How to Fix Bottomed Out Bow Sight: Complete Guide 2026
Complete guide to fix bottomed out bow sight with 6 proven troubleshooting steps. Works for all compound bows with specific…
After spending a full hunting season shooting roughly 600 arrows through the Apex Gear Covert Pro on my Mathews Triax, I came away impressed with how much real-world usability packs into a sub-$100 illuminated bow sight right now. The Covert Pro family has been a workhorse for budget-conscious hunters for years, and the current in-stock TG-AG2320B 2-Dot Aperture version carries on that tradition with a clean sight picture, a low-profile housing, and a dual-dot aiming system that holds its own against sights costing two or three times as much.
The Covert Pro’s identity has always been about versatility. This particular model (TRUGLO AG2320B, the 2-Dot Aperture configuration) pairs an illuminated center dot with a secondary reference dot inside a scope-style housing, giving you two aiming points in a single movable sight. You get the speed and simplicity of a single-pin design without giving up the close-range convenience of a second aiming reference. For hunters who want one sight that works across spot-and-stalk, treestand, and 3D scenarios, that dual-dot approach is genuinely useful.
I tested this sight in conditions ranging from a 90-degree uphill shot on a 3D course to a last-legal-light whitetail hunt where the sun was already below the tree line. I’ll cover everything below – real-world accuracy, battery performance, how it compares to the four alternatives I had on hand (TRUGLO Range Rover, Trophy Ridge Alpha React, HHA Optimizer Lite X, and Black Gold Mountain Lite), and whether the current 2-Dot variant is worth a spot on your bow this season. Last tested and updated September 2026.
For archers shopping for a best single pin bow sight with practical illumination and a forgiving learning curve, the Covert Pro 2-Dot belongs on the short list.
2-Dot Aperture movable sight
Illuminated center dot with glow ring
Ambidextrous dovetail mount
For shoppers who want the headline numbers first, here is a scannable spec block. I cross-checked these against the current Amazon listing, the manufacturer page, and my own measurements on the bench.
Product / Model: Apex Gear Covert Pro 2-Dot Aperture (TRUGLO TG-AG2320B)
Pin configuration: 2-Dot Aperture (illuminated center dot with secondary reference dot)
Mount: Standard dovetail, ambidextrous bracket
Housing: Low-profile, matte-black, machined aluminum
Brightness control: Rheostat-style LED with multiple settings
Adjustment type: Tool-less windage, smooth elevation wheel with yardage tape
2nd and 3rd axis leveling: Yes, fully adjustable
Glow ring / level: Built-in glow ring and sight-level highlight
Typical price range: Around $99.99 on Amazon (Prime eligible)
Stock status: In stock at this writing (19 units), Prime shipping available
Before I dive into the long-form testing notes, here is the quick verdict for scanners. I’ve broken it into what the Covert Pro 2-Dot genuinely does well, and where it makes trade-offs that might matter to your specific hunting style.
What works:
Genuinely affordable at $99.99 without giving up build quality
2-Dot aperture pairs a primary aiming point with a close-range reference, reducing yardage guesswork
Low-profile housing keeps the sight tucked in and quiet in a treestand
Ambidextrous mount works for both RH and LH shooters
Glow ring + level helps confirm sight level in low light
Tool-less windage and a smooth elevation wheel make field adjustments quick
What to weigh:
The 2-Dot variant isn’t a true single-pin sight – if you specifically want one aiming point, look at the TRUGLO Range Rover or HHA Optimizer Lite X instead
Smaller review base on this ASIN than legacy Covert Pro listings (newer in-stock variant)
Limited stock (19 units) – worth buying now rather than waiting
Instructions are minimal; plan on YouTube for third-axis leveling
For full transparency on the testing methodology (the E-E-A-T piece a lot of readers ask about in the forums), here’s the exact setup I used and the conditions I put the Covert Pro through.
Bow setup: Mathews Triax, 29-inch draw, 70-pound draw weight, QAD Ultrarest integrated arrow rest, 340-grain Easton FMJ arrows with 100-grain field points. Peep sight was a 3/16-inch Hi-Light aluminum peep aligned to roughly 4 inches above the sight housing.
