Questions on Hoyt Carbon spyder

I am a straight novice bow shooter / hunter - in fact I am buying my first real bow. I have spent the last 6 months studying the offerings and shooting a variety of bows. I just sold one of my M1 carbines so I have $2000 to "invest" and I want to get a bow I can shoot for several years so I am looking at top of the line stuff. I narrowed it down to the Hoyt carbon spyder and nitrum. I am favoring the Spyder based on feel and trying to decide between the 34 and the 33 inch turbo. The 34 feels very smoother and is a bit easier to shoot. The turbo feels jumpy but I can manage it with practice and it is faster.

So I am 40ish, 6'2" and 250 and fairly strong. Going to be mostly stand deer hunting on the east coast with aspirations of a big elk/bear western open country hunt. I am looking at spyder turbo set up with 30 inch draw. Max 70# limbs set a 60. Hoyt pro sight. Fuse stab 8.5 inch. Quad ultra rest.

Questions:

I am kind of a buy once, buy right guy. Welcome any thoughts on bow selection and setup.


Should I go for the turbo or non turbo? I can shoot the turbo ok and the non turbo better now but I am a novice and expect to equalize that difference quickly.

How big a deal is the cold in the hand aluminum riser thing?

What type of arrows do people recommend for these speed bows? Interested in ideas on shafts and points for practice and hunting.

I think you can answer the question better than we can. Go with what feels great to you. Don't get caught up in speed with that draw length. You will hammering critters regardless of your choice. I will say this. I would NOT buy a 70# bow to shoot at 60#. Hoyt offers 60# & 65# options. You said you are buy it right guy, buy the bow that fits your draw weight as well. My guess if you have not shot much, buy the 65# if you are at 60# now, you will progress in weight a few pounds...not so much 10#

Jeff Martin said:

I think you can answer the question better than we can. Go with what feels great to you. Don't get caught up in speed with that draw length. You will hammering critters regardless of your choice.

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Jeff is correct here. I'll add that when choosing a bow you need not only look at draw cycle, noise, speed, etc but how accurately you shoot the bow. All the other attributes mean nothing if you can't shoot the bow accurately.

As far as arrows go, at your draw length, depending on where you end up in draw weight a 300 spine would be your best option. There are lots of good shafts on the market. I'm a fan of Easton and Gold Tip. Easton Axis or a Gold Tip Kinetic would be a good option.

If I were in your shoes I'd take some more time with each bow before deciding. Shoot them as much as possible and see which is more accurate for you.

At a 30" draw, you really don't "need" the extra speed that the turbo will give you. At my 27" draw, I'm jealous of guys like you haha. Above all else, as was said, go with what feels right but know that you will learn to shoot just about anything being that you're a beginner and have no real preferences at this point. I picked up my first bow last year (Hoyt CST) and am loving it, but I will say that if I didn't need the extra speed, I'd probably have gone with a non-turbo model just for the extra brace height and less aggressive draw cycle.

I've heard that the Nitrum is one of the best bows Hoyt has made so it's still a great option. As for the cold riser complaints, I've been told that they're mostly overblown, but a carbon riser will feel less cold in the same conditions.

Sounds to me that the 34 feels better and more importantly will shot better for you. I have gorilla long arms and I am a 29-3/4" draw. I have always felt better with longer ATA bows, my Hoyt Carbon Matrix is sill one of my fav bows of all time (I started shooting bows in the 80's) I have picked up the new CST ZT this year and love the thing even thou it is only 33" ATA, however, the geometry of the bow makes it feel and hold like a longer ATA. More worry for me for a first time archery is what you describe as "jumpy feel" to the turbo, and I agree with that statement , the turbo really wants to go, especially if your form isn't on point. Based on your short description I would go with the 34 but as others have said its what feels best to you now, not what you can get used too.

I would run the 34 in whatever you decide to buy. Also if you get a chance shoot a couple of xpedition bows as well, if not I personally don't think the carbon is worth 500 bucks more but that's just me.

