Hoyt Concept X 40 Review

Editors' review

Some bows chase speed; the Concept X 40 chases stillness. It is built on the longest riser Hoyt has ever produced - a 32.5-inch machined slab, 1.75 inches longer than the riser on the Stratos 40 it replaces, even though both bows measure 40 inches axle-to-axle. That extra riser length is the whole point: a longer, heavier riser sits quieter under the pin and holds steadier through the shot, which is exactly what the field, FITA, and long-distance target archer is buying. For 2024 Hoyt rebuilt the platform from the ground up - new riser, new TXL limbs, new pockets, and the all-new SCTR cam - and the 40 is the long, maximum-stability member of the Concept X pair (the shorter, more all-round Concept X 37 is its sibling). Pair the long riser with a wide limb stance that fights torque and a cam whose let-off you can tune in tiny steps, and you get a bow designed to disappear in the hand and let a disciplined archer simply aim. This is a specialist's tool for the shooter who wins on the hold.

Finish

Hoyt dresses the Concept X 40 in the same deep target palette as the rest of the line - ten riser colors including Red Flare, Mr. Perfect Orange, Twisted Green, Impact Blue, Blue on Black, Sassy Pink, Polar White, Ti Silver, Skeeter, and Liquid Black, with no hunting camo anywhere in the range. The limbs come in a standard black satin or a step-up white-gloss or black-gloss finish, and in my experience the high-gloss set is genuinely striking - a deep, glossy chameleon coating that shifts in the light and reads as premium on the line. Coating quality is a real strength of this platform; owners setting the bow up single out the finishes as among the cleanest in the category. On a 40-inch bow with that much machined riser on display, the finish carries a lot of the visual weight, and the Concept X 40 wears it well. Every color and finish spans the full draw-weight and module range identically.

Riser

The riser is the reason this bow exists. At 32.5 inches it is the longest Hoyt has ever machined, 1.75 inches longer than the Stratos 40 riser on the same 40-inch axle-to-axle platform. Longer risers widen the string angle and bring the peep closer to the eye for a more comfortable anchor, and they add in-hand stability simply through mass distribution and moment. There is a great deal more machine work in this riser than in the outgoing design - a cost Hoyt absorbed rather than passing on, which is why the 40 lands at the same price as the shorter 37 despite being visibly more bow. The riser carries Hoyt's Modular Grip System with six screw-in grip options at 0, plus-4, and plus-8 degrees, plus the low rear stabilizer mount a target archer uses to hang a back bar. Every choice here serves stability, and on a bow this long that stability is tangible from the first draw.

Grip

The grip is Hoyt's Modular Grip System - six interchangeable inserts that let the archer set a 0, plus-4, or plus-8 degree hand angle, with draw-reducing versions in the mix. On a 40-inch bow the payoff of a torque-free grip compounds, because the long riser magnifies both good form and bad: a hand seated slightly off-center on a short bow is a small error, but on this platform it shows up as a left-right miss at distance. Swapping an insert takes minutes with a hex wrench, so a shooter can hunt for the angle that lets the bow hand sit relaxed and dead-center. In my experience a narrow, adjustable target grip like this is something you set once and then forget - you stop managing the hand and start trusting it, which on a stability-first bow is exactly the goal. It is a quiet feature that removes torque before it ever reaches the arrow.

Limbs

The Concept X 40 runs Hoyt's new TXL limbs in a wide stance, and that width is central to how the bow shoots. A wider limb set is physically harder to twist in the hand - shooters describe this one as ridiculously hard to torque, which on a long-distance target bow is precisely the trait that keeps arrows stacking in the center. The wider, more parallel geometry also lowers vibration and quiets the shot compared with the steeper-angled Stratos limbs it replaces. Peak weight comes in the full competition spread - 40, 50, 55, 60, 65, and 70 pounds - so an archer can hold a comfortable weight through a long outdoor round or step up to drive a heavier arrow into the wind. The limbs sit in new pockets on quarter-inch axles, and the platform carries the reflex geometry that makes the bow forgiving. This is an endurance-and-stability limb system, tuned to sit still rather than to store aggressive energy.

Eccentric System

The SCTR cam is the new heart of the platform, and its standout feature for the target archer is granular let-off control. The cam tunes in 2.5% increments across 65, 70, and 75%, and an optional Tweener mod foot adds the in-between 67.5, 72.5, and 77.5% positions - let-off being how much of peak weight your holding weight drops to at full draw. That fine control lets a shooter set holding weight and back-wall feel precisely to preference. Draw length adjusts through modules: the CDM module ships with the bow and covers 27 to 30 inches in quarter-inch steps, so unlike the shorter 37 the 40 reaches a full 30-inch draw off the standard mod, while draw-length-specific Spec modules extend the range and squeeze out the last of the speed. On the ATA scale the bow rates 327 fps, measured to Hoyt's stricter standard rather than the looser IBO parameters other brands quote. One honest limitation lives here: cam movement for tuning is shim-based and fairly limited, so large windage corrections rely more on rest and sight adjustment than on shifting the cam - worth planning your tune around. The cam runs quarter-inch axles and WireWRX strings.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing the Concept X 40, the long riser announces itself immediately - the bow feels planted and deliberate, with a smooth pull into a defined wall that the 2.5% let-off steps let you tailor. What stands out to me on this bow is how completely it resists torque: the wide TXL limbs make it genuinely hard to twist off-center, and the long riser turns that torque resistance into a hold that simply sits on the spot. At the shot it is dead in the hand and quiet, but not lifeless - there is a clean forward response that tells a disciplined archer the shot went where they pushed it, without the vibration a lesser bow throws back. In my experience that combination - a long, still riser plus a torque-proof limb stance - is what makes a bow forgiving in the way that matters at distance: it flatters a clean release and shows you plainly when your hand misbehaves. It is not a lively hunting bow and does not pretend to be. It is a target rig built to hold, and it holds.

