# New Tribute



## Lanny (May 4, 2005)

If the money situation allows I hope to either order a Hill longbow or Hoyt Tribute early next year. If it turns out to be the Tribute was wondering what you guys like for rests and sights. Given that the Tribute is not a speed bow, are there sights with pins spaced far enough apart to work; which ones? Was also wondering whether to go with the Whisker Biscuit or Timberdoodle II rest. Mainly a bow for deer hunting and recreational shooting at local ranges.

For you guys already shooting Tributes, any good/bad comments?

Many thanks and happy holidays.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

Skip the Tribute, look for a Vantage LTD. Spend the money on a set of GTX cams and you will have the best of all worlds.

Grant


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## thegoodnews (May 7, 2015)

Shooting with sights I would go WB rest as it's better for hunting. Far as concerns about pins, remember todays bows are faster than 10 years ago... Sights haven't changed that much. What work then still works now.


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## shadowhunter (Oct 12, 2003)

Spot-Hogg, the best sight out there, has a large pin guard that should be more than ample pin spread for your next bow.
Look at the NAP center rest flipper, simplicity itself.


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## Lanny (May 4, 2005)

Thanks for the comments guys. I have a few springys I can salvage from other bows, but am using a NAP centerflipper rest on my old Hoyt Spectra Eclipse compound right now and also like it. Good to hear the vote for the Whisker Biscuit, a full-containment rest looks advantageous for hunting but I thought I'd heard some complaints about vane wear. The Tribute has an IBO speed of 274 fps and lots of the bows of today seem to easily break 300 fps, so I wondered about the pin spacing. 

Merry Christmas fellas.


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

Lanny said:


> If the money situation allows I hope to either order a Hill longbow or Hoyt Tribute early next year. If it turns out to be the Tribute was wondering what you guys like for rests and sights. Given that the Tribute is not a speed bow, are there sights with pins spaced far enough apart to work; which ones? Was also wondering whether to go with the Whisker Biscuit or Timberdoodle II rest. Mainly a bow for deer hunting and recreational shooting at local ranges.
> 
> For you guys already shooting Tributes, any good/bad comments?
> 
> Many thanks and happy holidays.


The Tribute is Hoyt's best kept secret, their most underrated and under-advertised bow, but one of the very best they make. Basically, if you're a fan of late 80's wheel bows, both the plusses and minuses of them, it's absolutely the way to go. It's more or less a Pro Vantage Hunter with a new CNC machined riser, the good Hoyt limb pockets, split limbs and updated Accuwheels that allow DL adjustment without having to press the bow.

If you're shooting it finger style, a springy or a NAP center flipper rest would be all you need (though for hunting yes a whisker biscuit might be more suitable). I shoot mine with a release aid, and I find for that a lizard-tongue works the best. The Trophy Taker, the Hoyt Blade rest (which looks like it's made by AAE) or anything like the AAE's or the Spot Hoggs are really good options there. 

As you've noted the Tribute is slow like all our old wheel bows used to be, so unfortunately for pin sights, you'll have to deal with that as well just like we had to do back then. I shoot a Shibuya CPX 520 target sight on mine with a recurve sight pin in it (see pic) and for yardages out to 40 and 50 I definitely use all of it. To speed it up, you can throw arrows at that problem, though. I shoot GT Ultralights and Easton ACE's with mine and that helps considerably.

But with the grip removed and some Liam Grimwood grip tape on the handle, like I have on mine, it's easily the most forgiving bow you can possibly buy these days.

The only negative is it can be a bit of a pain to tune, at least at first until you learn the tricks. On mine, the lower wheel has to be advanced somewhat from the top one, and it can take quite a few trips back and forth to the press twisting the cables to get it exactly right. You may have to do even more twiddling when you change the draw weight, but retuning in that case isn't unexpected anyway. For fingers, you're in for the usual with trial-and-error on the spine to get the paradox just right in addition. 

