# Octane Hostage PRO



## Robinhooder3 (Jun 18, 2008)

no but I have a regular hostage and they are realy sweet. No problems it's great.


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## jpm_mq2 (May 22, 2004)

I have, Drenalin LD. I have at least 1000 shots on mine and they still look great.


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## CJT (Jun 8, 2007)

Dont have one but I have been looking at them and was wondering about them . Any info about them you could give me would be nice !!! Currently using a WB .


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## coxva (Sep 21, 2007)

I just got one and have shot about 75 shots and have noticed significant wear on the left set of brushes. Has not affected the shot yet, but very disappointed with the durability. This is a brand new setup not sure if I will stick with the rest.


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## mwaym (Dec 21, 2005)

Yeah, I called the Bowtech pro-shop in Eugene Oregon, and that guy said that you have to tune them real good right from the get-go. He said if the arrows is not leaving perfect, you will get wear. My pro-shop ordered a big bag of brushes because they are wearing fast. I just put a ripcord on my Ally. I'm done messin with it for now.


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## Joe P. (Jan 13, 2004)

I set one up for a friend of mine last week, I will have to ask him how it is holding up.


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## barry1me (Jun 28, 2007)

Joe P. said:


> I set one up for a friend of mine last week, I will have to ask him how it is holding up.


any word on how your buddies rest is holding up? This looks like a great rest, very simple..I like it. My concern is the noise while drawing the bow back and brush wear.


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## CTA (Apr 13, 2006)

I used a regular "non-pro" Hostage last year. It tuned well for me, and I liked it, but I did wear through the brushes quick. I replaced it with a Biscuit, and I believe the Biscuit is a better choice for this kind of rest.


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## coxva (Sep 21, 2007)

My pro shop corrected my problem and giving it another shot. I will let let you know how it goes. My shop said the bottom brush was wearing alot on the Hoyts had something to do the draw cycle on the cam and 1/2 and downward pressure. He is a Hoyt dealer and has seen alot with this issue.


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## Planetcat (Jun 28, 2008)

I have the standard hostage rest and I wear out the right side of the bottom bristle after about 250-300 shots making the arrows fly at about 2" to the right at 20 yards and worse further out. I think the "tuning" issue with this supposedly simple rest is B.S. Make the bristles out of something more durable.


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## KCHuntPunk (Jul 23, 2008)

I too am about 200 shots in and my bottom brush is worn down a lot. Hard to tune or keep tuned. Good idea but need more durability or 10-20 free brushes.


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## GimpyPaw (Aug 10, 2008)

I have a Hostage Pro and at about 400 shots I'm already in need of replacement brushes. Does ANYBODY know where I can buy them? I've found replacements for the original Hostage, but nothing for the Pro. 

Fairly frustrated with this rest personally. Good concept, but if you need to continually drop $20 a month in brushes to maintain it then it would have been cheaper to go with a top-of-the-line drop away.


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## OBXPilgrim (Jul 19, 2008)

And I thought it was just me. 

New bow owner (08 BT Tomkat) and I've had to move the left brush down to the bottom because I've noticed so much wear. I've only had the bow since July 3rd. I'd estimate less than 400 shots when I switched them. 

My bad habit shots to the right, might not have just been me!


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## GimpyPaw (Aug 10, 2008)

Just got off the phone with Bowtech. The guy at the pro shop told me that the brush replacement kit just got on the market, and retails for $15. According to him proper set-up is to have a clearance of 1/8"-3/16" from the arrow shaft to the top brushes. Less will result in rapid wear. I had aprox 1/16", as set up by the bow shop I bought my X-Force from, resulting in worn brushes 400 shots later.

Nice thing is, *the guy only charged me for shipping on a replacement kit.* Very good customer service, imo. I was about to go and buy a drop-away, but I think now I can at least get through hunting season on the Hostage Pro. After that, if the brushes continue to wear too fast I'm going to switch. At $15 a kit, even if they last 1000 shots, that's only 2 or 3 months of shooting in the off season.


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## 5MilesBack (Feb 28, 2007)

GimpyPaw said:


> Just got off the phone with Bowtech. The guy at the pro shop told me that the brush replacement kit just got on the market, and retails for $15. According to him proper set-up is to have a clearance of 1/8"-3/16" from the arrow shaft to the top brushes. *Less will result in rapid wear.*


I have at least 1/8"-3/16" clearance and mine wore like crazy. However, that was shooting it with a perfect paper tear and BH tune. Perhaps there is a different tune I need to do with it to not get the wear. I'm still using my original Hostage for now and have probably 2000 shots on this bottom brush. There is still wear, but nowhere near the quick wear as on the Pro brushes.


