Hoyt Pro Comp Elite XL Review

Editors' review

Length is the whole point of this one. The Pro Comp Elite XL is the 40-inch member of Hoyt's 2013-2014 target pair - same platform as the standard Pro Comp Elite, stretched to the axle-to-axle length a long-draw or outdoor archer wants under the pin. Where a shorter bow trades hold for maneuverability, the XL commits fully to the steady end of that scale: a long riser on the XT2000 limbs, a draw range that reaches 32.5 inches, and a geometry built to sit dead-still while you settle the shot. Like the standard model it ships with a choice of two cams on one riser - the smoother GTX Cam and a half or the faster Spiral X - plus adjustable Air Shox dampers you set by hand and a wide shoot-through window that ends fletching-clearance problems. It launched at a flagship target price, and it is a specialist's bow for the archer whose game is the outdoor field course, the FITA line, and the long shot held rock-steady.

Finish

Hoyt finished the Pro Comp Elite XL in the same target palette as the standard model - no hunting camo, just the clean, high-visibility colors a competition archer wants on the line. The standard target finishes ran blue fusion, red fusion, green, orange, cobalt blue, and jet black, with a custom paint and powder-coat program adding custom red, custom blue, custom black, pearl white, and pink. The Air Shox dampers could be ordered in matching custom colors, letting an archer coordinate a full rig down to the limb hardware. These finishes are built to stay sharp under the constant handling a competition bow sees between ends, and the coating carries that use well. The look is identical across both cam builds, so a GTX or Spiral X XL reads the same on the rack - a bow dressed for the range, not the woods.

Riser

The riser is Hoyt's long target geometry on the XT2000 limbs, and the extra length over the standard Pro Comp Elite is what buys the XL its stability - a longer bow is simply easier to hold still, which is why the outdoor and field archer reaches for the 40-inch platform. Two features carry over from the standard model and matter as much here. The shoot-through window is cut wider than a standard Hoyt riser, and in practice it gives a large amount of extra fletching clearance - enough that the arrow does not contact whether it tunes a little inside or a little outside center. The limb-mounted Air Shox dampers are adjustable: a set screw lets you slide each one along its rod, change its angle, or take it off entirely, so damping becomes something you set rather than accept. The riser keeps the low rear stabilizer mount a target archer uses to hang a back bar, and it runs without a string stop, which a bow at this draw and let-off does not need. It is a long, deliberate chassis built around the hold.

Grip

The grip is Hoyt's target grip of the period - a narrow, low-wrist profile that seats the bow hand in a repeatable, torque-free position. On a 40-inch target bow that consistency compounds: the longer riser magnifies both good form and bad, so a grip that removes rotational torque before it reaches the arrow is doing quiet, important work. It sits in the forward location Hoyt used before the later Podium X Elite moved the grip rearward, which is worth knowing if you cross-shop the two, since the balance point and hand feel differ between them. In my experience a narrow target grip like this disappears once you learn it - you stop managing the hand and start trusting it - and on a bow chosen for its steadiness that is exactly what you want.

Limbs

The XL runs Hoyt's XT2000 target limbs in the Pro Lock X-Lite Pocket, the same wide, parallel split-limb system as the standard model, and at 40 inches axle-to-axle the wide stance gives the bow a notably planted feel at anchor. Peak weight comes in the competition brackets - 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, and 60-70 pounds - with the 60-70 option suiting an outdoor archer pushing a heavier arrow across a long field shot. Mass sits at five pounds, and that weight is a feature on a target bow: it damps the hand and helps the bow sit still through the shot rather than something to apologize for. The adjustable Air Shox dampers mount on these limbs, and a shooter setting the bow up found the pockets and limbs held their tune across a full round. Draw-weight changes are standard limb-bolt work, with the reminder to reset the Air Shox position slightly whenever you change poundage.

Eccentric System

The cam choice is the XL's real decision, and it ships with two on the same riser. The GTX Cam and a half is the hybrid target cam: a selectable let-off of 65% or 75% - the percentage of peak weight your holding weight drops to at full draw - module-based draw-length adjustment, and a 301 fps IBO rating (the industry-standard figure at a fixed 30-inch, 70-pound, 350-grain setup; the XL rates a few fps under the standard model purely because of its longer geometry). The Spiral X Cam and a half is the faster, firmer option, fixed at 65% let-off and rated 315 fps, and it is the cam the competitive archers who ran this platform tended to pick - one owner running the Spiral X noted how much tighter the bow held the middle once it was set up. Both reach a long draw - the Spiral X out to 32.5 inches, the longest in the family - which is the other half of why the XL exists. The riser, limbs, grip, and adjustable Air Shox are identical between the two, so the cam alone decides whether the bow draws smoother or faster.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing the XL, the target-cam character is smooth and deliberate rather than snappy, and the long geometry makes the hold the star of the show. What stood out to me on this platform is how tightly it holds the center - the aim settles on the spot and stays planted, noticeably steadier than a shorter, livelier bow, which is the entire reason a long-draw or outdoor archer chooses a 40-inch rig. That steadiness comes with a bargain: it rewards an honest shot and punishes a sloppy one. Shooting it, I found that staying steady all the way through - following through to the very end of the shot - is what turns the tight hold into a tight group, and letting the hand quit early opens the miss up wider than a more forgiving bow would. That is the trade a serious target archer signs up for. The Spiral X settles into a firm, defined back wall a back-tension shooter can lean on; the GTX at 75% let-off eases the hold for a long outdoor round. It is a transparent, honest target bow that gives clear feedback and, held with discipline, pounds the middle.