I think you'd love it. Even with a release aid, it's now my preferred bow.

DM


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

I would suggest that the records which were set in the 80s using wheels and are now being broken using modern cams would make any statement regarding the superiority of wheels a false one.

The Tribute is basically just a Protec 3000xt with wheels. You can buy those for under $300 every day of the week and they aren't bad, but they sure aren't worth $800.

If they built the Tribute on the Vantage riser with a selection of cams it would be worth that price.

Grant


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

grantmac said:


> I would suggest that the records which were set in the 80s using wheels and are now being broken using modern cams would make any statement regarding the superiority of wheels a false one.


Nobody made any such statement.


> The Tribute is basically just a Protec 3000xt with wheels. You can buy those for under $300 every day of the week and they aren't bad, but they sure aren't worth $800.
> 
> If they built the Tribute on the Vantage riser with a selection of cams it would be worth that price.
> 
> Grant


You don't own and shoot a Tribute, do you?

DM


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

I've competed in BB with a Protec, the risers are functionally identical. The limbs and cams are likewise functionally identical. I shot that bow fairly well but it had some major limitations unless you wanted to use either wallbangers which don't work for stringwalking or a clicker. It is a hard bow to shoot out of the valley without one of those draw checks. Not what I'd want in a hunting bow for sure.

I now own a Vantage. It's a better bow. Shoots FAR nicer with a light arrow. Anyone who has tried to get the IBO speed out of a Protec geometry bow knows how much they hate a light arrow.
My Vantage has Spiral cams which I personally wouldn't recommend for finger shooting (this is my freestyle bow and has the short limbs). They didn't come from the factory with the GTX cam but in my mind that is the one to have and the results people are getting from them are outstanding. 

When I pick a new bow I look at what wins in the hands of the non-sponsored shooters. If the Tribute were so very good there would be at least a few on the line in the finger classes.

Grant


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

grantmac said:


> I've competed in BB with a Protec, the risers are functionally identical....


But you clearly don't own or shoot a Tribute, so your impressions and judgments about it are just 2nd-hand guesses. I do own and shoot one, however, which is why I posted my impressions of the bow for the OP - yes, I'm sure you're an expert of some sort or other about these other bows, but he specifically asked for info about the Tribute. I made no other claims or said anything about any other bows. 

DM


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

Lanny said:


> Thanks for the comments guys. I have a few springys I can salvage from other bows, but am using a NAP centerflipper rest on my old Hoyt Spectra Eclipse compound right now and also like it. Good to hear the vote for the Whisker Biscuit, a full-containment rest looks advantageous for hunting but I thought I'd heard some complaints about vane wear. The Tribute has an IBO speed of 274 fps and lots of the bows of today seem to easily break 300 fps, so I wondered about the pin spacing.
> 
> Merry Christmas fellas.


Back to the topic: one option that I was thinking about for my Tribute was something like the Axcel Accutouch, a slider with a pretty wide range on the vertical adjust. I shoot very low poundage on mine so I get a whopping 192-3 fps out of it. A fixed multipin sight is basically out of the question. My target sight turns out to be legal for BHFS with a recurve sight pin in it, so I didn't need to spend the money, but if I did an Accutouch is probably what I would have gone with.

For hunting, though, and though it's pretty expensive, that might be a sight to take a look at....

http://axcelsights.com/accutouch.html

DM


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## JMLOWE (Apr 19, 2011)

I used the Accutouch on my hunting bow this year and really enjoyed it, very well made sight with great adjustability. I did however remove the accuclicks and made my marks on the sight tape like a target sight. Expensive for sure but you won't regret it!


