drockw

Went and shot the AM35 and the Captain today extensively back to back, over and over for an hour. I have shot them both before, but at different times. Today was one bow, back to other, and switch and repeat until ifelt i could actually describe all of both bows feels and performance.

I must say this was and is a very very hard decision indeed, but on the draw, and durability premises I will be ordering my all black AM35 soon!

Im gonna be honest,there is no bias here from me at all. Ive owned 2hoyts (ultramag, UltraTec) and two Bowtechs (General,101st Airborne) so I can say,going into the shop, there was no opinionated"feelings" here abouteither bow brand, b/c my experiences with both have been fortunate and pleasant.

They were reallytoo close to call thoughas to which better shootingbow. They are both awesome shooters and feel amazing, and have their ups and downs, but they are soo close.

Hoyt's durability/dependability andconsistantly smoothdraw is what sold me though. Iwas shooting 70# 29" bows. I shoot 29.5" and 60#'s so i could tell which bow drew better/worse, and honestly, the draw on the captain was "easier" than the AM. i couldnt believe that. The hump was still there in the captain though when falling into the valley, but is much improved from previous BT's. The AM was solid all the way through the pullwith no hump at all, and letting it down, felt as smooth as drawing it back (something you wont experience with a binary cam). Both had walls as solid as a brick so there was no real difference that i could feel at all. I also like how the hoyt held the weight in my hand, where with the captainit felt like i wasnt holding anything. Certain shooters prefer different things, but i always feel like having more weight in my hand makes me steadier.

On the shot, they are just like everyone says. Both are whisper quiet, with virtually no hand shock. I thought the AM was a tad quieter, and the BT had less vibration/hand shock during the shot. Like i said though, they were so alike in those ways, that you have to be really nit picky (like me) to even notice those slight nuances in either bow. To me, the AM felt better in the hand when drawn though, the BT felt a little top heavy where the AM was more well distributed in the weight department.

I feel i dont really need to comment on speed b/c both bows ibo's arerelatively the same. They arent speed bows, but arent slugs at all either. Plenty fast for what I do.

Just thought I would do a solid review of these bows and try and keep it unbiased as possible.There is obviously no winner here andI believe they are both going to do very well this year, and either way you go, you are picking a great shooting bow.
Derek

OHbowhntr

Good review, though I haven't shot the BT, I did shoot the AM35 a couple weeks ago, and WOW!!! I was totally impressed. I've never shot a bow that was as smooth feeling in my life. It made my Trykon feel like and old Bear Whitetail series bow. Each year these companies just get BETTER and BETTER!!!! I think the stand apart thing that the Hoyt AM had that is unlike the Hoyts of recent memory is the fact that it's competitive with it's competition when you talk about the actuall MASS wt. of the bow, rather than being a fair amount heavier as they've always seemed in the past.

drockw

Yes the weight was very nice. I like weight on the bow for target shooting, but that weight is easier added than removed. To me it seemed like so many were bummed when Hoyt released its 09 lineup, far before the bowswere out. TheAM is definately worth shooting. I think the AM is going to put Hoyt back on top this year once more people shoot the AM series. Im not saying its the best bow by any means, but i do believe it is right there and is definately a contender overall now. TheCaptain felt amazing as well,andthe center pivot bows'dead in the hand feel is unparalelled by any other bow company IMO. Now the only thing Hoyt needs to do is build a good string like bowtech does
Derek