Usage Scenarios

This is an outdoor and long-draw 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 60-70 pound bracket to drive a heavier arrow through the wind. The draw range reaching 32.5 inches is the headline for the tall archer whose draw the standard Pro Comp Elite cannot quite cover - this is the bow in the pair built for them. It suits the spot and 3D shooter too, provided they want maximum stability over a compact package. The adjustable Air Shox and wide shoot-through window are aimed at the archer who tunes at the practice bale and wants the bow fitted to their form. It is not a hunting bow - the length, weight, and target geometry are wrong for the treestand - and a shooter who wants a shorter, more manageable bow should look at the standard Pro Comp Elite or the later Pro Comp Elite FX. For the long shot held steady, this is the platform's stability specialist.

Versions

The Pro Comp Elite XL is one model offered with a choice of cam system - the long riser, XT2000 limbs, grip, and adjustable Air Shox are identical, and the cam is the only variable:- Pro Comp Elite XL GTX - GTX Cam and a half, selectable 65% or 75% let-off, rated 301 fps, brace height near 8 inches. The smoother, more flexible choice.- Pro Comp Elite XL Spiral X - Spiral X Cam and a half, 65% let-off, rated 315 fps, brace height 7.625 inches, a draw reaching 32.5 inches. The faster, firmer, longest-draw choice.Both were offered across the 30-70 pound peak-weight brackets and in right- or left-hand, and both ran as a carryover through 2013 and 2014. At launch the XL sat in the same flagship target bracket as the standard Pro Comp Elite, with the custom paint and powder-coat finishes adding to the base price. The cam choice comes down to whether you value the GTX's let-off flexibility and smoother pull or the Spiral X's extra speed, firmer wall, and longest draw.

Hoyt Pro Comp Elite XL vs Mathews Conquest 4, Bowtech Specialist

Bow	Hoyt Pro Comp Elite XL	Mathews Conquest 4	Bowtech Specialist
Version	2014 GTX cam	2019 (MaxCam)	2014
Picture
Brace Height	8 "	7 "	7.5 "
AtA Length	40.625 "	40.625 "	37.5 "
Draw Length	25 " - 31.5 "	28 " - 32 "	26 " - 30.5 "
Draw Weight	30 lbs - 70 lbs	30 lbs - 70 lbs	50 lbs - 60 lbs
IBO Speed	301 fps	310 fps	330 fps
Weight	5.0 lbs	4.4 lbs	4.1 lbs
Let-Off	65% or 75%	80% or 65%	65%, 75%
Where to buy Best prices online	Not available now. Please check later.	$275 to $449.99 Compare prices	$340 to $900 Compare prices
	compare more bows

In the long target class, the Pro Comp Elite XL lines up against the Mathews Conquest 4 and the Bowtech Specialist - the two bows a long-draw or outdoor archer would cross-shop against a 40-inch Hoyt. The Mathews Conquest 4 is the closest match on length at 40.6 inches axle-to-axle, a single-cam target bow rated 310 fps that trades the XL's cam choice for Mathews' famously dead-in-hand hold and single-cam simplicity. The Bowtech Specialist is the shorter, faster option of the three at 37.5 inches with a 7.5-inch brace and a 330 fps binary cam - a bow for the archer who wants a touch more speed and a shorter package but gives up the XL's outright length and hold. Against both, the Pro Comp Elite XL's case is its longest-in-class 32.5-inch draw, the choice between a 65/75% GTX cam and a faster Spiral X on one riser, and Air Shox damping you set without a press. The decision comes down to priorities: the Pro Comp Elite XL for the long-draw archer who wants maximum length and a cam choice, the Mathews Conquest 4 for single-cam simplicity and a dead hold, the Bowtech Specialist for a shorter, faster binary-cam bow. Within Hoyt's own line, a shorter draw is better served by the standard Pro Comp Elite or the later Pro Comp Elite FX.

Summary

The Hoyt Pro Comp Elite XL is the stability specialist of Hoyt's 2013-2014 target pair - the 40-inch bow for the archer whose game is the long, steady hold. It asked flagship target money at launch, the same bracket as the standard Pro Comp Elite, and it answered with a long XT2000 riser that sits dead-still, a draw reaching 32.5 inches for the tall shooter, a choice between the smoother GTX and the faster Spiral X cam, and adjustable Air Shox dampers you set by hand. In my experience the long geometry does exactly what it promises - the aim plants itself and the middle holds tighter than a shorter bow allows - and it asks only for honest follow-through in return. It is not a hunting bow and never tried to be. An excellent choice for the outdoor field and FITA archer with a long draw who values length and hold above all; shorter-draw shooters should look at the Hoyt Pro Comp Elite, and archers who want single-cam simplicity at the same length should also consider the Mathews Conquest 4.