# Hoyt experts please help



## ebutler (Nov 26, 2008)

I can't seem to get away from my protects they have been the most forgiving and accurate bows for me. I have four with limbs ranging from 3000 -4000 and accuwheels to cam.5 s. Great bows. I have had the Caribou,vantage X8, Vantage LTD, and like the protec the best with either wheel.5 or accuwheels.


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

I'm no hoyt "Expert" but I've owned a plethora of finger shooting wheel bows...but only two were hoyts...and both were/are fantastic....in the late 80's I ordered one of the first "Fast-Flight" Model "Vantage Hunter" (I think was the name)...it was about a 44" ATA and boasted CF limbs...which if memory serves were also "new" for that model year...and even with it's cast riser?....the bow shot great...the other of two hoyts I've ever owned?...is this protec I picked up several months ago....










and like it so much?...I placed an order for a color matched set of cables and string of BCY "X" from JBK....










then installed and tuned them myself...










With the XT3000 limbs it's 41"s ATA with a 8 3/4" BH on Cam & !/2 wheels and just a silky smooth finger bow...and I'm primarily a Recurve/Longbow guy but do love dragging this one out every now and then...I paid $275 for the bow and $70 for the new laces...and not sure I could get out of it what I have into it but probably wouldn't even if I could...it's just a great finger bow and would make a dynamite 3D rig.






hope that helps and L8R, Bill. :cool2:


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## Jesse Schultz (Sep 11, 2013)

For fingers I own a 2000 Hoyt Cybertec XT 2000. It is a 35.5 inch axle to axle 50-60 lbs bow. It is not as long as the boys on A.T. finger bows, but it works for me.


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## shadowhunter (Oct 12, 2003)

98' Oasis,if I remember right it was 48" with accuwheels. My favorites are the Montega with a string stop and the old Provantage with 50% letoff I believe.


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## big cypress (Jul 31, 2006)

had two protecs both with lx pro limbs , a montega with 3500 limbs , stratus , provantage . hated protec with cam + 1/2 , loved protec with accuwheels but just sold it , montega is nice but think it looks like someone chain sawed 6'' off the limbs , stratus was nice as was provantage but for slightly more money you can do better . i've wanted an oasis but that hasn't worked out yet . if i could have just one bow i guess it would be the protec with accuwheels [ why did i sell it ? long story!!] . .peace


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

big cypress said:


> had two protecs both with lx pro limbs , a montega with 3500 limbs , stratus , provantage . hated protec with cam + 1/2 , loved protec with accuwheels but just sold it , montega is nice but think it looks like someone chain sawed 6'' off the limbs , stratus was nice as was provantage but for slightly more money you can do better . i've wanted an oasis but that hasn't worked out yet . if i could have just one bow i guess it would be the protec with accuwheels [ why did i sell it ? long story!!] . .peace


Big Cypress...if I may ask...why did you "hate" the protec w/ cam 1/2?


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## big cypress (Jul 31, 2006)

''hate'' may not be a strong enough term but only one my fuzzy old mind could come up with . i think it may have been the first ''cammed'' bow i shot and i found it most unpleasant . i didn't like the big ''roll over of the cams'' , i think [i am very forgetful] if i crept a little i was no longer in control of the bow , and letting down a cammed bow gets really exciting in my opinion . i've had several cammed bows [had about a dozen or so used bows] and the only one i've kept has wedel cams and they are awesome . i think wedel cams are the only way bows should be built . .peace ......apologies to original poster


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

big cypress said:


> ''hate'' may not be a strong enough term but only one my fuzzy old mind could come up with . i think it may have been the first ''cammed'' bow i shot and i found it most unpleasant . i didn't like the big ''roll over of the cams'' , i think [i am very forgetful] if i crept a little i was no longer in control of the bow , and letting down a cammed bow gets really exciting in my opinion . i've had several cammed bows [had about a dozen or so used bows] and the only one i've kept has wedel cams and they are awesome . i think wedel cams are the only way bows should be built . .peace ......apologies to original poster


Thank you....and my apologies to the OP as well....curiosity got the best of me? :dontknow:


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## Paul68 (Jul 20, 2012)

mitchell said:


> Would somebody out here, or some group of you, please educate me. I would like to know how all the various popular Hoyt fingers bows compare as to profile, and which were/are your favorites for fingers. Was any particular model significantly better for fingers for you?
> 
> Aspen, Provantage, Vantage Pro, Protec (by year model if they differ), Montega, Tribute, and so on. Please add any I am missing that made excellent fingers bows.
> 
> ...


Truth in lending up front, I'm far from an expert on Hoyts, although I own several. I'm not a techie like several of the guys on here, so I try to learn as much from them as I can. That said, I'll echo the votes for the Protec. I believe the '03 Protec LX was the high water mark for Hoyt. The best I've ever shot was the '03 Protec LX 4000 limbs, set at 70#, 29.5 DL, with the Cam 1/2. The BH was 8 3/4 and that ATA was 47 1/8 (at least according to the tune charts). Of course, I had to try and improve on that, so I switched up to 80# limbs and an Accu-wheel, and have been stumbling in the dark ever since. 

I have a 2012 Tribute, set at 70# and Accu-wheels. A very nice bow, but it will always be playing catch up to the older Protec. I've recently picked up a few older models from the classifieds (Aspen & Defiant both LX w/4000 limbs), but I've not had a chance to really spend time shooting them yet, and can't give an honest assessment. The Aspen seems to be a favorite of the more experienced crowd, though, so expectations are high. 

