XLR questions

[Coodster]

Hello, first post here, plan to buy an XLR in 09, would like to get a bit of feed back from xlr owners first.
Hows the grip comared to hoyt mathews and bowtech (shoot a hoyt x7 now)? the closest elite dealer is 8 hr drive so gotta get a good image/feel from you guys first.
Hows the draw compared to the hoyts with cam 1/2+, smoother same or harder? smooth draw is what I'm looking for, shoulder has been talking to me, lower wt and smoother draw.
How are the factory strings? 3 mo of shoting the hoyt string and it was toast. How are the elite strings?

Feel free to post pics? love to see other bows.

A bit of what I plan to order and background.
XLR with 60# limbs cuda cam (draw of 28") lowest amount of letoff as possible, I shoot fingers so not a whole lot of bow options, but think I will be able to shoot a 36.5 A2A bow without any finger pinch.
Live and hunt in Wy, have spot n stalk hunted all my life, haven't set foot on a treestand yet. one of these days I will tho
Have a hog hunt planed ot in dec or I would order sooner.

Thanks in advance for any and all feed back

Chad

[Coodster]

Bump anyone?

[Elkski]

lots of folks go out hunting weekends this time of year. So you might have to wait a bit for help. Also, so far not many folks have posted up any glowing/raving/must have/life changing reviews on the XLR. I hear it does shoot. They say ithas a smoother draw than a GT500.
Now maybe I can help you some.
You sound like a grip man. Well I assume that means you dislike mathews grips. Me too. I like my hoyts. I had a protec. Now I shoot a pro elite w/ cam and a halfs 2000 limbs. and a ultra elite w c2 cams and 3500 limbs.
I used to think the hoyts had a solid wall until I got my GT500 shooting. IMHO you just cant beat the design of a draw stop on the cam hitting the limb as a draw stop setting tool. This has totally spoiled me and my Hoyt ultra elite now feels like a over ripe mushy tomato wall. The grip on my GT500 is very thin just like a hoyts but it appears to me to actually lesson your ability to add torque inputs into the bow. By that I mean it seems hard to move your sights around no matter how you hold it. And I have a spott hogg hogg-it thats out about 5 inches in front of my riser. I also have shot with the current state BH champion and shot his bow a hoyt ultra 3500 c2 cam. He has to hold the grip with lots of lower palm pressure to shoot good. So just like me he feels that the bow wants to take a dive all the time on him. HE is fully aware about using cam timing to help hold up his bow. in fact he taught me this trick. His wall is better than mine. I will note that he might have tuned it better or was given a better bow than me. I do however have a draw board and have it tuned where the top cam is slightly faster than the bottom just like his is. So IMHO the grip on the GT500 is superior to my hoyts. and nice for those that like a slimmer feel. I have heard that all the recent if not all the elite grip designs are the same? For cold hunting you might want to consider an aftermarket grip for warmth. The elite design grip only has sideplates. Some of the custom grip makers use plastic and only add 3/32" to the front of the grip that will affect DL. I have just not tried one yet.
I have shot a Hoyt vantage x7 as my buddy is a Hoyt sponsored shooter. I cant remember anything unusual about the draw curve on it. I can tell you this buddy and others are not shooting the x7 anymore!! In fact 2 of the hoyt pro shooters I know had added 1/4" left sideplates on the x7 from the very beginning. They were made of clear plastic to be stealth and when I asked him why only one side he said he just didn't get to making one for the other side??? heheh my momma didn't raise me that dumb.
The draw curve. My
Hoyt ultra C2 3500 limb bow is currently at 54# and holds 17# . the draw curve rises up slowly and peaks near to behind the middle and then drops down some smooth near the end with a tomato wall.
My Gt500 draw up much faster and at first you are like whoa. I have a bum shoulder in remission but I did worry the first few draws and letdowns.. but you get used to it. My gt500 is set at 61# and holds 14.7# it ramps up smooth but strong and hits peak before middle and stores more energy for longer and then lets down faster but smooth and a nice crisp entry into the elite wall.
Hope this helps.

[RNO]

I'm not a 3D or spot shooter, I need the longer draw and the XLR fits that need. Elite's reputation for quality and CS, plus the release of the Revolution Cam and Elite had my attention.

This is my continued search for "the bow" and I think I have found it.
Other bows filled part of my wants, this one covers the spectrum. I like the grip, perfect for my low wrist grip. My hand always falls into place, I never feel like I need to adjust or let down and start over.
This is my third week with the XLR and maybe 200 arrows have been shot. The accuracy for me is fantastic, put it in the hands of someone that is above average and it would be phenomenal. It has not been through a crony yet but the speed feels right. The card read 318 - 328 w/ 300 gr arrow at #62 and 31.5 DL. One of the online speed calcs. shows my 427 gr Axis with Predator vanes is doing 303 w/ 87.5 KE. Yes, I need to confirm this on a crony.
Drawing the bow makes you want to second guess the DW. No humps, bumps or harshness. You are into the wall before you know it, and I have never found a more rock solid wall. No, I have not shot every bow out there.
The strings show no sign of wear and the quality appears to be very good. A custom set to compare them with will be something I do in the future.

I'm not an expert, I'm just a guy that likes something comfortable, reliable and accurate to shoot. I feel that this bow does that and more.


Good Luck with your choice, whatever it may be.

BTW - the FMJ's in the photo below shoot very well also.

[jdduffy]

this might be the smoothest bow I have ever drawn.I'm not a fanboy,I have Mathews,Hoyt,Bow-tech and Elites.It is very stable at full draw because of the longer ata and the rock solid wall.I was smashing nocks at 35 yards after about 10 minutes of setting it up.like I said in an earlier post this is not a speed bow but it is still plenty fast considering it's 8 1/2'' brace height.I'm sure it's still over 300fps but I hanen't put it through my chrony yet.this is a top shelf 3D bow that's going to catch on real Quick! I'm drawing 30'' at 62lbs shooting a 327gr arrow that's getting there pretty quick and the bow is super quiet at that weight.in my opinion you can't go wrong with this bow!