The Hoyt RX-8 jumped out at me this past winter as an attractive bow that, on paper, seems to have a lot of great things going for it. My hope was to see it perform on par in velocity and precision with my Elite Omnia and provide smoothness and weight reduction similar to my Elite Era. After a few test drives at RMSGEAR, I had a 70lb Wilderness Green Hoyt RX-8 ordered and in hand.
Hoyt RX-8 Specs
The Hoyt RX-8 is a carbon riser bow with a few changes for 2024 intended to increase precision. The limbs were shortened from the prior year and, combined with an ⅛” width increase to the limb pockets, provided enough stability that the RX-8 and all other new 2024 Hoyt hunting bows are not shipped with any sort of limb or riser dampener. Straight out of the box, my RX-8 weighed 4.6 lbs with the included mini stabilizer, which is middle of the road for a carbon riser bow. The new WireWRX strings are constructed in-house from BCY X99 and come with proprietary Holeshot V2 string silencers. The RX-8’s carbon riser also has a dovetail groove for an integrated rest, as well as Picatinny grooves for an integrated sight. However, I chose to use traditional mounting methods due to the sight and rest I had on hand.
HBX Xact Cam
Perhaps the biggest change for 2024 is the HBX Xact cam. It brings about a three-mod system in an effort to dial in the results for all available draw lengths, as well as ¼” draw length adjustment. (draw length chart above)
The HBX Xact cam also changes to an aluminum shim system that eliminates E-clips and is tuned by removing the axle with a torx head driver. Although this does require a bow press, it only takes a few minutes to swap out shims, and the shim chart below makes it pretty easy to understand what adjustments to make. Unfortunately, the spacer tool that helps hold the shims when swapping nor the extra shims themselves are included. My RX-8 came with the black shims installed, and I needed to go to RMSGEAR to move my cams right with the red shims. This was a big bummer because I am used to the on-bow methods of moving the cams that Elite’s SET and Bowtech’s Deadlock offer.
Draw Customization
Providing some great full draw customization, the HBX Xact offers the ability to change the let-off between 75%, 80%, and 85% by moving the draw stop. The draw stop is also L-shaped, and one can adjust the back wall feel from “hard” to “x-hard” by exchanging the top cam stop for the bottom cam stop and vice versa, as shown below.
In my testing, I did not see any variance in velocity worth noting when changing let-off settings, but the actual measured draw length did change by about ⅛” in each setting with 85% being the longest and 75% being the shortest. Changing between “hard” and “x-hard” didn’t measurably change velocity or draw length, and frankly, I couldn’t really tell the difference. Lastly, the HBX Xact cam has an added aluminum knob on the bottom that elevates the string groove off the ground when using Hoyt’s Go Stix bow stand.
How did the RX-8 Shoot?
Pretty darned well! Accuracy and precision were good enough to score near the top of one indoor winter league and win another. The draw cycle at the 30” draw length setting was shockingly smooth and the transition into the back wall was the best I have ever felt. Even at the 85% setting I chose to shoot at. Velocity was on par with my Omnia, and I enjoyed the lively feel of a carbon riser just like I did with the Era.
Draw Length and Speeds
I did find two things that were a little bit of a surprise. The measured draw length was consistently a little short despite being in spec and with three different string sets. I shoot most comfortably around a 30 ¼” draw length and had hoped that the 85% let-off setting would get me close, but it did not.
VitalPoint Grip
The VitalPoint Grip was very comfortable but fit my hand too perfectly. It is well rounded, wide, contoured just like a hand, and ultimately provided a significant amount of contact. The likelihood for grip pressure to cause a little bit of torque was higher than I would like. While I shot it well, I’d occasionally send a left/right flyer. I felt that I could eliminate this with mildly insulated gloves pretty well, but without gloves it took strong focus through a full 30-arrow indoor round.
Broadhead Tuning
I had no issues broadhead tuning the RX-8 with either two-blade Cutthroats or three-blade Cutthroats. I also would regularly shoot bare shafts out to 100 yards and group them within fletched shafts. This reinforces the concept of the fatter grip only being a burden when my mind was fatigued.
Cable Wear Issue
A couple of potentially catastrophic hunt-ending problems did come up with me and the RX-8. I saw significant serving wear at identical spots on each cable, enough to where the cables were being cut. I can only guess that shooting the RX-8 at max draw length and with the cams shimmed as far right as possible created a departure angle of the cable that was too stressful.
Hoyt sent out a new string set, but I had to go through some back channels to get that done, as the response from customer service didn’t happen for weeks. Additionally, a mod screw sheared one day while beginning to draw the bow, and I am very thankful that I heard the screw head pop off and stopped to let down immediately. It took some professional intervention at RMSGEAR to fix it, and again, the response from Hoyt customer service was weeks too late.
Injured Shoulder
Lastly, in a completely unrelated incident, I tore my draw arm shoulder’s labrum in two spots and partially tore the supraspinatus. So, Cindy came out of the bullpen and was chomping at the bit to make the RX-8 hers after a joyful time shooting one at the Western Hunt Expo.
SIDEBAR by Cindy ”The Bullpen”
At the Western Hunt Expo, I had the Hoyt guys check the draw weight several times because there was no way I could pull over 60 lbs with that much ease. I was skeptical even after we left. I took Kyle’s RX-8 to RMSGEAR for help tuning. After taking it down from 70lb to a little over 60lb, getting the draw length set to 26”, Colton helped me paper tune. Three or four shots in, we had it shooting a bullet hole by moving the cams back to center per the tuning chart by using the gray shims. I shoot my Omnia at 60 lbs, and the RX-8 feels much easier to draw and hold, even at a slightly higher draw weight.
Range Time
At the outdoor range, I had it sighted in and a tape set out to my maximum distance within an hour or so. I can easily shoot for more than two hours straight without getting tired or my scores dropping off. My confidence is up, and I’m more comfortable trusting the bow and shot, which has increased my accuracy. I am shooting my best 3d scores ever this summer and am even beating 95% of the men.
The greatest attribute for me is the easy and smooth draw cycle. Unlike Kyle, I don’t have any issue with the grip (I LOVE it!). Also, the replacement Hoyt WireWRX string set they sent looks great. I will use this RX-8 to hunt buck pronghorn this fall after cashing in several points.
Overall
Hoyt’s RX-8 delivered for Cindy and me in the accuracy/precision and velocity department. I think it is an outstanding choice for a hunting bow and has merit as a top candidate for anyone shopping for something new.
Discuss the Rx-8 or ask Kyle and Cindy questions here.
Read more Rokslide Archery Reviews here.