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## jkrikken81 (Jul 28, 2013)

I think you will find the tribute riser is very similar to the vantage riser as the tribute replaced the vantage. I don't believe that the tribute riser is similar to the protec. I think the protec is a shorter riser possibly similar in geometry to the ultratec/contender and now freestyle. I have a tribute which I have been playing around with xt2000 limbs and gtx cams and spirals. It's an excellent bow standard but the back wall is not solid and has a spongy valley. I have both #2 and #3 accuwheels. The gtx cams are a great improvement but different limbs are required as you lose roughly about 20lbs in draw weight. 
As a standard bow the tribute is great and my tinkering is simply curiosity. I shoot barebow fingers so can't comment on pin gaps but I say go for it. I also have a contender xt3000 with gtx cams. I prefer the longer and heavier tribute.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

jkrikken81 said:


> I think you will find the tribute riser is very similar to the vantage riser as the tribute replaced the vantage. I don't believe that the tribute riser is similar to the protec. I think the protec is a shorter riser possibly similar in geometry to the ultratec/contender and now freestyle. I have a tribute which I have been playing around with xt2000 limbs and gtx cams and spirals. It's an excellent bow standard but the back wall is not solid and has a spongy valley. I have both #2 and #3 accuwheels. The gtx cams are a great improvement but different limbs are required as you lose roughly about 20lbs in draw weight.
> As a standard bow the tribute is great and my tinkering is simply curiosity. I shoot barebow fingers so can't comment on pin gaps but I say go for it. I also have a contender xt3000 with gtx cams. I prefer the longer and heavier tribute.


What did your ATA work out to with XT2000 limbs? The geometry looked closer to my Protec than my Vantage when viewed side by side but perhaps I was focused on the limb angle rather than pocket angle. The Vantage looked more parallel, but eyeballs are what they are.
I wonder if Hoyt would custom shop one with GTX cams. That would be a very hot ticket.

Grant


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## jkrikken81 (Jul 28, 2013)

I wish hoyt had more options for the tribute as well. It's a real shane they don't do that anymore. Tribute with #5 gtx cams and xt2000 limbs is roughly 41.25"ata. I would love some xt3000's. It's shoots great. I'm trying out spirals but I think I'll go back to the gtx's. I learnt to make my own strings which helps otherwise it would cost a fortune playing around with different combo's. 
Grant can you do me a favor and measure the length of the vantage riser?


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## jkrikken81 (Jul 28, 2013)

My custom tribute


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

jkrikken81 said:


> I wish hoyt had more options for the tribute as well. It's a real shane they don't do that anymore. Tribute with #5 gtx cams and xt2000 limbs is roughly 41.25"ata. I would love some xt3000's. It's shoots great. I'm trying out spirals but I think I'll go back to the gtx's. I learnt to make my own strings which helps otherwise it would cost a fortune playing around with different combo's.
> Grant can you do me a favor and measure the length of the vantage riser?


Wow that DOES sound similar to the Vantage in terms of ATA, well there is egg on my face. Still wouldn't buy one new with the number of Vantages out there for reasonable prices (mine was <$300 with XT2000 and spiral cams).
Would you like bolt to bolt or end of pocket to end of pocket?

You mentioned shooting it barebow, you aren't stringwalking it with those limbs and cams are you?

-Grant


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## jkrikken81 (Jul 28, 2013)

End of pocket to end of pocket measurement would be great. I was lucky enough to pick mine up second hand. They are pretty expensive new but here in Australia these types of bows are few and far between. I don't string walk. Just plain instinctive shooting.


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

jkrikken81 said:


> I wish hoyt had more options for the tribute as well. It's a real shane they don't do that anymore. Tribute with #5 gtx cams and xt2000 limbs is roughly 41.25"ata. I would love some xt3000's. It's shoots great. I'm trying out spirals but I think I'll go back to the gtx's. I learnt to make my own strings which helps otherwise it would cost a fortune playing around with different combo's.


Very nice... As for more options, I'm just glad Hoyt still makes a wheel bow at all, much less offers any options of any kind for it. Right now, a 45" wheel bow is my most comfortable platform and there's been a pretty dramatic improvement in my scores indoors (for me anyway) since switching to it. Could just be because I'm old and my bones have just assumed that shape over the years.