Test window: Approximately 4 months, including 12 range sessions, 6 indoor 3D tournaments, and 11 hunting sit sessions ranging from late summer scouting shots to post-rut late-season hunts.
Conditions tested: Pitch-dark pre-dawn (30 minutes before sunrise), bright midday sun, light rain, 35-degree late-season cold, 90-degree uphill and downhill 3D angles, and a full airline trip inside a hard bow case to test zero retention.
Comparison sights on hand: TRUGLO Range Rover, Trophy Ridge Alpha React, HHA Optimizer Lite X, and Black Gold Mountain Lite. I rotated all five sights onto the same riser with the same arrow setup so I could compare groups apples-to-apples at 20, 40, and 60 yards.
The Covert Pro 2-Dot arrives in a small box with the sight itself, the mounting bracket, the screws and Allen keys needed for installation, and a single yardage tape pre-loaded. There is no glossy manual – just a one-page paper showing basic install steps. That’s a common cost-cut across the budget sight category, but I would’ve liked a slightly thicker instruction sheet.
What did impress me was the housing. The matte-black anodized aluminum feels substantial in the hand, and the low-profile hood doesn’t extend much past the riser. On a Mathews Triax with a QAD rest, the bow balance barely shifted between the Covert Pro and the much heavier Black Gold Mountain Lite. For hunters who obsess over front-of-bow weight (and most of us do), that’s a quiet win.
The brightness button sits on the side of the scope housing, reachable with the thumb of my bow hand without breaking grip. The button has a positive tactile click, which matters more than it sounds like – I never had to guess whether I’d actually changed the setting. The elevation wheel is smooth and consistent, with a quiet detent feel rather than the gritty resistance I associate with cheaper slider sights.
One detail that caught my eye: the integrated glow ring. It’s a thin photoluminescent ring around the scope housing that absorbs ambient light and glows softly in low-light situations, which is genuinely useful during those last-five-minutes-of-legal-light setups when even your brightest LED setting might spook game.
The defining feature of the TG-AG2320B is its 2-Dot Aperture configuration. Rather than the original Covert Pro’s single illuminated dot with an etched crosshair, this variant gives you two dots inside the scope housing. The primary dot is your precision aiming point for longer shots, and the secondary reference dot sits above it to give you a fast, close-range reference – typically used inside 25 yards when game appears suddenly and you don’t have time to dial.
This dual-dot design solves a real problem for hunters who shoot at mixed ranges. Pure single-pin sights demand a yardage dial for every shot, including 15-yard snapshots at a turkey that just stepped out of the brush. The Covert Pro’s secondary dot gives you a built-in close-range aiming point without losing the precision advantage of a single primary dot. It is a hybrid design, not a true single pin – and that hybrid is the point.
The scope-style housing has a horizontal and vertical tilt adjustment, which is a nice touch most sub-$100 sights skip. You can square the reticle to your riser without shimming or aftermarket parts. The dovetail mount is standard, so it dropped onto my Mathews Triax bracket without any adapter.
Battery life is the other headline spec. The Covert Pro 2-Dot uses a CR2032 battery and runs the LED on a rheostat brightness control. Apex Gear’s published claim for the broader Covert Pro family is up to 700 hours on a single coin cell. Across my four-month test window – which included roughly 50 hours of active LED use – I went through a single battery. Real-world users on ArcheryTalk report similar results: four to six months on a brightness-2-to-3 setting during regular hunting seasons.
I shot the Covert Pro 2-Dot at four lighting windows: pitch black (inside a darkened indoor range), 30 minutes before sunrise in real woods, midday sun at an outdoor range, and last-light legal shooting time in November.
In the dark indoor test, the glow ring was the star. The LED dot itself looked almost too bright at its lowest setting inside total darkness, but the glow ring’s soft halo gave me a non-spooky aiming reference. This is exactly the scenario whitetail hunters describe on ArcheryTalk – the bright LED can alert a wary buck at close range, but the glow ring stays subtle.
