Hoyt Eclipse Compound Bow

The Hoyt Eclipse, launched at roughly $1,099 in 2021 and carried over unchanged through 2024, answers a real frustration: it is a premier hunting bow built for the short-draw and smaller-framed hunter, not a full-size flagship shrunk down and cheapened. It pairs a machined TEC aluminum riser, zero-tolerance machined limb pockets, and flagship Limb Shox and Shock Pod damping with a feathery 3.7-pound mass and a purpose-designed Eclipse Cam that earns a 314 fps rating at 60 pounds and 28 inches. In my time behind it, the part that wins me over is the contrast - a fast short-draw bow that draws smooth instead of stiff, settles onto a solid back wall, holds light and steady at full draw, and shoots quiet and accurate right out of a basic setup. At a real 50-pound, 24.5-inch hunting setup it still pushes a 350-grain arrow to 270 fps and a heavier 400-grain hunting shaft into the 240s - plenty for an ethical whitetail or hog inside normal bow range. Its one honest boundary is the ceiling: by design it stops at a 28-inch draw and 60 pounds, so it is built for a specific hunter rather than everyone. An excellent bow for the woman or smaller-framed hunter who wants a light, no-compromise premier rig she can hold all afternoon and trust on game. Buyers who prize Mathews-grade silence and an even shorter draw at the same price should also look at the Mathews Prima, while those who want the widest grow-with-you adjustability and a complete ready-to-hunt kit for far less should look at the Bear Legit... read full review