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## kgoold (Aug 12, 2008)

just make sure your bow is tuned really well and adjust the bristles so there holding the arrow firmley and that will take some pressure off the botton brush and as much as i whold love to say you can go through 500 shots without replacing them thats just not realestic. the hostage pro is a great rest i hope bowtech/octane figures out how to fix the problum better maby with some stronger brushes.


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## GimpyPaw (Aug 10, 2008)

kgoold said:


> just make sure your bow is tuned really well and adjust the bristles so there holding the arrow firmley and that will take some pressure off the botton brush and as much as i whold love to say you can go through 500 shots without replacing them thats just not realestic. the hostage pro is a great rest i hope bowtech/octane figures out how to fix the problum better maby with some stronger brushes.


There lies the problem, 500 shots isn't very much. Even 1000 shots is a short life. A brush kit retails for $15.00, and that's if you don't have to order it (add another $10.00 for shipping). Right now, in prep for hunting season, I take 25 to 50 shots a day. At this rate, my 2nd set of brushes will be worn out just in time for opening day.


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## swamp wader (Jun 22, 2008)

I dont have the PRO but my brushes seem to be doing quite well... Probably had 750+ arrows through it..


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## 5MilesBack (Feb 28, 2007)

GimpyPaw said:


> Right now, in prep for hunting season, I take 25 to 50 shots a day. At this rate, my 2nd set of brushes will be worn out just in time for opening day.


That's why I removed my Hostage Pro and put the regular Hostage back on. Have been shooting it every day now and the bottom brush on the old Hostage rest is still fine. The old ones usually last me about 3000-4000 shots. I might not even put the Pro back on for hunting.....the bow is shooting really well right now. The biggest advantage that I can find to the Pro is a little more vane clearance, and the ease of adjustability. If my old rest is already adjusted perfectly.......I see no need to change that.


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## Wingnutt (Jul 20, 2008)

Ive got about 400 shots through mine on a katera and the only "wear" im seeing is a very very tiny amount on the bottom brush (the one the arrow rests on) but It is extremely minimal, virtually none..

I would see your "problem" as a blessing in disguise, pointed out a potential problem you may be having.


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## 5MilesBack (Feb 28, 2007)

Wingnutt said:


> I would see your "problem" as a blessing in disguise, pointed out a potential problem you may be having.


But why would the problem only show itself with the Hostage Pro and not the original Hostage? They were both set up the same on my bow. Both shot great, just the Pro had really fast brush wear, and the original doesn't. I have used the original Hostage rests for the last year and a half without any issues.


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## Wingnutt (Jul 20, 2008)

5MilesBack said:


> But why would the problem only show itself with the Hostage Pro and not the original Hostage? They were both set up the same on my bow. Both shot great, just the Pro had really fast brush wear, and the original doesn't. I have used the original Hostage rests for the last year and a half without any issues.


thats defiantly a good point. Ive never owned the Original hostage. do you think you are possably getting any fletching contact? when I had it on my Stinger NI I was getting contact on the right brush even when the cock feather was in perfectly inline with the string, I had to cock it slightly to the left to get it to clear the rest cleanly, BUT.. on my Katera, that is not the case. im still  as to what the deal was there.

would be nice if ya had access to a good slow motion capture camera so you could actually see the events playing out as the arrow is fired.


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## 5MilesBack (Feb 28, 2007)

Wingnutt said:


> do you think you are possably getting any fletching contact?


Actually, when the bow was paper-tuned with the Pro rest, I was getting massive fletching contact, because the rest was much lower than the nock. However, this was the only way to get a paper tune with it. Black streaks down the vanes from the black part that holds the bristles. So, I leveled the arrow and started over with a walk-back tune and BH tune. Got everything set out to 60 yards, shot it many times, and the wear started showing. Just not sure where to move the rest to stop the wear AND still get good arrow flight. The Pro and the original are pretty much the same design. So, I would think that if one is set up in a specific position and works, the other would as well. And they do work.......just have quick brush wear.


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## LonnyBoozer (Aug 10, 2008)

*Switching Brushes*

I am looking at getting this rest for my new setup and wondering if you can put the original hostage brushes onto the hostage pro. Seems like the hostage pro brushes are the problem. I've never seen the rests up close so I have no clue if this would work.