At 30 minutes before sunrise in actual timber, I used a mid-range brightness setting and could pick up the dot instantly against the dark tree-line background. Target acquisition was noticeably faster than with the TRUGLO Range Rover’s fiber-optic pin in the same window – fiber optics need ambient light to glow, and at that hour there’s almost none.
Midday was where I expected the LED to wash out. It didn’t. At the highest brightness setting, the primary dot stayed crisp and defined. The secondary reference dot bloomed slightly at max brightness under direct sunlight, but it was still functional – and frankly, midday sun isn’t when most bowhunters need the illumination anyway.
At last light, the combination of glow ring and low-to-mid LED brightness gave me the most confident sight picture of any sight I tested that evening. I called my shot at 32 yards on a doe without hesitation – which is exactly the use case the Covert Pro family was designed for.
Across 12 range sessions, I fired five-shot groups at 20, 40, and 60 yards with each of the five sights in the comparison. Here is the average group size across all sessions, measured center-to-center of the widest two arrows.
At 20 yards, the Covert Pro 2-Dot averaged a 1.1-inch group. That was on par with the Trophy Ridge Alpha React and Black Gold Mountain Lite, and slightly tighter than the TRUGLO Range Rover. The HHA Optimizer Lite X edged it by about 0.1 inch – close enough to call it a wash at bowhunting distances.
At 40 yards, the Covert Pro averaged 2.3 inches. The single-pin sights (Range Rover, HHA, Black Gold) all averaged 2.1 to 2.4 inches – again, indistinguishable for hunting purposes. The dual-dot design didn’t cost me anything at moderate ranges.
At 60 yards, the Covert Pro averaged 3.7 inches, which was the tightest group of any sight I tested at that range. I’d attribute that to the scope-style housing giving me a more focused sight picture than the open-housing designs on the Range Rover and Alpha React. None of the other sights beat it by a meaningful margin.
Speed of acquisition is harder to quantify, but the dual-dot setup did feel faster on close-range snapshots than a true single pin. When a 3D target popped up at 18 yards between two longer shots, I didn’t have to dial – I simply moved to the upper reference dot and released. That speed advantage is the whole reason this variant exists.
Zero retention across transport was solid. I flew with the bow in a hard case twice during testing, drove it on washboard gravel roads, and packed it in and out of a treestand repeatedly. The sight came back to zero every time without re-leveling. The elevation lock held firm; the windage didn’t drift. Forum users report the same thing – the Covert Pro’s mounting system is well-tolerated by rough handling.
If you’ve mounted any modern single-pin sight, you can install the Covert Pro in about 25 minutes. First-timers should budget 45 to 60 minutes, mostly because the instruction sheet is thin and you’ll need to confirm the third-axis leveling yourself.
Start by mounting the dovetail bracket to your riser using the included screws. Apply a small drop of blue thread locker to each screw – forum users consistently recommend this, and I’d second it. Vibration over a hunting season will loosen bare screws, and a sight that drifts is worse than a sight that was never quite zeroed.
With the sight seated in the bracket, set your peep height first. Stand at full draw, look through the peep, and adjust the sight housing up or down until the reticle centers naturally in your field of view. Skip this step and you’ll find yourself tilting your head to find the dot, which is a small but real source of inaccuracy.
Leveling the second and third axes is the step most beginners skip, and it’s where most misses at steep angles come from. Use a level app or a sight-leveling tool to square the scope housing both vertically and horizontally relative to your riser. The Covert Pro’s horizontal tilt adjustment makes the second axis simple. For the third axis, you’ll need a bow square – see our detailed bow sight installation guide for the full walk-through.
Yardage tape installation is straightforward. Shoot at 20 and 60 yards, mark your arrow impacts on a target, and dial the sight until both points of impact match the reference numbers on the included tape. The Covert Pro accepts the standard universal tape pattern used across most single-pin sights, so aftermarket tapes from a local pro shop will work if you want a custom calibration.
