Hoyt 38 Ultra Review

Editors' review

Hoyt built the 38 Ultra for exactly one year, and it is the more interesting half of a 2007 pair for it. Where the 38 Pro chased forgiveness, the 38 Ultra chased speed on the same long chassis - and it did it with the Vector Cam and a half, the hotter of Hoyt's two new-for-2007 cams and the very design the Pro's C2 cam was patterned after. On paper the recipe is simple: take a forgiving 38-inch axle-to-axle bow, drop the brace height to 7.5 inches, hang the faster Vector cam on it, and you get a 310 fps IBO all-arounder that still holds like a target bow. Hoyt wrapped it in the same machined TEC riser and gave it the same standard StealthShot string suppression and RizerShox dampeners as the Pro, so the quiet came built in. Then, when Hoyt reorganized its 2008 lineup around the Vantage and other models, the 38 Ultra quietly dropped off the charts, leaving a one-season bow that today turns up on the used market as the faster, rarer twin of a better-remembered sibling. This review is for the archer who finds one and wants to know whether the long, quick old Hoyt is the versatile range-and-field bow its numbers suggest.

Finish

The 38 Ultra shipped in Hoyt's 2007 target and field palette - the high-polish anodized target colors of the year alongside the camo dips Hoyt offered on the same chassis, since the bow was sold as an all-around crossover for the range and the woods. Because it was built for a single season, the finish a buyer meets today is entirely a used-market question, and condition matters far more than the original color: a long bow that has traveled to shoots and hunts for over fifteen years will show handling wear at the limb tips and along the riser cutouts. That wear is cosmetic on a machined-aluminum bow and does not reach the structure. High-polish anodized coatings of the era can dull or scuff with time, so judge the specific bow in front of you rather than a catalog swatch. On a rare one-year model the finish is the last thing to weigh - you buy a 38 Ultra for its cam and its geometry, not its paint.

Riser

The 38 Ultra is built on Hoyt's machined-aluminum TEC riser, the Total Engineering Concept construction behind the brand's stiff, torsionally stable reputation. Weight-relief cutouts shape the riser without giving up rigidity, and the geometry keeps the bow forgiving even as the shorter brace tilts it toward speed. The limb pockets seat the laminated XT1000 limbs on solid, repeatable contact faces, and the riser carries the RizerShox dampeners that form half of the bow's standard suppression package. Standard stabilizer and accessory bushings mean period rests and sights bolt straight on, which matters for a used buyer rebuilding a bow from a bare chassis. As with any bow of the era, the riser is the part least likely to have aged - machined aluminum does not fatigue the way strings and dampeners do, so a structurally sound 38 Ultra riser is essentially the same tool it was new, and on a one-year model that structural permanence is reassuring when so few examples exist to compare against.

Grip

The 38 Ultra uses Hoyt's Pro-Fit grip system, the interchangeable machined grip that let shooters of the era tune the hand shelf rather than accept a single molded shape. On an all-around bow that flexibility earns its keep: a repeatable, low-torque hand position is where the long geometry turns into consistent arrow flight, whether the shooter is on a field course or in a stand. The stock grip is comfortable enough that many owners simply leave it, but because the panels bolt off, fitting a thinner or differently angled grip is one of the easiest changes on a used 38 Ultra. For a buyer weighing a rare bow, that means hand fit is adjustable long after the sale and should not tip the decision between examples.

Limbs

The 38 Ultra carries Hoyt's laminated XT1000 split limbs - the five-layer, three-quarter-inch split-limb design that gave the brand's mid-2000s bows their durable, energy-dense character. The XT1000 is the lighter, quicker limb of the family, which is part of how the Ultra finds its extra speed over the Pro's stiffer XT2000 debut limbs; it spans the full 40 to 80 pound draw-weight range, covering any adult setup from a lighter target weight to a full 80 pound hunting pull. Draw weight adjusts through the standard limb bolts with an Allen wrench, no press required within the published band. This XT limb family ran across many Hoyt models of the period, so its durability record is well established despite the Ultra's single production year - the limbs themselves were never a one-off. The honest caveat is age: any bow of this vintage deserves a five-minute limb inspection for cracks or delamination at purchase, which applies to every used bow of the era.