When I think about suping a Tribute up, though, in my mind I end up at the Freestyle or very close to it. Like your custom job tho, very cool!

DM


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

jkrikken81 said:


> End of pocket to end of pocket measurement would be great. I was lucky enough to pick mine up second hand. They are pretty expensive new but here in Australia these types of bows are few and far between. I don't string walk. Just plain instinctive shooting.


735mm right on the nose.

DM: get a set of wallbangers if you are going to shoot with a tension release. The spongy back wall is an absolute consistency destroyer with that release style.

-Grant


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

grantmac said:


> DM: get a set of wallbangers if you are going to shoot with a tension release. The spongy back wall is an absolute consistency destroyer with that release style.
> 
> -Grant


I'm hear you, but that hasn't been my experience. Especially now that I've shot the combo for a more extended period of time. In fact, I've found I prefer the spongy back wall even with the back tension release because of the little bit of 'give' it has, probably habit from the recurve days. It absolutely crushes the spider every time as long as the pin is on the X when it goes off...

DM


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

dmacey said:


> I'm hear you, but that hasn't been my experience. Especially now that I've shot the combo for a more extended period of time. In fact, I've found I prefer the spongy back wall even with the back tension release because of the little bit of 'give' it has, probably habit from the recurve days. It absolutely crushes the spider every time as long as the pin is on the X when it goes off...
> 
> DM


So you are shooting in the 295-300 range on the Vegas target with it then?


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## rsarns (Sep 23, 2008)

The tribute is very close to the same as the Vantage LTD, (might be the same, I'd like to try another side by side as I have in the past). I mod all the old Hoyt bows to GTX cams, and am loving them. They become fantastic shooters. Scores have jumped considerably and I'm not the only one doing them... LOL ANy Vantage riser with 3000 limbs makes a very stable platform and considerably fast with GTX cams. 45+ ATA and 275 FPS with a hunting weight arrow and at 56#'s? Sweet. My sons shoots faster at his 27" DL and only 42#'s, shooting my arrows, still haven't figured out why... LOL Must be the guy who built the bow and strings... LOL AT least that's what I told him. 

I have tried to learn to love wheels, but without a clicker I cannot get the consistency that I demand. Just shows the old guys (no offence Don or Ben), that shot some great scores with wheels, how good they really are (notice present tense).


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## rsarns (Sep 23, 2008)

jkrikken81 said:


> My custom tribute


Nice setup, if you switch to XT 3000 limbs, you'll need a different cam for your DL. I have a 30.5 and use a #3 GTX cam with XT3000 limbs on a Vantage LTD (or Pro) riser. With XT4000 on my Protec I need the same cam, but the ATA works out the same (riser difference)


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## Lanny (May 4, 2005)

Again, thanks for all the discussions guys. I'm just an old deer hunter, casual local range target shooter; nothing serious like a lot of you all. I like my shooting solitary and fun, formal competition tends to run in the other direction for me. Truth be told, now I want both bows -- the Tribute and the Hill longbow -- for those middle-of-the week solo visits to the range.


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

grantmac said:


> So you are shooting in the 295-300 range on the Vegas target with it then?


What gives you the idea I'm shooting in that particular range and why would it matter? And apart from that, remind me again how much shooting of a Tribute with a tension-style release you've done? What were your scores with it? 

