TRUGLO Bow Sights and Archery Accessories

What TRUGLO makes for archers

TRUGLO started in archery. Shooting Sports Retailer's profile says the company's first product was the PWR-DOT, a sight pin that used a colored fiber-optic strand so each pin could be told apart.

This site doesn't list firearm sights, so the grid above holds only TRUGLO's archery and crossbow products:

• Bow sights: five-pin fixed sights, a four-pin hybrid, a single-pin slider and a treestand sight
• Peep sight: the Centra Peep Xtreme
• Arrow rests: a brush containment rest, a drop-away and a bowfishing rest
• Releases: wrist-strap and handheld styles
• Quivers and stabilizers: four- to six-arrow quivers, short rubber, carbon and aluminum bars, and a dual kit
• Broadheads: the Titanium X four-blade, for bows and crossbows
• Crossbow optics: magnified scopes and red-dot sights

Several listings also carry the Apex Gear name next to TRUGLO's, among them the Accu-Strike Pro and Covert sights and the Carbon Core and Apex Ag Covert stabilizers. The grid filters by type and changes as listings come and go, so I'll write about the lines and what separates them, not about how many of each are listed this week.

TRUGLO bow sights

Five-pin fixed sights

Most of the TRUGLO bow sight lineup is fixed-pin: five pins set to five yardages. The listings in the grid include the Accu-Strike Pro, Storm G2, Carbon Hybrid, Carbon XS Xtreme, Veros and Catalyst. What separates them on paper:

• Pin size: the Accu-Strike Pro and Catalyst listings name .019-inch pins
• Sight light: the Accu-Strike Pro and Catalyst listings include one
• Hand: the Storm G2, Carbon Hybrid and Carbon XS Xtreme are listed as fitting right- or left-hand bows
• Adjustment: the Carbon Hybrid comes in a standard version and a micro-adjustable one
• Pin layout: the Veros listing describes pins that get smaller toward the bottom

Petersen's Hunting sums up the fixed-pin trade: quick to use and simple to set up, with gapping between pins for in-between distances, but more pins mean more clutter in the sight picture. It calls fixed pins a fit for whitetail and turkey hunters who won't shoot far.

Covert: four pins, hybrid

The Covert is listed as a hybrid four-pin sight with .019-inch pins, for right- or left-hand bows. MeatEater's sight guide describes a hybrid as fixed pins plus a moving pin for exact distances, with one catch: you have to remember to return the dial before you shoot a fixed pin. (Write it on a piece of tape. On the riser. Where you'll see it.)

Range-Rover: one pin you dial

The Range-Rover is a single-pin slider: one .019-inch pin on a sight that moves up and down with a yardage wheel. It's listed in separate right-hand and left-hand versions, with tool-free micro windage adjustment per the listing. More on the type is on the single pin bow sight page.

MeatEater calls a single pin very accurate but slower for hunting, because you range and dial before the animal moves. Quick math on what that means: if a deer walks from your 20-yard mark to your 30, you dial again or you hold off. Petersen's points out the other side: a dialed pin is the most precise option at any one distance.

Pendulum: the treestand sight

The Pendulum is listed as a treestand bow sight with an adjustable bracket, an LED light and a fit for right- or left-hand shooters. It's the one TRUGLO sight in the grid named for where you hunt rather than how many pins it has.

Wear a full-body harness every time your boots leave the ground. That goes for every sight on this page.

More on choosing across brands is on the bow sight page.

The TRUGLO peep sight

The Centra Peep Xtreme is the TRUGLO peep sight in the grid: a tube-style peep with a 1/8-inch aperture, sold with tubing, per its listing.

Archery 360 explains what a peep does. It's a small round sight tied into the bowstring, lined up with your anchor so you look through it without moving your head. At full draw, the round sight housing should sit centered inside the round peep, like two circles. Because a peep is tied into the string, it's a shop job if you don't own a bow press. The peep sight page compares aperture sizes across brands.

Arrow rests: brush, drop-away and bowfishing

Three TRUGLO rests are in the grid, each a different type:

• Storm: a full-containment brush rest, listed for right- or left-hand bows, with sound dampening
• AG Surge: a drop-away rest, in a left-hand version in this grid
• Ez Rest: a full-containment rest made for bowfishing, left-hand convertible per its listing

Archery 360's rest guide lays out the trade. A full-capture rest holds the arrow at almost any bow angle and has no moving parts, but more contact points make tuning more demanding. A drop-away falls out of the way before the arrow clears the riser and is very accurate once set up, but it's more complex to tune, and most archers have a shop do it. The whisker biscuit page and the drop-away arrow rest page go deeper.