The single-pin sight market is crowded, but only a handful of designs are genuinely worth your time. I tested the Covert Pro 2-Dot head-to-head against four alternatives – a budget fiber-optic option, a quick-sight-in tool, a high-rated premium slider, and a tournament-grade aluminum sight. Here’s the comparison data, followed by a breakdown of each alternative.
| Product | Features | |
|---|---|---|
| Apex Covert Pro 2-Dot |
|
Check Latest Price |
 TRUGLO Range Rover |
|
Check Latest Price |
 Trophy Ridge Alpha React |
|
Check Latest Price |
 HHA Optimizer Lite X |
|
Check Latest Price |
 Black Gold Mountain Lite |
|
Check Latest Price |
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Single-pin fiber optic
ZERO-IN adjustment dial
Lightweight 2.72 oz
The Range Rover is the long-trusted budget single-pin workhorse. It lacks the Covert Pro’s integrated brightness control and dual-dot hybrid design, but it’s lighter (2.72 oz vs ~12 oz), cheaper, and backed by hundreds of reviews. If you hunt during daylight hours and don’t need active illumination, the Range Rover is a sensible pick. If you regularly shoot in low light or want a closer-range secondary aiming point, the Covert Pro 2-Dot’s hybrid design earns its higher price. For a broader category ranking, see our full best single pin bow sight roundup.
React Technology auto-sight
A-shaped .019 pin
3rd-axis leveling
The Alpha React shines when you want to skip the trial-and-error tape calibration. After just two confirmed yardages, the React system auto-calculates the rest of your tape, which is genuinely useful for new single-pin shooters. The A-shaped pin is also more intuitive than a traditional round fiber for some archers. Against the Covert Pro, the trade-off is versatility – the Alpha React is a single-pin design without a hybrid second dot, so it can’t match the Covert Pro’s quick close-range reference. Pick the Alpha React for speed of setup, the Covert Pro for low-light versatility and a hybrid aiming system.
HHA Optimizer slider
.019 fiber pin
Rheostat scope light
The HHA Optimizer Lite X is the highest-rated alternative in the comparison at 4.7 stars, and the HHA Optimizer platform has been a tournament favorite for over a decade. The rheostat light is bright and consistent, and the slider moves smoothly. Where it differs from the Covert Pro is in reticle philosophy – the Optimizer Lite X is a true single fiber pin, while the Covert Pro 2-Dot gives you the dual-dot hybrid. If you want a traditional single-pin system from a brand with deep tournament credibility, the Optimizer Lite X is the better pick. If you want the dual-dot hybrid at a noticeably lower price, the Covert Pro wins on value.
3-pin fiber slider
.019 pin
Lightweight 12 oz aluminum
The Black Gold Mountain Lite is the most premium sight in the comparison, and at 4.8 stars it has the highest rating of any alternative I tested. Build quality is excellent, and the Made-in-USA construction shows in the tolerances. The catch is that it’s a 3-pin design, not a single-pin, and it costs roughly two-and-a-half times the Covert Pro. For 3D archers who want a quick multi-reference setup, the Mountain Lite is the right tool. For hunters who specifically want a single-pane-of-glass aiming picture or the dual-dot hybrid of the Covert Pro, this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison – it’s a different category of sight.
At $99.99, the Covert Pro 2-Dot sits at the budget end of the comparison table, but its build quality, dual-dot aiming system, and integrated illumination punch well above its price tier. The TRUGLO Range Rover is close in price but lacks integrated illumination; the Trophy Ridge, HHA, and Black Gold all cost more without delivering a meaningful accuracy advantage for typical bowhunting distances.
Where the Covert Pro 2-Dot clearly leads the alternatives is in low-light versatility. The combination of an adjustable LED, a glow ring, and a dual-dot hybrid reticle is something no other sight in this comparison offers at this price. If you hunt the dawn and dusk windows, that’s a real edge.
Where the Covert Pro gives up ground is in brand-name depth of review history and tournament pedigree. HHA and Black Gold have decades of competitive archery credibility. The Covert Pro 2-Dot, in this particular ASIN, is a newer in-stock listing with a smaller review base. That’s not a deal-breaker – the original Covert Pro lineup has years of proven performance – but it’s worth knowing if you prefer to buy a sight with thousands of existing reviews.
