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Hoyt Protec questions-finger shooting

In the last few months I have been surfing for information on possible compounds for finger shooting and saw quite a few posts about the Hoyt Protec so I am posting this thread. Anyway, due to losing a hog last year with my recurve, I decided to check out finger shooting compounds. I ended up with a Oneida Black Eagle and really like its similarity to shooting a recurve. During my search, I saw a lot of praise for older compounds for finger shooting like the Hoyt Protec and was always curious about one so on an impulse buy, I picked one up on Ebay. From what I can tell, it is an early 2000 model (XT2000),41"ATA,50-60#,29-32.5", cam and half, with cam being a Versa-cam VC-2R, inner cam has a 2 on it and (serial nos.?) are 832083 & 6412269. I took it to a pro shop and it weighed 65# bottomed out and 75% let off. Looking at the on-line manual, it says you can do 8 Full turns for your lowest weight. The PRO- shop talked about (half-turns?) and brought it down to 52#@28.5. I am 76 and still pulling a 50# recurve with no problems but at 52# it is a struggle for me to get past break-over. My Oneida is set at 50#/50% and is much smoother than the Hoyt. I took my son's old Buckmaster, 60# and after 8 turns it is at 47#-70% and is much smoother than the Hoyt. Sorry for all the detail but here are my questions: 1. Can I make 8 full turns and what is the bolt length? 2. The manual says I can have 80% or 65 % let off but doesn't say that I need a different Inner cam so do I need that cam, what no. is it, and where can I find one? Other than that, I would appreciate some comments from Protec users telling me why they think it is a good finger bow and what I am missing because I think the bow is oppressive to shoot. Thanks in advance. I also make bows as a hobby and when I test them against another bow, I flight-shoot them instead of a chronograph so I plan to shoot these 3 compounds against each other for distance. Si

Sorry I can’t help about the turns questions but If you get a modern compound the cams are so much easier than the old ones that you will pull ten pounds more with less effort or 52 pounds with ease. The difference is dramatic.

It will require you to use a release. Good for you still shooting a vertical bow at age 76.

JMO, if you’re enjoying the Oneida, shoot it.

I don’t know how much of the perception of smoothness is related to lower let-off, but I would think that’s a big part of it.

Also sounds like the bow is hitting its peak weight before you’re used to having to pull that much. Good news is that you can lower the poundage to what’s comfortable & familiar and you’ll still have a lot higher speed than you’re used to with comparable arrow mass.

One thing to consider is whether you’re going to shoot with sights or not. If not, you may want to build a heavier arrow to keep speeds at recurve levels so that you don’t have too big an adjustment to make when switching from Recurves to Wheels.

I used a PtoTec for Years. three fingers under. I have some old flipper rests just made for compounds and finger shooting. If interested let me know. I actually miss it, I had to change after hunting the Midwest and having 30-40 yard shots constantly. I wasn't accurate enough with fingers.

Reach out directly to Hoyt to be sure on the number of full turns from max to minimum draw weight. You need different modules to switch between 65 & 80% letoff for that model of Hoyt.

If the issue is turns versus half turns of the limb bolts, I have never seen a bow manufacturer talk in half turns when discussing how far out you can safely back out the limb bolts.

That all is presuming the online manual you referenced is specific to the bow you own.

your just supposed to do a 1/2 turn a limb at a time. i shot Hoyt 48" pro vantage & 44" chuck Addams super slam with fingers & a nap center rest with great success. you could look for a Hoyt reflex series bow I had one called a reflex carabu I believe Chuck Adams had something to do with the design this is as good a finger bow as you'll ever find but no speedster I bought mine new in 2004 not sure if they're still beying produced . I had an Oneida eagle back in the 80s & I liked it & killed a bunch of critters with it it was noisy & always needed adjustments. but I believe they are much better now my next bow is gonna be an Oneida Phoenix. I plan to shoot it with fingers with & without sights

I hunt with Hoyt Protecs and shoot fingers. My opinion is that the Protec with xt3000 limbs is most suited for finger shooting ,longer axle to axle. As for ease of draw the hoyt accuwheel or the hoyt wheel and a 1/2 would be a smoother draw. Not as fast as the cam & 1/2 however. I wouldn’t recommend lowering draw wt below spec. For my bows that usually is 4 or 5 full turns down from max to min. Hoyt manuals and tune charts are available on their website. Lots of info there. Good Luck

I shot a Protech with fingers for years. It was some type of wheel, the Wheel and 1/2 that Beagler mentioned sounds right. I don't think the cam you have is ideal for finger shooting. I would call Hoyt directly on the technical question.

I shot the Ultratec with cam and a half from that same era with fingers. It was something like 37 A-A and shot fine for me. I don't think you'll have any problem tuning your Protec to shoot fingers. But check on the number of turns with Hoyt. You could also put on a slightly shorter string to further decrease draw weight.

Here is a photo of the Hoyt Protec I was asking questions about. I called it a cam & 1/2 but i think I was wrong?

Here is another photo. I can't figure out how to add multiple photos

I love my new Oneida! It's an awesome bow! so easy to work on it's crazy! Absolutely no press needed, either the limb blocks or a piece of plywood with two limbs catches attached and you can disassemble it in about 3 minutes give or take. I made my board/ limb catcher (that's what I call it) for about $2.00.

Also shoots like a dream with fingers, absolutely no finger pinch at all!

The Protec photos you show are not the Cam and 1/2. That is a single cam bow. I didn't recall Hoyt making that option, but obviously they did. Cam and 1/2 the cams generally look the same top and bottom (like cams, not round).

Hey guys, Pardon my mistake, the bow is a single cam not a cam & 1/2. Just took the bow to an EXPERIENCED bow shop and got all set up at 45# and 50% let off and they also said the cam & 1/2 would be even better. I didn't need a new module for 65% let-off. Some guys know enough to go beyond the product manual. Thanks again for all your help. Si

I shoot fingers for years. I never cared for the Hours and shot a couple Mathews. The Conquest is a great finger bow and as far as getting the bow to shoot slower like a recurve is a bunch of crap. When you shoot with no sights the flatter the bow shoots the better. Shawn

I could be wrong but is that not the versacam. cant remember getting older myself

That's called the RedLine cam. I had a couple of those. Keep an eye on the cable serving wear at the point where it rolls over the draw lobe on the cam. That's a sharp corner and it tends to wear through the serving .

Thanks again for all your replies. I learned a lot getting back to some compound shooting like finding out about what bow I have- cams, finger shooting tips. In summary I learned: 1. I have a single cam (redline) XT 2000 2. The Hoyt manual isn't to detailed and doesn't tell it all and Pro-Shops are interesting. The first shop told me the bow could not be adjusted for let-off without a module and they told me the bow looked nice but had been shot quite a bit? At my second shop I found a guy who knew his stuff. He told me the string looked original from Hoyt and the bow was in nice condition. On the number of turns, he removed the string, removed the bolts then put them back with 5 turns in and that is where we started. I ended up with 45#, 50% let-off and 29" draw. My traditional draw is 28" and the 1st shop asked me if I wanted 28 or 28.5 and my second shop said 29" is it. Anyway it shoots real nice and QUIET. 3. After this I flight- shot the bow against my Oneida Black eagle (50#,50%,28"), and my old Jennings Buckmaster (47#,65%,28") and after 3 flights the Hoyt shot on average, 25yds further than the Oneida and 8yds more than the Jennings. Now when it comes to popping a deer at 30yds or less, the numbers above don't mean much if anything. I will still say the Oneida is the smoothest draw so all the debates go on. Thanks again. Si

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