Can't go wrong with any of those bows. Its hard to pass up the performance of the turbo if you are a numbers guy. It might feel a little jumpy now, but the more you shoot and work on your form it will become a smooth shooter for you. At 33" its not really a short ATA bow, the turbo cam and shorter brace height just take some getting used to. I actually prefer the feel of the shorter ATA bows after shooting a CS30 last year, but this year couldn't pass up the extra fps of the turbo. Shooting a the same arrow faster and with the same accuracy is a win, win in my opinion. However, any of those bows you are looking at will be great.

Personally I think that warm to the touch stuff about carbon is mostly BS. If its cold out, your hands are going to be cold. Carbon doesn't stay warm, it just doesn't conduct temperature the way aluminum does. Carbon is dead in the hand though. Zero vibration is worth the extra money for me. Its all a personal choice though. Performance between the aluminum and carbon bows will be almost identical.

As far as arrows go, you may as well jump up to a 300 spine to start. At the 60# you mentioned you could use a 330-340 spine, but my guess is you'll be cranking it to 70# in no time. 30" at 70# will need a 300 spine. This takes some choices for shafts off the table, but still lots of options. Ask 100 different shooters and you'll probably get a 100 different answers, but here is a good build that is easy and won't break the bank.

Easton Axis 300 @ 29.5", 125gr Muzzy Trocar, 484gr total, about 12% FOC. That's a good telephone pole to launch at anything.

I cut my arrows back .5" to stiffen the spine, improve FOC, and save a few grains.

Well crap. I was all excited to come in and be your answer man, as I'm shooting a CST ZT with the 8.5 Blade and QAD with 300s and 340's, depending on what I'm hunting. I was going to do that, but these guys really hit it on the head and you said yourself everything I was going to say regarding the Turbo vs the 34- Practice with it, and you can shoot the Turbo. Can't add much, but I'll reiterate. Sitting here though, I'd suggest the 34 for you. You've got the draw length to get serious speed from the 34 and at the end of the day, a smoother bow. And then get the limbs that'll be as close to maxed out when you're shooting it. I also agree the cold riser thing is a non-issue. If it's cold out, things are cold. Wear gloves or wrap it with fabric tape if the cold is just too brutal for you.

I got the CST over the Nitrum for the half pound of weight, the feel at the shot (which I've been told the Nitrum is just as dead...but being a lefty on an island without the opportunity to shoot either before I ordered, I went sight-unseen with the CST), and because I was pleased with carbon in my Element. I've been very pleased with the CST ZT. It shoots like a dream, and the Nitrum Turbo is the same geometry and I suspect would shoot just as well. The 34's would only shoot better. You really can't go wrong and it'll just come down to what you want to spend and what feels best. Let us know what you end up with it.

For arrows, I haven't seen FMJ's mentioned. They're what I shoot and I love them. I shot ACC's back in the day and I just like an aluminum/carbon arrow over all carbon. A lot of that is because my introduction to all carbon was the Beman back then with their crappy outserts and just their fit and finish compared to an ACC. That doesn't really exist any more and all carbon arrows are just fine. But like was said, a good 300 arrow coming out of any of those bows at 65-70 lbs will destroy any animal in North America and all but dangerous game in Africa, and I think it'd almost do that as well. If you go with 60 lbs, maybe try to get into a 340 to save some weight if you want a bit more speed. You'll still have plenty of mass to blow through a deer. That's what I do. I shoot the 300's for goat and moose, but drop down to a 340 and a 100 gr head for deer and pick up some speed for string-jumping little buggers.

Go down to the shop and shoot both bows a couple more times. If you still shoot the 34 better then the bow has matched itself with you. No sense in trying to force yourself to shoot a "higher" performance bow if a similar setup just naturally shoots better. With that said I have a 29" draw length and have been shooting the CST the last two years. Very happy with the setup.

Sounds like your decision is really down to riser material. If you want only one bow one time for awhile, I'd go with the 34. With how you described yourself, a longer ATA would likely be more fitting. I would go with the 70# limbs though. You can start of lower and work your way up. Better to have it and not need it than want it and not have it.

The Nitrum is a really sweet shooting bow. The Carbon Spyder is a really sweet shooting bow. I have one of each and to me they both shoot very, very good.