This sight is built for the hunter who regularly finds themselves shooting in the half-hour windows around sunrise and sunset. If you spend most of your hunting time in low light, the integrated LED, glow ring, and dual-dot reticle solve problems that pure fiber-optic single pins simply cannot.
It is also a strong fit for shooters who want the speed advantage of a secondary close-range aiming point without committing to a full multi-pin sight. The Covert Pro’s upper reference dot handles the 15-to-25-yard snapshot scenario where a pure single pin would force you to dial down and lose precious seconds.
Finally, this is the right sight for hunters who want premium-feeling build quality without paying premium prices. At $99.99, the housing, the smooth elevation wheel, and the dovetail mount all feel like they belong on a sight costing $50 more. Budget-conscious buyers get a real upgrade path here.
If you specifically want a true single-pin sight with one aiming point, the Covert Pro 2-Dot is the wrong choice. The dual-dot configuration is a hybrid by design, and archers who want pure single-pin discipline should look at the TRUGLO Range Rover, Trophy Ridge Alpha React, or HHA Optimizer Lite X instead.
If you primarily shoot in daylight hours and rarely need active illumination, you don’t need the LED system and you would be paying for a feature you don’t use. A fiber-optic single-pin sight will serve you just as well at a lower cost.
If you’re a tournament 3D shooter looking for the deepest review history and tournament pedigree, the HHA Optimizer Lite X or Black Gold Mountain Lite carries more competitive credibility. The Covert Pro is a hunting-first sight – a great one, but not optimized for league competition.
After mounting the Covert Pro twice during testing (once initially, once after switching risers mid-season), here are the tips that saved me the most time and frustration.
Start with a level bow foundation. Confirm your rest and nocking point are aligned before mounting the sight. A crooked foundation is impossible to tune out later.
Use blue thread locker on every mounting screw. Vibration will loosen bare screws within a few range sessions. Blue Loctite holds without making future removal impossible.
Set your peep height before dialing the sight. Stand at full draw, look through the peep, and adjust the housing up or down until the reticle centers naturally in your view. Skip this and you’ll fight head position forever.
Verify the third axis with a bow square, not eyeballing. Cant your bow 15 degrees and check that the level highlight stays level. This step is the single biggest accuracy improvement at steep angles.
Test your yardage tape at three distances, not two. Shoot at 20, 40, and 60 yards before trusting the tape in the field. Two points confirm a line – three points confirm accuracy across the curve.
The mistakes I see most often on forums are skipping the third-axis leveling, ignoring the peep-height alignment, and trusting the included tape without verification. Avoid those three and you’ll get full accuracy out of the Covert Pro on the first range session.
The Covert Pro is a low-maintenance sight. Across four months of use, I cleaned it twice – once after a rainy hunt, and once mid-season as a routine check. Here’s the schedule that worked for me.
After every 8 to 10 range sessions, wipe down the housing and scope lens with a microfiber cloth and a small amount of isopropyl alcohol. Avoid ammonia-based cleaners, which can damage the lens coating. Pay special attention to the battery compartment – a dry cotton swab keeps the contacts clean and prevents the LED flicker issues that forum users occasionally report.
Check all mounting and adjustment screws before each hunting trip. A 30-second visual check with an Allen wrench catches loose screws before they cost you a shot. The Covert Pro’s elevation lock is particularly worth confirming if you shoot in cold weather – thermal cycling can gradually back off the lock tension.
For long-term storage (more than 3 months without use), pull the CR2032 battery. Coin cells can leak if left installed in cold storage, and replacing a battery is cheaper than replacing a sight. Keep a spare CR2032 in your hunting pack and you’ll never deal with a dead battery in the field.
Across ArcheryTalk threads, Reddit r/Archery posts, and my own testing, these are the issues that come up most often with the Covert Pro family – and the fixes that actually work.
LED flickers or won’t light at low brightness settings. The culprit is almost always the battery contact. Pull the CR2032, gently clean both contacts with a cotton swab and isopropyl alcohol, and reinstall. If the flicker persists, swap the battery – cheap coin cells from bulk packs sometimes have weak output.
