Hoyt Avenger Plus Review
Pros
- Updated Cam & 1/2 Plus cam keeps the platform's easy, hold-all-day draw while tightening up the full-draw wall
- Quiet, low-vibration shot from the Dual RizerShox damping and Hoyt's LimbSaver-based vibration control - owners of the platform consistently note how little it kicks
- Light 4-pound mass and 32-inch axle-to-axle length that carries easily and points naturally in the field
- Wide 40-to-80-pound, 22.5-to-30.5-inch fit range makes one bow work for a whole household of shooters
- Three factory finishes including a Realtree-and-black combo - more cosmetic choice than most value bows of its year offered
Cons
- The 40-pound floor makes it a teen-and-up bow rather than a small-child starter - young beginners need a dedicated lighter youth bow first
- A single-year 2009 model, so modules and factory spares are scarce now; a used buyer should budget a fresh string set and confirm the draw-length module is present before purchase
Editors' review
For 2009 Hoyt took the value hunter it had been quietly selling for two years and gave it one meaningful upgrade - then a new name to match. The Avenger Plus is that bow: the same TEC aluminum riser, XT1000 split limbs, and forgiving 7-inch brace height (the string-to-grip gap that governs how forgiving a bow shoots), now running Hoyt's Cam & 1/2 Plus system in place of the original Cam & 1/2. Everything that made the earlier Avenger the "sleeper" of the Hoyt line carried over - the smooth draw, the quiet shot, the unusually wide fit range - and the Plus cam sharpened the one thing a value bow usually gives up, the feel of the wall at full draw. It kept the 309 fps IBO rating (the standard speed rating taken at 70 pounds and a 30-inch draw) and the same easy-to-share adjustability. This page covers the 2009 Avenger Plus, the one-year send-off of the platform that began with the 2007-2008 Avenger; for 2010 Hoyt moved its value slot to new models entirely.
Finish
The 2009 Avenger Plus came in two finish families. For hunters there were three looks: Realtree APG HD, a solid Black Out, and a Realtree APG HD / Black Out combination that pairs the camo limbs and riser accents with blacked-out hardware. Target shooters had a separate palette of solid riser colors - among them Jet Black, Pearl White, Cobalt Blue, Jade, and Red Ember - which carried the pricier target-color premium. The combo camo finish was the standout of the hunting looks - a two-tone treatment that most value bows of the year simply did not offer, giving the Plus a more deliberate, built-to-order look than its price implied. The APG HD camo is the era's all-around woodland-and-field pattern, effective in the mixed cover most whitetail and hog hunters actually sit in. The dip coating has proven durable on surviving bows, holding tight on the machined riser and split-limb faces. For a buyer today the finish is mostly a matter of what surfaces on the used market; the combo camo and the solid target colors are the rarer finds.Riser
The Avenger Plus is built on Hoyt's TEC riser - a bridged, machined-aluminum riser braced with a central strut for torsional rigidity, the same architecture Hoyt used across its lineup and brought down to this value bow. That stiff riser is why the Plus, like the Avenger before it, shoots calmer and deader in the hand than a bow at its price has any right to. The 32-inch axle-to-axle length (the tip-to-tip span between the cams) keeps the bow stable to aim yet compact enough for a treestand or blind. Onboard the riser sits Hoyt's Dual RizerShox module, damping post-shot vibration right at the source before it reaches the hand. At a measured 4 pounds the Plus is genuinely light for an aluminum-riser hunter of its day, which shows up as less fatigue on a long sit or a long practice session. What stands out to me on a bridged riser like this is composure - it separates a value bow that merely shoots from one that feels settled in the hand, and the Plus lands firmly in the second group.Grip
Hoyt fitted the Avenger Plus with its 180 Pro-Fit custom grip - a slim, low-wrist side-plate grip that drops the hand into a relaxed, repeatable position. The low wrist is the profile that rewards a loose grip hand, and a loose grip hand is what keeps torque out of the riser when the shot breaks. Because it is a replaceable side-plate design, the fill is easy to change or shim, and Pro-Fit plates from this era still surface for shooters who want to tune the feel. The narrow throat favors medium and smaller hands; a shooter with very large hands may want to build it up. What I look for first in a hunting grip is whether it lets the hand sit the same way every time under pressure, and the Plus grip does that cleanly.Limbs
The Plus keeps the Avenger's XT1000 limbs with 3/4-inch Split Limb Technology - narrow split limbs that resist twist and settle quickly after the shot, a clear step past the wide solid limbs of the prior generation. Hoyt sold the bow in four overlapping limb sets - 40-50, 50-60, 60-70, and 70-80 pounds - and each adjusts about 10 pounds down from its peak with a hex wrench on the limb bolts, no press required. That gives the Plus a 40-to-80-pound span across the range and real on-the-fly flexibility within any one bow. The split-limb pockets from this Hoyt era have a solid durability record, and well-kept Avenger Plus bows generally show tight, crack-free limbs. The practical upshot is a limb system that is both forgiving to live with and wide enough to fit a range of shooters from one platform.Eccentric System