Big Cypress makes a great point about the lack of forgiveness on the Cam 1/2. A little creep and you go from "master to subject" very quickly. I've struggled with consistency on form, so the Cam 1/2 keeps me honest. That said, for stump shooting and field situations, where conditions and terrain will challenge strict shooting form, the Accu-wheel has proven the better choice. 

Just opinion, but I've owned a Browning, Mathews, Bowtech and PSE over the past three decades and let go of all of them. I'm keeping the Hoyts. 

$.02.


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## tguil (Mar 3, 2003)

I agree with those who like the ProTec. I bought my ProTec in 2002 and every time I think about trading up, I ask myself, "Why trade?" I don't have a good reason so it's still my "go to" bow for hunting. I'm a bowhunter and practice just enough to hit the "kill zone" at fifty yards. I am not into target shooting.

My Protec is much different than those mentioned. It has XT3000 limbs with an ATA of 40 1/4 inches. Brace height 8 3/4 inches. Draw weight 50-60 pounds. 65% let off. Now the "biggie" -- CommandCams+. It took me a while to get used to the solid wall after shooting AccuWheels for over ten years, but now I have trouble going back. 

If you are looking for a hunting bow, this combination works just fine for me with fingers….even with a 32 inch draw length.


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

Paul68 said:


> I have a 2012 Tribute, set at 70# and Accu-wheels. A very nice bow, but it will always be playing catch up to the older Protec. I've recently picked up a few older models from the classifieds (Aspen & Defiant both LX w/4000 limbs), but I've not had a chance to really spend time shooting them yet, and can't give an honest assessment. The Aspen seems to be a favorite of the more experienced crowd, though, so expectations are high.


Couldn't agree more bout the older protec...it's just so well sorted of a riser with an excellent grip that seems almost "torque resistant" in design...the aspen appears very desirable as well offering a very long ATA where if I were more about spots?...I'd love an aspen...but if I'm more about 3D where unknown yardage is an issue?...I prefer the added zip the shorter protec riser offers...because it seems to come at little to no cost consistency wise.





Paul68 said:


> Big Cypress makes a great point about the lack of forgiveness on the Cam 1/2. A little creep and you go from "master to subject" very quickly. I've struggled with consistency on form, so the Cam 1/2 keeps me honest. That said, for stump shooting and field situations, where conditions and terrain will challenge strict shooting form, the Accu-wheel has proven the better choice.


I agree that Big Cypress did make a valid point regarding the Cam 1/2's....as yes...they are a bit twitchy if one is attempting to shoot "just off the wall"...(or worse yet)...attempting to shoot "out of the diminutive valley"...but the CAM 1/2's offer up some serious performance enhancements and I myself struggled with their "twitchyness" at first until Gary MCcain and Grantmac explained to me that the Cam 1/2's are best shot by tuning the bows draw length just a touch on the short side and shooting the Cam 1/2's by pulling dead up against and through the wall...so I did as they advised and adjusted the bows DL to where the Cam 1/2's were slap up against the wall just as I anchored...and then "pull through" the back end and that made a world of difference an for bonus points?...I get to enjoy "an enhanced zip factor" the Cam 1/2's offer over softer wheels.

I'm enjoying this bow so much I'm actually entertaining the thought of throwing a rack of pins on it and serving in a "HUGE" peep for use as a 3D finger bow because it's killing me to not get the most out of it with my feeble attempts at shooting it BB cause I know this things a tack driver that screaming for some sights to go ahead and reach on out there! :laugh:

anyways...sorry if I'm derailing things in any way but figured I'd share my similar experience with the Cam 1/2's that I at first questioned but now love. 

Hope that helps and L8R, Bill. :cool2:


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## Paul68 (Jul 20, 2012)

JINKSTER said:


> Couldn't agree more bout the older protec...it's just so well sorted of a riser with an excellent grip that seems almost "torque resistant" in design...the aspen appears very desirable as well offering a very long ATA where if I were more about spots?...I'd love an aspen...but if I'm more about 3D where unknown yardage is an issue?...I prefer the added zip the shorter protec riser offers...because it seems to come at little to no cost consistency wise.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Bill - great point. Pulling on the backwall is how I had my Cam 1/2 set up. I caught myself turning my head to the right a few times, just to move my "full draw" to the back wall of the Cam 1/2, instead of the front where things had a tendency to go awry. The 1/2" adjustment made a world of difference. 

Don't give into the Dark Side! Stay BB with that Protec. You may get some better groups overall, but the fun won't be there.


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## DiamondD (Apr 8, 2015)

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread but I like to read about these old Hoyt finger bows. I recently bought a newer Tribute and was really enjoying shooting it before an accident side lined archery for me for a while. The bow is so smooth that I was amazed, but it is on the slow side. Mine is set at 27" DL and 57# DW. I am thinking of trying to find either a Vantage Pro or a Protec with cam and a half or GTX cams to speed things up a bit. I can't shoot anything right now but I'll be doing a ton of research to try and find my PFSC (Perfect Finger Shooting Compound.)

Dean


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## rsarns (Sep 23, 2008)

DiamondD said:


> I know I'm resurrecting an old thread but I like to read about these old Hoyt finger bows. I recently bought a newer Tribute and was really enjoying shooting it before an accident side lined archery for me for a while. The bow is so smooth that I was amazed, but it is on the slow side. Mine is set at 27" DL and 57# DW. I am thinking of trying to find either a Vantage Pro or a Protec with cam and a half or GTX cams to speed things up a bit. I can't shoot anything right now but I'll be doing a ton of research to try and find my PFSC (Perfect Finger Shooting Compound.)
> 
> I take the Vantage Pro put XT 3000 limbs and GTX cams on it, gives me a 45.5 ATA and 255 FPS with a 365 gr arrow at 56#


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