn't need another complicated gadget to worry about going on the fritz and ruining a hunt.

Not helpful. Asked for those who own one... i am aware of the fact its another gadget that could go on a fritz.

 

[Throwin Darts]

Not helpful. Asked for those who own one... i am aware of the fact its another gadget that could go on a fritz.

Always happy to help!

 

[540-Virginian]

Always happy to help!

OK That made up for it. Good laugh! lol

 

[aaen]

Oh boy, I have so much to say about this sight mostly good some bad. I owned one for awhile and returned it as it wasn't for me as i like to shoot from 20yds out to 140yds and I couldn't get it to work for me at those distances.

A lot of people complain about the setup on the sight, but to be honest i found it super easy once i read the instructions. All the setup videos are confusing, what i wish they had though was micro adjust on the rest for aligning the rf/aiming ports, that can be a pain in the butt, same as a non micro adjust on arrow rest.

Once set up (took me about 20 mins before I started calibrating), strongly suggest you measure your current height of your sight pins from an arrow/distance from riser etc, so you can pick the right mounting holes and where it should sit on your bow to be close. Calibration is super easy as well (its ideal to have a tuned bow fyi), you start plinking arrows at various ranges and adjusting the pin if it was high/low/left.right, it will ask and by how much. take your time here and get it right as it will affect your setup of the pins.

I was hoping to be able to get out to 120-130 yds with the sight and if I could have I would still have it. I practice from 20 -140 yds on the regular, so that was important to me. I probably could have but i like my arrows in the 500-600 grain range. believe my max range was 83 yds with the sight. I could get this to 96 by adjusting the stack(pins) up in the sight and recalibrating the aiming reticle to a further distance then 20 yds. but that made the short range pins high up in the sight which I am not a fan of as I found it hard to aim with a pin at the very top of the sight window.

The ability to store multiple arrow profiles i liked, but not sure I would use that feature again as i really only shoot one type of arrow at a time and my bow is tuned for that specific setup.

Aa for the cons, well besides the long range for me/cost, there was none that really stood out. I quite like the idea and concept and think Garmin hit it out of the park. Wish they were not so darn expensive to be honest. Loooking forward to where these sights go and the features that will come out on them.

Couple of items I would like to see them address:
-better angle compensation/cuts when shooting at steep grades
-ability to have the ability to flick btw two calibrated distances for the rg/reticle alignment. so then you could have pins for shorter and longer ranges on the same screen. say sub 50 you flick the switch to position one which is set at 20 yd alignment and you get your pines from 20-70, position two is set to like 60 yds and you get from 50-100/etc

 

[loopmtz]

Oh boy, I have so much to say about this sight mostly good some bad. I owned one for awhile and returned it as it wasn't for me as i like to shoot from 20yds out to 140yds and I couldn't get it to work for me at those distances.

A lot of people complain about the setup on the sight, but to be honest i found it super easy once i read the instructions. All the setup videos are confusing, what i wish they had though was micro adjust on the rest for aligning the rf/aiming ports, that can be a pain in the butt, same as a non micro adjust on arrow rest.

Once set up (took me about 20 mins before I started calibrating), strongly suggest you measure your current height of your sight pins from an arrow/distance from riser etc, so you can pick the right mounting holes and where it should sit on your bow to be close. Calibration is super easy as well (its ideal to have a tuned bow fyi), you start plinking arrows at various ranges and adjusting the pin if it was high/low/left.right, it will ask and by how much. take your time here and get it right as it will affect your setup of the pins.

I was hoping to be able to get out to 120-130 yds with the sight and if I could have I would still have it. I practice from 20 -140 yds on the regular, so that was important to me. I probably could have but i like my arrows in the 500-600 grain range. believe my max range was 83 yds with the sight. I could get this to 96 by adjusting the stack(pins) up in the sight and recalibrating the aiming reticle to a further distance then 20 yds. but that made the short range pins high up in the sight which I am not a fan of as I found it hard to aim with a pin at the very top of the sight window.

The ability to store multiple arrow profiles i liked, but not sure I would use that feature again as i really only shoot one type of arrow at a time and my bow is tuned for that specific setup.

Aa for the cons, well besides the long range for me/cost, there was none that really stood out. I quite like the idea and concept and think Garmin hit it out of the park. Wish they were not so darn expensive to be honest. Loooking forward to where these sights go and the features that will come out on them.

Couple of items I would like to see them address:
-better angle compensation/cuts when shooting at steep grades
-ability to have the ability to flick btw two calibrated distances for the rg/reticle alignment. so then you could have pins for shorter and longer ranges on the same screen. say sub 50 you flick the switch to position one which is set at 20 yd alignment and you get your pines from 20-70, position two is set to like 60 yds and you get from 50-100/etc

Don't mean to hi-jack this thread but do you have any knowledge how they work in super cold weather? Thanks

 

[aaen]

I was using it in -15 celsius (5 farheniet) here in Alberta with zero issues. I wouldn't go much colder then that shooting,myself as the clothing was to bulky. The lense in the sight never fogged up, but occasionally it would get water vapour from my breath frozen on it in droplets if I was shooting a lot, mostly on the body but oaccsioanlly on the lense for the pins.




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[Brendan]

Owned one, got rid of it. I had it freeze up on me once, and that was enough.

Other factors: My max range was around 84 yards, which doesn't matter for hunting but does for fun shooting, TAC etc. Also, it's been a while, but 3rd axis isn't adjustable. You have to manipulate the 3rd axis to get the aiming and ranging reticle to line up which can affect steep angle accuracy depending on how far out you are based on your grip / etc. (Either that, or you'd have to deal with an out-of-alignment ranging reticle to have 3rd axis correct)

 

[eltaco]

Owned one, got rid of it. I had it freeze up on me once, and that was enough.