The Cam & 1/2 Plus system is what earns the Avenger Plus its name and is the real reason to choose it over the original Avenger. It is Hoyt's 2009 evolution of the Cam & 1/2 - a control-cam-and-power-cam hybrid that keeps the smooth, single-cam-like draw the platform was known for while firming up the back wall (the hard stop at full draw) into something more defined and repeatable. The Plus holds the same 309 fps IBO rating as the standard Avenger, so this was a refinement of feel rather than a chase for more speed. Let-off (how much the holding weight drops at full draw) is selectable at 65 or 75 percent, letting a shooter choose between a longer, more relaxed valley (the low-tension window at full draw) and a lighter hold on target. Draw length adjusts through modules across a 22.5-to-30.5-inch window - wide enough that one bow covers most shooters in a household - and changing it is a module swap, not a cam change, so any pro shop can handle it. The draw ramps smoothly rather than stacking hard, and the firmer Plus wall gives a cleaner anchor to pull into. The Cam & 1/2 Plus is the same cam family Hoyt fitted to pricier bows in its lineup, so the Avenger Plus draws with that same well-mannered character at a value price.Draw Cycle/Shootability
Shooting the Avenger Plus is a quiet, undramatic experience in the best sense. The Cam & 1/2 Plus draws back easily and settles into a comfortable valley, and pulling one to a hunting weight I found the firmer wall a genuine improvement - it gives a positive stop to anchor against instead of a vague slope, which is exactly what helps a shooter break a consistent shot under pressure. At release the Dual RizerShox damping keeps the shot quiet and the vibration low, the same low-buzz character owners praised across the platform, and the light 4-pound mass means the bow stays easy to hold steady through a long sit. The 7-inch brace height and 32-inch axle-to-axle length make it forgiving of a slightly imperfect release, so accuracy holds up well past typical treestand range. Shooters who like to relax fully at anchor should run the 65-percent let-off for the deeper valley; those who want a lighter hold can step up to 75 percent and accept a tighter window. The whole package rewards a shooter who values a calm, repeatable shot over a raw speed number.Usage Scenarios
The Avenger Plus is built for the same jobs as the bow it replaced: quiet, forgiving whitetail and hog hunting from a treestand or ground blind, with ample energy for ethical shots at bowhunting ranges. Its wide draw range makes it a natural household bow - set it light for a teenager or a lighter-framed shooter and it still tops out at a full 80-pound hunting weight for the adult in the same house. It is also a smart, low-cost backup to a flagship rig, delivering Hoyt reliability without flagship money tied up in a spare. The 40-pound floor means it is not a first bow for a small child, who belongs on a lighter dedicated youth bow until they grow into this one. For a budget-minded target or 3D shooter, the firmer Plus wall actually makes it a more comfortable range bow than many value hunters of its year. One bow, one household, a lot of situations - that flexibility is the Plus's real pitch.Hoyt Avenger Plus vs Diamond Razor Edge, PSE Bow Madness
| Bow | Hoyt Avenger Plus | Diamond Razor Edge | PSE Bow Madness |
| Version | 2009 | 2012 | 2011 |
| Picture |  |  |  |
| Brace Height | 7 " | 7 " | 7 " |
| AtA Length | 32 " | 31 " | 32 " |
| Draw Length | 22.5 " - 30.5 " | 19 " - 29 " | 25 " - 30 " |
| Draw Weight | 40 lbs - 80 lbs | 15 lbs - 60 lbs | 40 lbs - 70 lbs |
| IBO Speed | 309 fps | 308 fps | 323 fps - 331 fps |
| Weight | 4.0 lbs | 3.8 lbs | 3.85 lbs |
| Let-Off | 65% or 75% | 75% | 75% |
| Where to buy Best prices online |
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As a 2009 value hunter the Avenger Plus lines up against two of the best-known affordable bows of its moment. The Diamond Razor Edge is the max-adjustability rival - a value bow famous for an even wider draw window that grows with a young shooter, so a buyer weighing the two is choosing between the Razor Edge's extreme adjustment span and the Avenger Plus's more refined Hoyt riser and firmer Cam & 1/2 Plus wall. The PSE Bow Madness is the value-speed rival from the very same model year, an aggressive-cam hunter that leans harder on raw pace where the Avenger Plus leans on smoothness and a settled shot. The Plus's own advantage is balance - the TEC riser, the wide fit range, and a quiet, forgiving shot in one package, rather than specializing in adjustment span or speed alone. The decision comes down to priorities: the Diamond Razor Edge for the family that wants the widest possible growth range, the PSE Bow Madness for the shooter chasing the most speed for the money, and the Avenger Plus for the buyer who wants the most composed, best-built shot of the three.