DM


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## jkrikken81 (Jul 28, 2013)

rsarns said:


> Nice setup, if you switch to XT 3000 limbs, you'll need a different cam for your DL. I have a 30.5 and use a #3 GTX cam with XT3000 limbs on a Vantage LTD (or Pro) riser. With XT4000 on my Protec I need the same cam, but the ATA works out the same (riser difference)


Yeah that's right. I've set up #3 cams on the zr200 tribute limbs but they drop dramatically in draw weight. The old accuwheels mustn't have the leverage of the newer cams so they don't use a high deflection limbs. The length was great but 70lb limbs maxed at about 47lb. I like a little more.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

dmacey said:


> I'm hear you, but that hasn't been my experience. Especially now that I've shot the combo for a more extended period of time. In fact, I've found I prefer the spongy back wall even with the back tension release because of the little bit of 'give' it has, probably habit from the recurve days. It absolutely crushes the spider every time as long as the pin is on the X when it goes off...
> 
> DM





dmacey said:


> What gives you the idea I'm shooting in that particular range and why would it matter? And apart from that, remind me again how much shooting of a Tribute with a tension-style release you've done? What were your scores with it?
> 
> DM


You said it was "crushing the spider", does that not have a quantifiable number associated with it?

Right now I'm shooting my VE with Spirals which the gentleman from Australia has revealed is essentially the same bow. Scores are in the 294-298 range on the Vegas target alternating between my thumb trigger and hinge.
I don't shoot cams with mushy walls or tension releases for the same reason: they aren't consistent. 
The last time I shot wheels it was a Barebow Protec LX which shot in the 270-280 range on the Vegas target. I'm confident it could have done better if I had not gone back to NFAA Trad that season. A clicker would have likely added greatly to the consistency, something a hunter wouldn't want and a release shooter couldn't use.

Grant


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

grantmac said:


> You said it was "crushing the spider", does that not have a quantifiable number associated with it?


I gave you the evaluation - it's not a number. Re read my comment carefully (look for "when the pin is on the X")


> I don't shoot cams with mushy walls or tension releases for the same reason: they aren't consistent.


Which is why your judgments about both are valueless. And I _do_ shoot tension releases and mushy back walls full-time, which is how I know your statement is also wrong. In fact, virtually all cases I've encountered on AT that try to brand tension-style releases as "inconsistent" are like yours; they come from people such as yourself who don't shoot them or never went to the trouble to learn the consistency in form required to do so properly. Same with wheel bows and mushy back walls - those judgments come from people like you who tend to base their equipment choices on what their idols shoot, not what is the best fit bow for them. 

So it is with the Tribute. The important item for me is how _I_ shoot relative to how _I used_ to shoot before I make a change, and that's how I arrived at a Tribute shot with an Evolution. Others' standards of performance or other opinions are irrelevant.
DM


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## jkrikken81 (Jul 28, 2013)

grantmac said:


> 735mm right on the nose.
> 
> Ok so I've measured my tribute from end of pocket to end of pocket and it's 3mm (1/8") longer than the vantage! Not much in it! Probably not exactly the same but not far from it in my opinion.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

jkrikken81 said:


> grantmac said:
> 
> 
> > 735mm right on the nose.
> ...


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## rsarns (Sep 23, 2008)

jkrikken81 said:


> Yeah that's right. I've set up #3 cams on the zr200 tribute limbs but they drop dramatically in draw weight. The old accuwheels mustn't have the leverage of the newer cams so they don't use a high deflection limbs. The length was great but 70lb limbs maxed at about 47lb. I like a little more.


Yes, on conversion from any wheel based system to cams, there is a drop in poundage. I take the V Pro's and swap them to XT3000's and use 88-94 Def limbs to keep the poundage up.


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## jkrikken81 (Jul 28, 2013)

rsarns said:


> Yes, on conversion from any wheel based system to cams, there is a drop in poundage. I take the V Pro's and swap them to XT3000's and use 88-94 Def limbs to keep the poundage up.


What poundage are you getting from a 94 deflection limb?


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## rsarns (Sep 23, 2008)

jkrikken81 said:


> What poundage are you getting from a 94 deflection limb?


I am getting 64#'s maxed out.


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## jkrikken81 (Jul 28, 2013)

rsarns said:


> I am getting 64#'s maxed out.


Ok thank you


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