How to Install and Level a Bow Sight at Home

Gather your hex keys and set up a clear workspace

Before you begin, clear off a flat table where you have plenty of room to work. A table covered with a soft bath towel protects your bow finish from scratches and keeps loose screws from rolling away. Good overhead lighting will help you inspect the small threads clearly.

You only need a few simple tools:

• A set of imperial Allen wrenches: An Allen wrench is an L-shaped hex key tool used to turn socket screws. Most American compound bows require 1/8 inch, 9/64 inch, or 3/16 inch sizes.
• Mounting bolts: Most sights include two threaded steel bolts. Modern compound bows almost always use 10-24 thread pitch screws.
• Blue thread-locking fluid: Bow vibration is severe. A drop of blue thread-locking fluid stops screws from vibrating loose, but still lets you remove them later with hand tools. Never use red threadlocker, which requires high heat to loosen.
• A small bubble level: This helps you check that your sight sits square with the rest of your setup.

Check your bow handle to locate the key parts. The solid center handle is called the riser. The cut-out opening above the grip where you look toward the target is the sight window. On the side of that window are standard pre-drilled threaded mounting holes, known as AMO holes. These standard holes allow almost any modern sight to fit any compound bow.

Bolt the mounting bracket directly to the riser

Mounting the sight bracket takes a gentle touch. Follow these steps in order to attach the sight securely without damaging the metal:

1. Lay the bow flat: Place your bow on the padded towel with the sight window facing up. Make sure the bow is at rest. Never pull back the string while working on it.
2. Find the correct side: Bow sights always mount to the outside of the sight window facing away from your face. If you are a right-handed archer, you hold the bow grip with your left hand, so the sight mounts to the right side of the riser. If you shoot left-handed, it mounts to the left side.
3. Line up the bracket: Hold the bracket against the AMO holes. If your bow has several pairs of holes, choose the middle set first. This position gives you plenty of room to adjust your pins up or down later. If your bow uses a specialized mounting rail, read our guide on the best bow sight for Mathews bows to see how direct mounts fit.
4. Apply threadlocker: Place one tiny drop of blue thread-locking fluid onto the first three threads of each bolt. A small drop is plenty to cushion the threads against shot vibration.
5. Start each bolt by hand: Thread the bolts into the holes using only your bare fingers. The riser is soft aluminum, while the bolts are hard steel. Starting them with a wrench can cross-thread and strip the holes instantly. Spin each bolt two full turns by hand. They should turn smoothly with almost no resistance.
6. Snug the bolts evenly: Use the short end of your Allen wrench to tighten the top bolt until it touches the bracket, then do the same for the bottom bolt. Alternate between them with quarter turns until both feel firm. Snug them with wrist pressure, never your whole body weight. If you use an inch-pound torque tool, set it between 25 and 30 inch-pounds.

Level the sight housing against your bowstring

Bolting the bracket on is only half the job. You must also make sure the sight sits straight. When aiming, your bow must stand completely upright. If the bow leans left or right, that tilt is called cant. Canting forces your arrows to drift off target in the direction of the lean, and that drift grows worse at longer distances.

Most sights feature a small liquid vial with a bubble built into the bottom of the pin housing. That bubble shows whether you are holding the bow upright at full draw. But for the bubble to tell the truth, it must match your bowstring first.

To align the bubble at home, hang your bow by its top wheel or set the handle in a padded vise so the bowstring hangs straight down. Check that the string is vertical by lining it up with a plumb line or clipping on a string level.

Without touching the bow, look at the bubble in your sight housing. It should rest dead center between the two lines. To learn how a centered bubble improves your release, check our guide on how to use a bow sight with better accuracy.

If the bubble sits off to one side while the string is straight, loosen the two small leveling screws on your sight bracket. Nudge the housing until the bubble centers, then snug the screws back down. This step ensures that whenever you center the bubble at full draw, your bow limbs and string are completely straight.

Avoid these common thread and alignment errors

A few common missteps can strip threads or throw off your arrow flight. Watch out for these issues during setup:

• Starting bolts with an Allen wrench: Never put a tool on a bolt until you have turned it two full times by hand. A wrench hides the resistance of a cross-threaded bolt until the soft aluminum threads are already ruined. Fixing stripped riser threads requires expensive re-tapping or thread inserts.
• Mixing up compound and recurve screws: Compound bows use 10-24 bolts, while recurve risers often use 8-32 screws or metric threads. Forcing the wrong bolt into a bow handle will destroy the threads immediately.
• Overtightening the hardware: Cranking bolts as hard as possible can warp the bracket or strip the riser. Snug wrist pressure combined with blue threadlocker is plenty to hold everything secure.
• Mounting the sight upside down: Many brackets are reversible for left-handed or right-handed use. Make sure the bubble level sits at the bottom of the housing and the pins run upright or horizontally, never hanging from the top.
• Skipping threadlocker: Bows produce sharp shock on every release. Plain steel screws almost always shake loose within fifty shots, causing pins to rattle and groups to scatter.
• Ignoring downhill angles: Hunting from elevated stands makes level alignment even more critical. You can learn how third-axis leveling prevents downhill misses in our guide to the best bow sight for treestand hunting setups.