Usage Scenarios

This is a long-distance and outdoor target bow first. Picture a field archer walking a marked course who wants the long sight radius and dead-still hold of a 40-inch bow across a 60-yard shot, or a FITA archer on the outdoor line running the 60-to-70-pound bracket to push a heavier arrow through the wind. The draw range reaching a full 30 inches off the standard module covers most adult competitors comfortably, and Spec modules extend it further for taller shooters. It suits the spot and 3D archer too, provided they want maximum stability over a compact package - this is the opposite of a maneuverable bow, and that is the point. The adjustable let-off and modular grip let a shooter fit the bow precisely to their form, and the long riser rewards the archer whose game is a rock-steady aim. It is not a hunting bow - the length, weight, and geometry are wrong for the treestand - and a shorter-draw shooter who wants a handier target bow should look at the Concept X 37, while a very-long-draw archer should step up to the Concept X 40 LD.

Versions

The Concept X 40 is one model offered with a choice of limb finish and module setup rather than separate SKUs of the bow itself:- Standard limbs - black satin finish, $1,999 launch MSRP.- High-gloss limbs - white-gloss or black-gloss chameleon finish, $2,199 launch MSRP.Both ship with the CDM module (27 to 30 inches in quarter-inch steps); draw-length-specific Spec modules and the Tweener let-off mod foot are separate purchases. Every version shares the same long riser, TXL limbs, SCTR cam, and Modular Grip System, and is offered across the 40-to-70-pound peak-weight brackets in right- or left-hand. Notably, the 40 lands at the same price as the shorter Concept X 37 despite carrying more riser and more machine work - more bow for the same money - so the choice between them is about draw length and hold, not cost.

Hoyt Concept X 40 vs Mathews TRX 40, Elite Echelon 39

Bow	Hoyt Concept X 40	Mathews TRX 40	Elite Echelon 39
Version	2024	2024	2018
Picture
Brace Height	7.25 "	7 "	7.125 "
AtA Length	40 "	40 "	38.75 "
Draw Length	26 " - 32 "	25.5 " - 32 "	27.5 " - 32 "
Draw Weight	30 lbs - 70 lbs	40 lbs - 70 lbs	40 lbs - 70 lbs
IBO Speed	327 fps	325 fps - 329 fps	301 fps - 346 fps
Weight	4.9 lbs	4.93 lbs	4.7 lbs
Let-Off	65/70/75%	70% & 80%	75% - 90%
Where to buy Best prices online	Not available now. Please check later.	$625 to $1400 Compare prices	Not available now. Please check later.
	compare more bows

In the long competition-target class, the Concept X 40 lines up against the Mathews TRX 40 and the Elite Echelon 39, two bows a field or FITA archer would genuinely cross-shop. The Mathews TRX 40 is the closest rival on length, a 40-inch target bow built around Mathews' Crosscentric cam and famously dead-in-hand hold - smooth and quiet, where the Concept X 40's edge is its 2.5% let-off adjustability and the longest-in-class riser that plants the hold. The Elite Echelon 39 is the slightly shorter option of the three at 39 inches, leaning on Elite's signature smooth draw and precise let-off tuning, a platform many shooters find effortless to hold. Against both, the Concept X 40's case is that record-length riser, the wide-limb torque resistance, and Hoyt's honest ATA speed rating that undersells the bow's real pace. The decision comes down to priorities: the Concept X 40 for the archer who wants maximum riser length and torque resistance, the Mathews TRX 40 for the quietest dead hold, the Elite Echelon 39 for the smoothest draw in a slightly shorter package. Within Hoyt's own line, a shorter-draw shooter should look at the Concept X 37, and a very-long-draw archer at the Concept X 40 LD.

Summary

The Hoyt Concept X 40 is Hoyt's stability specialist - a long-distance target bow built on the longest riser the company has ever machined, and it commits fully to the hold. It carries flagship money, $1,999 with standard limbs and $2,199 with the high-gloss set, and lands at the same price as the shorter Concept X 37 despite being visibly more bow. It answers with a 32.5-inch riser that sits dead-still, wide TXL limbs that make it ridiculously hard to torque, an SCTR cam whose let-off tunes in 2.5% steps, and a full 30-inch draw off the standard module. Its 327 fps is rated to Hoyt's stricter ATA standard, so it is quicker than the number suggests. In my experience the long riser and torque-proof limbs do exactly what they promise - the aim plants itself and the bow shoots dead in the hand - and it asks only for an honest release in return. An excellent choice for the outdoor field and FITA archer who values length and hold above all; shorter-draw shooters should look at the Hoyt Concept X 37, and those who want the quietest dead hold should also consider the Mathews TRX 40.