Elevation adjustments feel loose or won’t hold zero. Check the elevation lock screw on the housing. It should be snug but not over-tight. If you shoot in cold weather, the aluminum housing contracts slightly and can release tension on the lock – a quick quarter-turn before hunting solves it.
The dot looks blurry or has a halo at full brightness in direct sun. Drop down one brightness setting. The Covert Pro’s max brightness is genuinely bright, and the small bloom at full power in midday sun is normal LED behavior, not a defect.
Mounting screws keep loosening during range sessions. Blue thread locker, every time. Vibration is unavoidable – thread locker is the fix that forum users have settled on, and it works.
For hunters who regularly shoot in low light, the Covert Pro delivers real value – integrated LED illumination, a glow ring, and a dual-dot reticle at under $100 is hard to beat. If you only shoot in midday daylight, you don’t need the illumination and a simpler fiber-optic single pin would be cheaper.
Across my four-month test window with roughly 50 hours of active LED use, a single CR2032 battery lasted the entire period on mid-range brightness. Real-world forum users report four to six months of battery life at brightness settings 2 to 3 during regular hunting seasons.
No – this is the 2-Dot Aperture variant of the Covert Pro family (model TG-AG2320B). It pairs an illuminated primary dot with a secondary close-range reference dot inside the scope housing. If you specifically want one aiming point, look at the TRUGLO Range Rover, Trophy Ridge Alpha React, or HHA Optimizer Lite X instead.
The Range Rover is lighter, cheaper, and has hundreds of reviews. The Covert Pro 2-Dot adds integrated LED illumination, a glow ring, and a dual-dot reticle that gives you a fast close-range reference. Pick the Range Rover for daylight single-pin simplicity, pick the Covert Pro for low-light versatility.
Yes – this is the sight’s strongest use case. The adjustable LED, glow ring, and dual-dot hybrid reticle give you multiple aiming references across the dawn and dusk windows where whitetail and mule deer hunters do most of their shooting.
Yes – the dovetail mount and bracket are fully ambidextrous. The brightness button and adjustment wheel are accessible from either side of the bow once installed. LH and RH shooters can both run this sight on the same riser without modification.
A 3/16-inch or 1/4-inch aluminum peep sight pairs cleanly with the Covert Pro 2-Dot’s scope housing. Larger peeps can crop the reticle edges; smaller peeps make it harder to see both dots clearly. Match your peep to your typical shooting distance and eye relief.
The current in-stock listing is the Apex Gear Covert Pro 2-Dot Aperture, manufacturer part number TRUGLO TG-AG2320B (Amazon ASIN B07X63XVQN). This is a different reticle configuration from the original Covert Pro 1-Dot models, so verify the listing image shows the dual-dot aperture before purchasing.
After four months of testing across range sessions, 3D tournaments, and hunting scenarios, the Apex Gear Covert Pro 2-Dot earned a permanent spot on my hunting bow. It is not the lightest sight in this comparison, and it is not a true single-pin sight – but that is the point. The dual-dot hybrid design solves a real problem for hunters who shoot at mixed ranges, and the integrated LED plus glow ring combination handles low-light scenarios better than any other sub-$100 option I tested.
Group sizes were statistically indistinguishable from the more expensive alternatives at 20, 40, and 60 yards. Zero retention across airline travel, gravel roads, and treestand packing was solid. The matte-black anodized aluminum housing shows no wear after a full season. The brightness button works with a positive tactile click even with cold fingers. None of the alternatives I tested beat the Covert Pro on the dimensions that matter most for hunting accuracy.
If you regularly hunt in low light and want one sight that handles dawn, midday, and dusk with equal confidence, the Covert Pro 2-Dot is the strongest value in this comparison. If you want a true single-pin design with maximum brand pedigree, spend more on the HHA Optimizer Lite X or Black Gold Mountain Lite. For everything else – and for hunters on a budget who still want premium feel – the Apex Covert Pro 2-Dot (TG-AG2320B) is the right pick. For more options across the broader category, check out our guide to the best bow sights available this year.
