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A lot of today’s archery-equipment catalogs just sort of sit there. The products are great but the catalogs are uninspired. Not so the 2010 catalog from Hoyt. It’s inspiring, even exciting. The photography is superb, and the copy is a hoot.

Take, for example, the headline used on the page introducing the new-for-2010 Hoyt AlphaBurner. That line reads “Because Hard-Hitting Speed Doesn’t Mean Jack If You Can’t Hit Anything.”

Within that one edgy headline beats the heart of this new bow.

Bow speed in archery is a good thing. It stomps arrow trajectory flat. It also gets an arrow off the string and out of the bow quicker, minimizing the errant problems of individual shooters. The upshot is that bow speed can help you do a better job of hitting what you’re aiming at.

Of course there is always a flip side. Mega-fast bows have often been atrociously harsh to draw, noisy to shoot, shock-prone and frequently have proven to be finicky shooters. They shoot spot-on one day, but off the next. Bow-design leaders like Hoyt are working hard to fix all that.

The 2010 Hoyt AlphaBurner is one such fix. It’s a remarkable new super-fast bow that seems surprisingly easy to shoot well. I’ve been shooting a test AlphaBurner for about the past month and it’s surprised me. As advertised, it’s smoking fast. I expected that. But what’s caught me off guard is a draw that’s firm but steady throughout with a relatively smooth transition into letoff, a shot that’s wonderfully shock free and reasonably quiet and accuracy that has remained pinpoint consistent day in and day out.

The AlphaBurner’s performance has me scrambling for answers. Why is this speed bow so different? I’ve written before that bow accuracy starts with a good grip, and the AlphaBurner certainly has that. Its low-torque 180 Grip is superb. I can also surmise that its revolutionary TEC LITE riser, extended precise-alignment limb pockets and bombproof laminated XT 2000 limbs all coalesce to create an unusually stable launch platform. There’s probably also something in this bow’s 34.75-inch overall length. That’s a bit longer than most, which likely helps further stabilize a super-fast shot. I believe I especially notice that on shots beyond 50 yards with the minimal right/left deviation in my groups.

The 2010 Hoyt AlphaBurner is indeed fast, but it’s miles from furious. In fact, it’s rather a sweet shooter….because speed doesn’t mean jack if you can’t hit anything or don’t enjoy the bow.

How It Shoots

The draw on too many speed bows tears me up. It’s rough and tough, and the letoff, when it finally does come, is like unexpectedly stepping off a cliff. Letting down such a bow takes extreme concentration. All that has been banned on planet AlphaBurner. The 2010 Hoyt AlphaBurner draws with a controlled steadiness that is altogether uncommon in such a fast bow. It’s still stiff (all that energy has to come from somewhere), but there are no surprises and the slide into letoff is sensibly smooth. At full draw there is a firm back wall, thanks to a draw-stop peg that pivots around with the lower cam to contact an inside cable. That’s important because the bow’s valley is quite small to maximize energy storage and that means, as it does with any speed bow, that there is essentially little or no room to creep forward at full draw. Pulling firmly into the AlphaBurner’s draw stop helps prevent possible creep.

It’s hard to say enough good things about the simple, small, low-torque grip on the 2010 AlphaBurner. For me it seems a wonderfully comfortable and natural grip to shoot. It’s also extremely repeatable. All of that enhances accuracy and heightens shooting enjoyment.

Plenty of fast bows deliver plenty of handshock when an arrow is released. Many are not overly quiet (I’m being kind). The Hoyt AlphaBurner is different. It delivers practically no handshock and it’s comparatively quiet, even with very light arrows.

Along with being super fast, I also found the new Hoyt AlphaBurner super accurate. Claims of great accuracy with great speed are often exaggerated, but not with the AlphaBurner. This bow turned in great groups day after day all the way out to 80 yards on my test range.

Key Features and Benefits

Revolutionary TEC LITE Riser

The Hoyt AlphaBurner utilizes one of the stiffest, strongest, most stable speed-bow risers ever designed. The AlphaBurner’s TEC LITE riser guarantees all three of those things while also offering a great grip, wonderfully precise and accurate extended limb pockets and maximum shot dampening.

Speedy Spiral X Cam & ½ System

Built specifically for a super-fast shot, the Hoyt AlphaBurner’s Spiral X Cam & ½ System is power-packed. Yet it also provides a surprisingly comfortable and controlled draw. Because it’s a Cam & ½ System there are little or no synchronization concerns. Both the top and bottom cams are slaved together with a control cable so that the cams move in sync.

Hoyt Stealth Shot

Located just below the grip on the AlphaBurner is Hoyt’s Stealth Shot, a bumpered string stop designed to quiet bowstring vibration and noise with each shot. The Stealth Shot also encourages a cleaner and quicker release of the arrow from the bowstring. That makes this fast bow even more forgiving.

Hoyt AlphaShox Limb Dampeners

Strategically squeezed between the AlphaBurner’s XT 2000 Split Limbs are AlphaShox Limb Vibration Dampeners. Designed and built by Hoyt and LimbSaver engineers, AlphaShox deliver highly effective vibration dampening and noise elimination. Ten linear inches of LimbSaver NAVCOM material are the key to the remarkable effectiveness of these unique limb dampeners.

Optional Hoyt Pro-Fit Grip System

I really like the hunter-oriented 180 Grip on the AlphaBurner. Still, it’s difficult for just one grip to be perfect for every shooter. That’s why Hoyt offers the option of its Pro-Fit Custom Grip System for this remarkable bow. Besides the 180 Grip, Standard, High Wrist and Side Plate laminated-wood grips are also available.