new hoyt lineup

[bowboxer]

the new hoyt line up is online their web site. i have to say i am very disappionted. i heard and thought they was going to get faster, and put a affortable carbon bow on the market. the last two years the speed is staying the same but price is going up.i will say this am not a speed freak but other companies are running away from hoyt on speed and affortable bows.the new fred bear rocks,345fps,7.5 brace height.the g5 bow say they have fit cam lean. the new mathews that i saw wasn't that great with the honey comb riser, and 2,100 price tag.so with the job market the way it is i ask you all, are bow companies targeting the rich to buy the bows or is this the new bow prices of the future. and what do you all think about the bows line up this year.

[Proline]

How much faster can they get in general, not just Hoyt?  Funny you mention this becuase my son bought the Hoyt Maxiss last spring and during the setup etc. we got on this topic with the owner of the shop. He said most of the manufacturers have done just about all they can do with the compound bow where they are at now.  They really can just make them lighter.

[scottflesher]

How did your son like the Maxiss? I thought that bow looked pretty sweet and with my 10 year old Reflex, it's about time for an upgrade. I just hate to drop $1k on a bow.

[Proline]

He loves it and I must admit it is nice. I have shot it a few times as we are nearly the same draw length.  I shoot a Bowtech General which is very quiet and vibration free. The Maxiss isnt much behind it. It is much lighter.  If I had the $ I would have bought one.

[scottflesher]

good to know and it will help next year if I decide to pony up the money.

[Proline]

Good tip if you dont know. watch the classifieds on www.archerytalk.com they have bows for section and alot of guys sell their bows after one season to grab the newest latest and greatest.  you will see some good deals.  bought a couple like that. even as you get toward late summer it is not uncommon to see some shops selling overstock at great prices.

[bowboxer]

i just saying that it's funny that hoyt has not put out a bow that has a 7 inch brace height and can shoot 340fps. fred bear and mathews,darton and it semms every one has done it. i do say the lighter the better i would love to see a bow 34 or 35 inch axle to axle weight in at 3.9 pounds but wihtout the price tag of the carbon matrix.

[moonlightdelight]

lets face it who needs to shoot 362fps like the omen and hell most guys wont even shoot that because the ibo is on a 31in draw length and 70lbs i have no problem buying the maxxis over the turbo hawk or the carbon matrix the question is do you have to be better than your buddy and get the z7 or are you happy with your pse bow maddness at almost half the price. i personally love my maxxis and ill have that bow for another ten years all in all the prices are ridiculous yes but its the same with guns you pay for the name

[DeanoZ]

I recently purchased a new bow and I have to say it was both a humbling and very informative experience.  I went in with the expectation of getting the quietest, fastest shooting bow (over 300 FPS), that felt dead in the hand and would essentially be the answer to all my problems.  After trying out several bows I settled on the Z7.  Admittedly, I fell to the Mathews spell and marketing hype and had high expectations.

I say it was a humbling experience because after getting the bow and shooting it for a a few weeks I was disappointed...not so much in the bow, but myself for not fully understanding what I was getting myself into in the first place.  A little more perspective on my setup is probably warranted to gain a full appreciation for what I'm saying.  For starters most bows (I think Hoyt is the exception they use ATA stanadards) utilize IBO standards when measuring the speed of a bow...a 30" DL, 70# DW, arrows that are 5 grains per inch for every pound of DW.  I'm a 27" DL, so something I was not aware of as  new bow purchaser that was not matter what bow I buy or what arrows and DW I use, I'm never going to achieve a speed at or over 300 FPS, at least not one that will tune accurately and be as forgiving.  Speaking of forgiving, Shorter ATA (Axle to Axle) and Parallel or below Parallel limb bows , as well as bows with shorter BH (brace heights) are not very forgiving...their compactness and lightness (as was the case with the Z7) make them very unforgiving..meaning every little imperfection in your form is going to translate to accuracy and tuning issues down range.  Case in point I've spent the last 3 months trying to get my Z7 to papertune...and finally after 3 dealers and several hundred dollars more later I've finally got it to paper tune correctly and am shooting bullet holes.  But getting there took a lot of patience, time, and $$$ not to mention the help of a very knowledgeable Dealer who took the time to explain these things..and if the dealer you purchased your bow from did not set it up correctly to begin with your already behind the eight ball.  Lastly the shafts you select and shoot for your setup are critical.  Today's high energy cams deliver a lot of energy, and unfortunately most arrow selection charts from the leading manufacturers do not reflect this. Case in point, I started off w/ Beman ICS hunter 400 shafts..this is what according to my DW (70#) and DL (27") is recommended.  I get them fletched with 2" blazers and 100 gr FP's and I got to papertune and from day one I'm nock left tears consistently.  My dealer told me it was me torquing the bow (again goes back to the forgiveness of shorter ATA bows).  I work on my form, get coaching and still nock left tears.  It was not until i researched the Mathews forums and talked to a few other dealers that I discovered I was either over or underspined.  In my case I was actually over spined (too stiff) and that was causing the nock to kick left...once I experimented with different length and spined shafts I finally found the right setup that got me to papertune bullet holes AND maximized the efficiency and speed of my bow.

The end result of my experience was a better appreciation for the mechanics behind a bows efficiency and inner workings...something I'd wished I had a better appreciation for before I went on my new bow purchasing spree.  At least that would have leveled the playing field because I would not have been fixated on speed, knowing fully well no matter what bow I looked at (Maxis, Destroyer, Omen, Z7, etc) none of these bows that had anywhere form 330-360 FPS, would allow me to realize over 300 FPS due to my DL limitation.  Then I could have focused on other essential elements such as fit, smoothness, draw cycle, and quietness...all of which translate to better form and accuracy downrange.  In the end I think i still made the right choice. The Z7 while not as forgiving as I would have liked, is comfortable to shoot, has an extremely smooth draw cycle, and is ultra quiet.  But she is finicky when it comes to grip....you'll have to shoot one to appreciate what I'm saying.

One last parting thought, I've talked a lot about paper tuning and now a days a lot of people don't put as much emphasis on it as they used to, preferring instead to walk back tune (which should be done as well).  The thought is why should i care how the arrows fly out of the bow so long as I'm accurate and hitting my mark downrange?  However, there is no better way to understand the dynamics of your bow setup and optimize its efficiency without doing so.  Sure, your arrow will correct itself after the first 10 yards, that's what fletchings are designed to do...but in the process think of this...how much speed and KE (kinetic energy) are you losing down range, not to mention the consistency of your groups?  I've known folks who have shot great groups with great accuracy all their life only to realize they were getting fletching contact with their rests or risers and were none the wiser until the paper tuned.