Take your first practice shots at close distance

Once your sight is bolted tight and leveled, resist the temptation to shoot at 30 or 40 yards right away. Even if the sight looks straight, the pins might be pointing far away from your arrow rest.

Set up a large foam target and stand only 10 yards away. At this short range, any alignment error will still keep your arrow safely in the target. Draw your bow, center your peep sight around the housing, place your top pin on the center mark, and release an arrow.

See where the arrow lands and follow the basic rule of archery sighting: chase the arrow. If your arrow hits low, move your sight housing down. If your arrow hits left, move your sight housing left. Moving the sight toward the impact point brings your aim and the arrow flight path into alignment.

Use the left-to-right and up-and-down adjustment click dials (also known as windage and elevation dials) to walk your arrows into the bullseye. Once you hit center at 10 yards, step back to 20 yards to finalize the position. After twenty shots, check both riser bolts with your hex key to make sure they remain tight.

Choose the right sight style and leveling tools for your bow

Picking the right bow sight depends on your shooting style and how you plan to tune your gear at home. A multi-pin sight provides fixed reference pins for set distances such as 20, 30, and 40 yards, which keeps things simple for hunting. A single-pin slider sight features one clear aiming point on an adjustable dial that moves smoothly for exact yardages.

Archers who want fast target acquisition often choose dot sights. These optics swap out metal pins for a bright aiming dot inside an open-window sight or an enclosed tube sight. Whichever style you choose, look for a solid CNC-machined aluminum body. Metal brackets resist flexing and keep mounting threads intact far better than molded plastic.

Look for a housing with a clear, sensitive bubble level built into the frame. Micro-adjust dials for windage and elevation are also helpful, letting you make fine adjustments with click knobs instead of loosening main mounting bolts. Adding an inexpensive string bubble level to your kit makes setting up any sight at home fast and accurate.

1

VTurboWay Peep Sight Installer, Bow String Separator Tool, Archery Accessories,

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• ARS Mark

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  8.8
• Brand
  VTurboWay

Key specs2

Primary Function

Separates bowstring bundles so you can insert a peep sight at eye level without a full bow press.

Tool Color

Red

Pros & cons32

Pros

• Spreads bowstring strands cleanly to let you slide in a peep sight without untwisting the string
• Bright red finish makes the separator easy to spot on a workbench or archery range
• Compact hand tool fits directly into an archery pocket or field tackle box

Cons

• Listing does not state construction material so verify build durability before heavy string tension use
• Includes only the string separator tool without extra serving thread or peep sights

2

Cir-Cut Corporation Bow Sight Level (Self Adhs)

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  8.6
• Brand
  Cir-Cut Corporation

Key specs2

Attachment Method

Self-adhesive backing

Dimensions

Measures 4.75 inches long, 1.75 inches wide, and 1 inch high with an ultra-light 0.02-pound weight.

Pros & cons32

Pros

• Self-adhesive backing mounts directly onto sight housings or bow risers without drilling
• Weighs only 0.02 pounds to avoid altering the balance of your bow handle
• Compact 1-inch height fits onto tight mounting brackets and flat sight bars

Cons

• Adhesive bond requires a clean, flat surface and cannot be bolted for mechanical security
• Fluid temperature range and replacement adhesive pads are not specified by the maker

3

SOPOGER Archery Multifunctional Bow Level Tuning and Mounting String 3D

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  8.0
• Brand
  SOPOGER

Key specs2

Tuning Functions

• Verifies bowstring vertical orientation
• Levels arrow rest and D-loop positions
• Calibrates sight housing bubble alignment

Tool Material

Impact-resistant 3D-printed plastic

Pros & cons42

Pros

• Dual-level system lets you align both the bowstring and arrow shaft at the same time
• Clamp slot fixing screw holds securely onto different bowstring thicknesses without slipping
• Impact-resistant plastic construction withstands drops around your home workshop
• Clamps directly onto your sight bracket to verify horizontal level against the sight head bubble

Cons

• Made from 3D-printed plastic rather than machined aluminum
• Requires manual alignment checks across multiple reference points before tightening

4

I-Sport Archery Recurve Bow Sight Metal Target Accessory Bowsight Black

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• ARS Mark

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  7.8
• Brand
  I-Sport

Key specs2

Bow Compatibility

Recurve target bows

Adjustment System

Uses rotating screws for elevation and windage changes with differential screw holes to fine-tune bracket tilt.