Eccentric System

The Vector Cam and a half is the reason the 38 Ultra exists. It is Hoyt's Cam and a half in its faster 2007 form - two cams linked by a single harness so they fire together - and it was the fresh design that year, the one the longer-limb C2 cam on the 38 Pro was patterned after. On the Ultra the Vector's job is to add speed without giving up manners: it delivers an effortless, steady draw that still transfers energy briskly, which is how a forgiving long bow reaches a 310 fps IBO at the industry-standard 70 pound, 30 inch, 350 grain setup - five fps up on the Pro from a lower brace and a hotter cam rather than a harsher pull. Let-off, the percentage of peak weight the hold drops to at full draw, is buyer-selectable at 65 or 75 percent by adjusting the draw-stop peg, so the same bow sets up firm for a crisp release or higher for a relaxed hold. There is no independent chronograph data published on this one-year model, so treat the 310 fps IBO as the ceiling and expect real-world speed to land below it at typical target draw weights and lengths. Draw length spans 27 to 32 inches in the base configuration, set through the module and limb setup rather than a tool-free rotating module - so a used buyer wants the bow already near their draw or a shop visit factored in. In my experience the Vector draw is the fixed character of the bow: you can tune the string and open the valley slightly, but the smooth-yet-quick feel is what separates the Ultra from its more deliberate sibling.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing a 38 Ultra, the Vector Cam and a half builds without the hard spike of an aggressive hunting cam and rolls into a defined valley, but the whole cycle carries a little more urgency than the Pro's C2 - this is the sibling that leans toward speed, and you feel it in the slightly quicker energy return. The back wall is solid and the selected let-off holds where you set it. What the Ultra shares with its sibling, and what still sets both apart from most 2007 bows, is the standard StealthShot system: a carbon-fiber rod tied to a Limbsaver Navcom unit that captures the string at brace and, by Hoyt's own account, cuts string oscillation by more than 70 percent, with the RizerShox quieting the riser. The result is that a used 38 Ultra shoots deader in the hand than most contemporaries that shipped with no suppression at all. The long 38-inch geometry and 7.5-inch brace keep the bow honest - forgiving enough to let the pin settle, just a touch livelier and faster than the higher-braced Pro. Drawing the two back to back, what I notice is that the Ultra asks for a hair more attention at the shot in exchange for its extra speed, a trade the all-around shooter makes gladly. It runs heavier in the hand than a modern bow, and like the Pro that mass is an asset for a steady hold as much as a liability for anyone counting ounces.

Usage Scenarios

The 38 Ultra is an all-around range-and-field bow that leans a step toward speed, and that is exactly how to use it. Picture the shooter who wants one bow for a summer of 3D and field shoots and then the fall woods, finds a rare clean 38 Ultra on a classified listing, sends it out for a fresh string and a tune, and ends up with a long, quiet, quick bow that cost a fraction of a new rig - that is the Ultra's best life today. The 38-inch axle-to-axle and 7.5-inch brace keep it forgiving enough for a settled hold on a target line, while the Vector cam's extra velocity makes it the more capable of the pair at longer hunting distances where a flatter arrow helps. The 40 to 80 pound range scales from a target weight up to a full hunting pull, and the 27 to 32 inch draw span fits most adults once it is set to their length. It suits the archer who cross-shops a pure target bow against a fast hunter and wants something that splits the difference - more speed than a dedicated target rig, more forgiveness than a compact speed bow. Where it is not the right tool is the tight, mobile hunt where a 38-inch bow is simply too long to swing, and the shooter who demands a tool-free draw-length change out of the box will prefer a rotating-module design.

Versions

The 38 Ultra was a single-year, single-configuration bow: built only for 2007 on the machined TEC riser with XT1000 limbs, the Vector Cam and a half, a 38-inch axle-to-axle, a 7.5-inch brace and a 310 fps IBO, in a 40 to 80 pound and 27 to 32 inch fit range. Hoyt offered the platform in additional limb and cam options that year - the 2007 catalog points buyers to alternate limb and IBO configurations beyond the standard build - so two 38 Ultras can differ by how they were originally specced, but there is no package-tier SKU tree and no year-over-year change, because there was no second year. Hoyt did not publish a mass weight for the Ultra and never printed a launch MSRP in its 2007 catalog, so there is neither an official bow weight nor an original price to anchor to; this is a used-market bow valued on condition, string freshness and mounted accessories. Its sibling is the three-year Hoyt 38 Pro, which shares the TEC riser and the standard StealthShot package but trades the Ultra's speed for forgiveness - a taller 8.25-inch brace on the 2007 debut, the longer-limb C2 cam and a slightly slower 305 fps IBO. A shooter who wants the extra velocity and the rarer bow stays with the 38 Ultra; one who wants the most forgiving hold and an easier bow to find used is better served by the 38 Pro.

