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Pros - 11 dot intensity settings - Red or Green illumination Cons - Cheap, plastic construction - No auto-off function - Large number of reported failures of sight during sight-in process

Welcome to our review of the Barnett Premium Red Dot Crossbow Sight. This sight from Barnett is compatible with any crossbow featuring a Weaver rail, whether it’s a compound or recurve crossbow. The adjustable intensity red dot can also be set to green for dimmer lighting condition shooting.

How Much Magnification Do I Get From the Barnett Premium Red Dot Crossbow Sight?

This is a simple red dot sight, not a scope, and does not feature any magnification.

How is the Optics Quality on the Crossbow Sight?

The optics on the Barnett Premium Red Dot Crossbow Sight appear to be multi-coated, because I haven’t noticed any problems with glare or reflection when using the sight. Barnett does not say one way or the other how the optics are coated, but I can say with almost absolute certainty that the barrel is not nitrogen-filled, because this sight fogs up really bad in cold Ohio winter temperatures.

The sight features 3 red or green dots, allowing you some range compensation within the sight. The dot reticle has 11 dot intensity settings, but the sight does not have an auto-off function. That means it is all too easy to drain the battery on this sight, rendering it useless unless you have a spare CR2032 battery.

What’s the Housing Like on the Crossbow Sight?

“Made in China.” That pretty much sums it up. The sight’s body is cheap plastic, and the mount is ill-fitting. I was able to mount it on my crossbow, but it is very difficult to get the mount to stay tightened without stripping the screws. This is clearly a budget product, but it should be better quality than this.

How Easy is the Sight to Mount?

Mounting the sight is easy, but you have to be very careful not to strip the bolts when you tighten them. Once you find that “sweet spot,” just make sure you don’t remove the sight or you’ll have to go through it all over again!

How Easy is the to Sight In?

Sighting this sight in is fairly easy, once you get it mounted properly. The instructions are very good on proper sight-in procedures, and everything should go smoothly if nothing breaks within the sight. Unfortunately, there have been a number of reports of the sight breaking during the sight-in process, after which the sight won’t sight in at all. I didn’t run into that problem, though, but saw it happen with a couple of other crossbow shooters at the range.

Once sighted in, the sight holds zero very well. I’ve sighted this sight in once, and it has held zero through several seasons of use.

Is the Barnett Premium Red Dot Crossbow Sight an Easy to Use Sight?

The only problem with using this sight is that the instructions fail to describe the multiple dots and how to use them. Perhaps Barnett thinks this is a common sense type of thing, but I’ve had several crossbow shooters ask me about the dots and how to line them up properly. The top dot is for 20 yards, the middle dot is for 30 yards, and the bottom dot is for shooting at 40 yards. Your mileage may vary, of course, depending on the particular ballistic characteristics of your crossbow.