Releases: wrist strap, caliper or thumb

The TRUGLO releases in the grid sort by how they hook and fire:

• Wrist strap, index trigger: the Activator and the Release Draw Check, both with a BOA fit system, per their listings
• Caliper heads: the Detonator (single jaw) and Nitrus (dual jaw), both with adjustable triggers
• Handheld thumb: the Ready-Shot, a three-finger ambidextrous thumb release with a rotating head

Archery 360 explains the difference. A wrist-strap release reduces finger fatigue, which suits hunters holding at full draw while they wait for a shot. A handheld thumb release puts more of the back of your hand against your face, for a more consistent anchor. More on the type is on the bow release page.

Quivers and stabilizers

Bow quivers

TRUGLO's quivers in the grid hold four to six arrows. The Tuff-Loc and Loc-Dwn are listed as bow-mounted four-arrow quivers with a broadhead hood, and the Tectro holds six, with an aluminum build and a detachable design per its listing. The Reactor Lite and Accu-Strike sit in between. The bow quiver page covers mounting across brands.

Stabilizers

The stabilizers run from short rubber bars to a dual kit:

• Deadenator: molded rubber, listed with a vibration dampener
• Pro-Tune XS: a 6-inch bar, per its listing
• Carbon Core and Apex Ag Covert: 7-inch bars, carbon or aluminum
• Cadence: listed with a dampener
• End-Game Pro Dual Kit: a front bar plus a side bar

Archery 360 says a stabilizer reduces vibration and noise after the shot and counterbalances the bow so it holds steadier. It puts roughly 6 inches at short ranges and roughly 12 at long ones, and says a side bar on the back can offset the weight of a front sight. In a ground blind or a saddle, short wins arguments with walls and trees. The bow stabilizer page has more.

Broadheads and crossbow optics

Titanium X broadheads

The Titanium X is a fixed four-blade broadhead, listed at 100 grains in three-packs, with a cutting diameter just over an inch and .031-inch blades. There's a version for compound bows and one listed as crossbow-rated. See the fixed blade broadheads page and the crossbow broadheads page.

Broadheads are sharp out of the package. Keep them in a hooded quiver or a case, and never reach across one.

Crossbow scopes and red dots

TRUGLO's crossbow optics in the grid come in two kinds. The 4x32 Compact is a fixed 4x scope with a BDC reticle and rings, and the Opti-Speed is a 1-4x24 scope with an adjustable speed setting, per its listing. The Tri Dot is a red-dot sight. The crossbow scope page compares across brands.

Crossbow seasons vary by state. Check your state wildlife agency before you hunt with one.

Bow Jack

The Bow Jack is a folding bow stand, listed for standard limb widths. It keeps the cams out of the dirt at the range. More small parts are on the archery accessories page.

How to choose within the TRUGLO lineup

Start with your hand

Archery 360's rule: aim with your dominant eye, draw with your dominant hand, and hold the bow with the other one. Then read every listing title for "left" or "right." The Range-Rover and AG Surge come in hand-specific versions; others are listed for either hand. Quick math: a right-hand rest on a left-hand bow is zero rests.

Then the release, before the sight

My one opinion on this page: pick the release before you set up the sight and peep. The reason is in Archery 360's guides. The peep lines up with your anchor, and a handheld release and a wrist-strap release put your hand against your face differently. Change the release later and your anchor moves, so the peep and pins move with it. (A hand doesn't care what the box says. It cares where it lands.)

Then the sight type

If your shots come fast and close, a fixed-pin sight fits, per Petersen's. If you like to range and dial, the Range-Rover's single pin does that. The Covert sits in between.

Then the balance parts

Stabilizer and quiver come last, because they change how the bow hangs in your hand. A bow-mounted quiver full of arrows on one side is weight a short stabilizer can help offset.

TRUGLO facts

From publications that covered the company:

• Founded: 1993, by competitive archer and hunter Paul LoRocco, per Shooting Sports Retailer
• First product: the PWR-DOT fiber-optic sight pin, per the same profile
• Owner: GSM Outdoors of Grand Prairie, Texas, which American Rifleman reported acquired TruGlo in January 2021
• Where assembled: the same American Rifleman report says TruGlo assembles its products in the USA

Write your yardages on a card, tape it inside the bow case, and let Walt guess which pin glows for which distance. He's due one right.