Hoyt 38 Ultra vs Mathews Conquest 4, Bowtech Allegiance

Bow	Hoyt 38 Ultra	Mathews Conquest 4	Bowtech Allegiance
Version	2007 Ultra XT 1000 (Vector cam)	2019 (MaxCam)	2008
Picture
Brace Height	7.5 "	7 "	7.25 "
AtA Length	38 "	40.625 "	33.25 "
Draw Length	27 " - 32 "	28 " - 32 "	26.5 " - 30.5 "
Draw Weight	40 lbs - 80 lbs	30 lbs - 70 lbs	50 lbs - 70 lbs
IBO Speed	310 fps	310 fps	317 fps - 335 fps
Weight	N/A lbs	4.4 lbs	3.8 lbs
Let-Off	65% or 75%	80% or 65%	65% - 80%
Where to buy Best prices online	$595 Compare prices	$275 to $449.99 Compare prices	$175 to $450 Compare prices
	compare more bows

An archer shopping the used market for a fast-but-forgiving all-arounder of the mid-2000s lands on three very different answers, and the 38 Ultra sits squarely in the middle of them. The Mathews Conquest 4 is the pure target bow of the group - a 40.625-inch, 7-inch-brace single-cam rated 310 fps IBO, longer and more forgiving than the Ultra and built first for score, so the shooter who wants maximum stability and Mathews' quiet single-cam signature leans that way. The Bowtech Allegiance is the opposite pole - a compact 33.25-inch, binary-cam 2006 all-arounder rated 317 to 335 fps, the fastest and most maneuverable of the three, for the archer who wants top speed and a shorter bow to swing in the woods. The 38 Ultra threads between them: it matches the Conquest 4 on 310 fps IBO but from a shorter, faster-feeling chassis, and it gives up some of the Allegiance's raw velocity in exchange for a longer, steadier 38-inch hold and Hoyt's built-in StealthShot suppression. The decision comes down to what the bow is mostly for: the Mathews Conquest 4 for the shooter who ranks target forgiveness first, the Bowtech Allegiance for the one who wants the fastest, most compact bow, and the 38 Ultra for the archer who wants a genuine long-axle all-arounder with a smooth-but-quick Vector cam and suppression already on board.

Summary

The Hoyt 38 Ultra was the one-year-only speed half of Hoyt's 2007 pair - the faster, lower-braced twin of the 38 Pro, built around the hotter Vector Cam and a half - and today it is a rare, rewarding used buy for the archer who wants a long all-around bow with more velocity than a pure target rig. The core numbers make the case: a 310 fps IBO from the smooth Vector cam, a forgiving 38-inch axle-to-axle and a 7.5-inch brace, laminated XT1000 limbs on a machined TEC riser, a wide 40 to 80 pound and 27 to 32 inch fit range, and buyer-selectable 65 or 75 percent let-off. Hoyt published neither a mass weight nor a launch price and built the bow for a single season, so the honest read is a scarce used-market chassis you judge on condition and buy for its cam - a bow that came with the StealthShot and RizerShox damping most of its contemporaries made you add yourself. Drawing it against its sibling, what stays with me is how the Ultra keeps the long bow's forgiving hold while asking for just a little more at the shot in return for real speed. This is an excellent bow for the all-around 3D, field and precision-hunting archer who wants a stable, quiet, genuinely quick used chassis and does not mind hunting down a rare example and refreshing its string, particularly strong for the shooter who wants one long bow to cover both the range and longer hunting shots. Buyers who rank pure target forgiveness first should also look at the Mathews Conquest 4, and those chasing the fastest, most compact all-arounder of the era should weigh the Bowtech Allegiance.