Other factors: My max range was around 84 yards, which doesn't matter for hunting but does for fun shooting, TAC etc. Also, it's been a while, but 3rd axis isn't adjustable. You have to manipulate the 3rd axis to get the aiming and ranging reticle to line up which can affect steep angle accuracy depending on how far out you are based on your grip / etc. (Either that, or you'd have to deal with an out-of-alignment ranging reticle to have 3rd axis correct)

3rd axis is adjusted using the curved Yaw adjustment dovetail. It’s adjusted based on how you torque the bow, and ensures the bore of the sight is aligned with the target. If the laser is aligned with your target, your 3rd axis is set and accurate. The reticle is a visual confirmation of this, which to me is a benefit of the Garmin not found on other sights. Its more confusing that it needs to be: Yaw and 3rd axis are the same adjustment, just different terminology.

It’s a fixed housing sight, so to get range beyond 85yds-ish required a fast velocity. I can hit 110yds with a light arrow, but around 90yds with my hunting setup. I’d gladly give up the opportunity to practice longer yardage for the benefit of shooting an accurate pin at every distance. Personal preference, perhaps, but estimating range or having to let down to re-range a target has cost me more opportunities in archery than not having the ability to shoot past 85yds.

I get that there are limitations to distance with a fixed housing sight, but truly believe the benefit the Garmin A1i brought to my ability to quickly and accurately shoot an animal in real-world hunting scenarios is beyond any archery decision I’ve made in 15yrs. This sight has improved my abilities in the field well beyond any new bow or sight purchase I’ve made.

 

[Brendan]

3rd axis is adjusted using the curved Yaw adjustment dovetail. It’s adjusted based on how you torque the bow, and ensures the bore of the sight is aligned with the target. If the laser is aligned with your target, your 3rd axis is set and accurate. The reticle is a visual confirmation of this, which to me is a benefit of the Garmin not found on other sights. Its more confusing that it needs to be: Yaw and 3rd axis are the same adjustment, just different terminology.\

Not how I remember it. You adjust the 3rd axis to get the ranging reticle aligned based on your grip and inherent torque. That doesn't mean that the 3rd axis is set correctly and that the bubble level will read correctly.

 

[tsm213]

I’ve had one for a couple years. I’ve used it down to -25 Celsius no issues. Batteries last all year. Be sure to use lithium.
As for the level there is a Digital level
And a manual external level. You can adjust them To match just like setting a 3rd axis. I’ve tested mine against a string line at extreme up and down angles and it’s good.
Most people find them to different to set up and get used to and dump them rather than figuring them out. And there is a big learning curve.
I really enjoy not having to range while making a shot. And not having to have a range finder ready all the time.


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[aaen]

I’ve had one for a couple years. I’ve used it down to -25 Celsius no issues. Batteries last all year. Be sure to use lithium.
As for the level there is a Digital level
And a manual external level. You can adjust them To match just like setting a 3rd axis. I’ve tested mine against a string line at extreme up and down angles and it’s good.
Most people find them to different to set up and get used to and dump them rather than figuring them out. And there is a big learning curve.
I really enjoy not having to range while making a shot. And not having to have a range finder ready all the time.


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I agree, many I know whom had them and dumped them because they were difficult to setup never really read the instructions. And yeah the lithium is key!

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[Billy Goat]

How certain can you be that you are actually ranging your target at 50+ yards? I frequently bounce a minimum of 3 readings off of my target with a rangefinder, just to be certain, sometimes another object that I think is five or ten yards different. I heard these things take a while to return a response, likely making it hard to hit things several times to be certain.

 

[Reburn]

How certain can you be that you are actually ranging your target at 50+ yards? I frequently bounce a minimum of 3 readings off of my target with a rangefinder, just to be certain, sometimes another object that I think is five or ten yards different. I heard these things take a while to return a response, likely making it hard to hit things several times to be certain.

The terrifing part is when you range your black archery target from a known metal taped range and it gives you something different. Then you put a mule deer cape over the target and range again to get another range.

Made me realize you should speed out your dope the best ways possible when ever possible. Ha and not trust a leupold rangefinder. Maybe the garmin is better.

 

[540-Virginian]

So I bought one someone had a good price for. Playing with it I found the following:
- It has the 3rd axis, it's just a little different to set up. At least mine was lined up when I did the full draw angle down aim at a straight line test (forget the name, but I have the special little level).
- It ranges pretty good out to 100 yards for me. I have been testing with my Vortex rangefinder and comparing. They are both the same, even on angled shots.
- The freezing issue was fixed with a software update (you get free updates)
- I get the max range thing, but you can move the pins to get more range. However, that idea is dumb and a flaw, so I would agree you're pretty maxed out to a certain point. But I want to range out to 60 max anyways, I'm not shooting past that (my choice).

I don't know why you'd use one of these for 3D, just range and then shoot. I got this site because I often don't have time to range then put it down and then raise and shoot. I suck at ranging by guessing the yardage. I've missed two deer trying. I have my other site for non-hunting shooting. I'll just throw this thing on in late august to start practicing in time for October archery.

The biggest downside, in my opinion, is now I'm 'that guy' with a giant piece of tech on my bow. But leave your range finders at home if you think you're better than me. I envy no man now!

 

[540-Virginian]

dumped them because they were difficult to setup never really read the instructions. And yeah the lithium is key!

I love this "never read the instructions." No bashing you, I have two friends who hated this sight and said it was a PITA to set up. I did it in 20 mins, and I'm no engineer! Just read the damn instructions and they have a good youtube video to help.

Of all my garmin products, this was the easiest to setup; which blew me away. The training department for this wasn't the GPS crew. lol.