Pros & cons42

Pros

• CNC-machined aluminum alloy frame provides durable rigidity for target practice
• Two different-sized screw holes allow micro-adjustments to the overall tilt angle
• Clear measurement scale assists with precise vertical and horizontal aiming adjustments
• Mounts straight to recurve bow risers using original factory screws

Cons

• Designed specifically for recurve target bows rather than compound hunting setups
• Does not include an integrated bubble level for checking bow cant

5

FENJANER Archery Tubing 3/16 Peep Sight, Bow String Separator Tool,

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• ARS Mark

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  7.8
• Brand
  FENJANER

Key specs2

Included Components

• 3/16-inch compound bow peep sight
• Bowstring separator tool
• Spool of bowstring serving thread

Peep Aperture Size

3/16 inch

Pros & cons42

Pros

• Complete setup kit includes a 3/16-inch peep sight, string separator tool, and serving thread
• Rubber alignment tubing pulls the peep sight straight at full draw
• Serving thread securely ties the peep in place to keep it from slipping during shots
• String separator tool lets you part the bowstring strands without needing a shop bow press

Cons

• Tubing design adds extra moving parts that can wear out or snap over time
• Manufacturer lists zero-year warranty coverage

6

FENJANER Archery Tubing 3/16 Peep Sight, Bow String Separator Tool,

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• ARS Mark

  ARS Mark is a ranking system developed by bestairriflescopes.com. ARS Mark has no relationship or impact from any manufacturers or sales agent websites. Learn more

  7.8
• Brand
  FENJANER

Key specs2

Alignment Style

Uses flexible tubing attached to the bow cable to pull the 3/16-inch peep sight straight when reaching full draw.

Maintenance Check

Inspect the rubber tubing regularly for dry rot or cracking to prevent snap-backs during shooting sessions.

Pros & cons32

Pros

• Includes dedicated bowstring separator tool to insert the peep sight between string bundles
• Comes with bowstring serving thread to tie down the peep and prevent slipping
• 3/16-inch aperture size works smoothly with multi-pin bow sight housings

Cons

• Package contents note one peep sight despite the color variation label indicating two
• Requires careful tie-in knots to avoid moving the peep up or down during shooting

7

Aolamegs Extended Range Archery Sight Tape, Sight from 20 to

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  7.4
• Brand
  Aolamegs

Key specs2

Distance Coverage

20 to 120 yards

Application Use

Designed for adjustable slider sights to mark exact yardage lines after initial bow sight-in.

Pros & cons32

Pros

• Covers shooting distances from 20 yards out to 120 yards for long-range target work
• Features clear calibration scales to match specific arrow speeds and trajectory drops
• Adhesive tape strips apply directly to single-pin or slider sight indicator dials

Cons

• Requires finding your exact 20-yard and long-distance marks before selecting the final scale
• Listing does not state weatherproofing or water resistance for wet weather hunting

8

Moyujian Compound Bow Sight Four Way Adjustable 5-Pin Sight 019

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• ARS Mark

  ARS Mark is a ranking system developed by bestairriflescopes.com. ARS Mark has no relationship or impact from any manufacturers or sales agent websites. Learn more

  7.2
• Brand
  Moyujian

Key specs2

Pin Configuration

5 horizontal fiber optic pins (.019 inch)

Housing Dimensions

Measures 5.9 by 4.3 by 2.1 inches with an integrated bubble level at the base of the sight ring.

Pros & cons42

Pros

• Five horizontal .019-inch fiber optic pins let you set multiple yardage markers
• Integrated bubble level helps prevent bow canting while shooting
• Four-way adjustable housing provides both windage and elevation alignment
• Lightweight nylon body resists moisture and keeps overall bow weight low

Cons

• Nylon housing offers less rigidity than CNC-machined aluminum sight blocks
• Listing lists zero-year warranty coverage

Last update on 2026-10-01 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API

FAQs

Which screw holes on my bow handle should I use?

If your riser has four or six AMO holes, start with the middle pair. The middle position offers the most balanced range of motion for your pins at both near and far distances. Mounting in the top holes lowers your pin housing, which helps for extreme distance but can cause arrow clearance problems.

Does a bow sight mount on the inside or the outside of the riser?

A bow sight always mounts to the outside of the sight window, facing away from your body. A right-handed shooter holds the bow grip with the left hand, so the sight mounts on the right side of the riser. A left-handed shooter holds the grip with the right hand and mounts the sight on the left side.

How tight should bow sight mounting screws be?

Mounting screws should be snug and firm, but never forced. Use standard wrist pressure on the short arm of an Allen wrench. If you use an inch-pound torque tool, set it between 25 and 30 inch-pounds. Adding a drop of blue thread-locking fluid keeps the bolts secure without risking damage to the soft aluminum handle.

What should I do if a mounting bolt will not screw in smoothly?

Stop turning immediately and back the bolt out. Forcing a tight bolt will ruin the soft aluminum threads in your riser. Inspect the bolt and riser holes for dirt, metal burrs, or old threadlocker. Clean the threads with a dry brush, align the bolt straight, and try threading it in again using only your fingertips.