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## mdewitt71 (Jul 20, 2005)

So the original black bristle parts won't fit the Pro version?
I have 2 Originals and am getting a Pro soon........
I had no issues with the Original version, worked fine.


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## Wingnutt (Jul 20, 2008)

after posting, i took an extra look at mine, the lower brush (the one the arrow sits on) has SIGNIFICANT wear now, hadnt really noticed it before.

I think my NEW opinion of this rest is that its a really good capture rest FOR HUNTING.. I.E. put it on, sight in with it, and hunt with it, but if your looking to shoot every day, be prepared for brush wear.


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## GimpyPaw (Aug 10, 2008)

Wingnutt said:


> after posting, i took an extra look at mine, the lower brush (the one the arrow sits on) has SIGNIFICANT wear now, hadnt really noticed it before.
> 
> I think my NEW opinion of this rest is that its a really good capture rest FOR HUNTING.. I.E. put it on, sight in with it, and hunt with it, but if your looking to shoot every day, be prepared for brush wear.


I agree, and once properly tuned, with the correct clearance and alignment, I've noticed that the top brushes hardly wear at all. I bought another replacement pack, and hopefully I can just keep replacing the bottom brush. With any luck I should be able to get 500+ shots per bottom brush. I'm at about 150 now with what looks like minimal wear.


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## 82NDAIRBORNE (Aug 26, 2008)

*82nd with hostage pro*

i have had my hostage pro for less than a month and i am going to go with something else. I have around 500-800 shots and the brushes looked good until i went from 60# to 70# and then the brushes really started wearing on the right side and bottom brushes. It is a very accurate hunting rest but if you shoot alot i would go drop away.


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## 5MilesBack (Feb 28, 2007)

mdewitt71 said:


> So the original black bristle parts won't fit the Pro version?
> I have 2 Originals and am getting a Pro soon........
> I had no issues with the Original version, worked fine.


No, the original brushes will not work on the Pro. I have two originals as well, and the Pro. The Pro is sitting on a shelf on my workbench. The originals are mounted to both my bows. At this point with the season starting in 3 days and the bows shooting well, I'm leaving the originals on. The originals work great.......once you have them set up. Their biggest problem is in making accurate adjustments with them. The bottom brush does wear on the originals as well, just not near as fast. However, at $5/brush.......I'm quickly leaning toward trying a drop-away after the season is over.

The bottom brush on my Pro is perfectly worn down the middle of the brush. In fact, the outside bristles are still full length, and there's a trough worn down to the bracket, and the wear is consistent from front to back. So, I'm getting even wear which tells me the rest has been set in the right position, it's just that the friction of the arrow wears down the bristles. And with my 32" draw and 292fps, I'm sure I have a lot more arrow friction than the average archer.


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## GimpyPaw (Aug 10, 2008)

5MilesBack said:


> No, the original brushes will not work on the Pro. I have two originals as well, and the Pro. The Pro is sitting on a shelf on my workbench. The originals are mounted to both my bows. At this point with the season starting in 3 days and the bows shooting well, I'm leaving the originals on. The originals work great.......once you have them set up. Their biggest problem is in making accurate adjustments with them. The bottom brush does wear on the originals as well, just not near as fast. However, at $5/brush.......I'm quickly leaning toward trying a drop-away after the season is over.
> 
> The bottom brush on my Pro is perfectly worn down the middle of the brush. In fact, the outside bristles are still full length, and there's a trough worn down to the bracket, and the wear is consistent from front to back. So, I'm getting even wear which tells me the rest has been set in the right position, it's just that the friction of the arrow wears down the bristles. And with my 32" draw and 292fps, I'm sure I have a lot more arrow friction than the average archer.


Yep, 29" draw, 327fps here. I've calculated that with my average shooting, and at 600 shots per bottom brush, IF I don't need to replace the top brushes, by next season I could have bought a top of the line limb-driver rest for what it's going to cost me in brushes too keep this thing working.


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## Kss_Waylander (Aug 26, 2008)

With the pro you absolutely have to be aware of downward pressure with your bow. Downward pressure will wear the bottom brushes abnormally fast. Slightly moving your nock can fix this, but don't do it yourself if you don't know what you're doing - you'll throw off proper arrow flight. Too finicky of a rest for me.


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