I have also hunted with the Garmin Xero A1i and have had good fortune to harvest 5 deer, 4 hogs, and 1 coyote with it. Other than a doe that completely dove my arrow, I haven't misplaced a shot with the sight yet, but I have absolutely taken shots that I would have let down without having the ability to adjust range at full draw. I practice archery regularly and at long distances, and the Xero has absolutely enhanced my ability to shoot accurately at all distances (due to clear sight picture) and at distances I would have otherwise estimated drop (53yds, for instance) previously. I shoot the pin it offers me each time and the results are very impressive.
So regarding the Xero, I think the major negative discussion points are typically focused around Burris' marketing efforts.
- The glass has NEVER fogged on me, and sheds water easily. I've taken one shot during a torrential downpour, and I've hunted well below freezing. I can't think of a time the glass has been an issue.
- The idea of a fixed 20yd pin is interesting, it's like you're banking on a sight failure. I've never had the Xero die on me, so have no need for this.
- Xero does not have micro-adjust. This matters to me for the initial setup (5-10 mins). Then I could care less about it.
- Garmin warranty is 1yr. Truth, this bothers some people. I've used a variety of Garmin products dating back to my time in Iraq with a Rino 120 15yrs ago. I've not yet encountered a Garmin product that failed me.
Benefits to the Xero, for me.
- Lighter weight (14.7oz vs 17oz doesn't tell the whole story) The front end of the garmin is very light weight, the front end of the Oracle is very heavy.
- Clear sight picture. The single dot on the clear glass is exactly like I want to see in my sight picture, completely unobstructed. The vertical bar in the Oracle obstructs view and makes it challenging to aim up off of a front leg. JMO, I don't like up-pins.
- Red and Green pins
- Bubble level inside of sight ring (or electronic LEDs for if its too dim in the ground blind)
- Visual torque indication - the alignment reticle clearly showed me I was torquing my bow with a glove on my hand when I shot my buck. I'm confident my fixed-blade arrow flight would have suffered had I not seen this and adjusted while at full draw.
- Xero "1 year" with two AAA batteries, Oracle 1,000 ranges with CR123. Last I checked, I had over 50% remaining after a year of use.
- No visible laser. Some states are clear that if a sight can be configured to use a visible laser, the sight is not legal. I hunt many different states and the mountable laser on Oracle creates some issues with how I interpret the regulations.
- Shot metrics tell me my bubble level angle and bow vibration on the shot. I've used these to improve consistency in practice and the vibration helps compare between setup changes. Not critical, but useful.
- GPS waypoints projected to the target. This is a really neat feature if you have another Garmin product to interface with. Xero automatically saves GPS waypoints each time a shot is taken.
From a feature standpoint, the two products vary quite a bit. If your interest in a rangefinding sight is simply to take a range and offer a pin, I guess both would work. I suggest that Xero has a much better product, and Oracle has a following for its warranty. I think my truck's warranty expired ~140k miles ago, so I'm not one to choose warranty over function/feature.
