Hoyt Ventum 33 Compound Bow

The Hoyt Ventum 33, launched at $1,199 for 2021, is the long, forgiving aluminum hunter of Hoyt's two-bow Ventum line - the one owners kept calling the best Hoyt they had shot in years. Built on the all-new HBX binary cam, the In-Line accessory system, the XACT grip, and the same hunting finishes as the carbon RX-5 Ultra, it stretches that engine across a 33-inch frame with a taller 6 3/8-inch brace and gives the hunter a bow that holds rock-steady and aims itself. The HBX cam delivers the firm, defined back wall the older RX-series Hoyts lacked, a 334 fps IBO rating that lands at real hunting-arrow speeds in the 261-to-265 fps range for 440-to-455 grain shafts, and a selectable 80/85% let-off you change with one screw. The detail owners did not expect is how dead an aluminum bow could settle - Hoyt tuned the kick out of the riser until the shot felt as quiet and planted as the carbon bows beside it. The honest trade-offs are real but easy to manage - it is the heaviest of the Ventum pair and the long riser shoots best with a full-length front bar, both of which suit a steady treestand or canyon-glassing hold anyway. Holding it on a far pin, what stays with me is how planted an aluminum bow this long can sit. An excellent bow for the hunter who wants a forgiving, long-axle rig with a firm wall and a dead shot without the carbon price. Buyers who want that same long frame in warm, light carbon should look at the REDWRX Carbon RX-5 Ultra, while those who prize the highest let-off and the longest draw should also consider the PSE EVO NXT 33... read full review