This bow somehow combines maximum
speed with true
shootability.

I just carne in from a successful late-season mule deer hunt. My hunting bow: Hoyt’s ‘07 flagship model, the Vectrix. Prior to this hunt 1 practiced like a mad man with this 33-inch shooter, and every day on the range I became overly impressed with this bow’s performance. It delivers in ah areas: great speed, accuracy and low shot noise. For such a short, “racy” design, it seems to fire off arrows with amazing forgiveness—all the way out to 70-plus yards. After each shot with this bow, 1 kept asking myself, how does it do it?

It has al! the right engineering details was the only intelligent answer 1 could come up with. This is something Hoyt’s designers are really good at. For 2008, Hoyt’s latest flagship bow is the Katera. Let’s take a look at why this bow could be on your next wish list.

IT’S FAST!

If you’re into all-out speed, the Katera will make you salivate. With an advertised IBO speed of 330 fps, this makes it the fastest bow Hoyt has ever sent through the production lines.

But a speed bow as the new flagship model? Speed bows are for expert shooters, not the average run-of-the-mill bowhunter, which most flagship bows are intended for. Well, the Katera puts a new spin on ah this traditional thinking.

After shooting this bow 1 was pretty blown away by its dull thump at the shot and tack-driving, arrow-smacking ability. Also, it’s important to note that my arrows were flying at around 280 fps with only 27 inches of draw!

Compared to my ‘07 Vectrix, the Katera is about identical in design and length, only the Katera’s riser sweeps back a bit more to give it the lower brace height (6 inches versus Vectrix’s 7). This additional inch of power stroke automaticatly ups arrow speed by 10 fps. The Katera is also noticeably lighter than last year’s Vectrix, yet it still maintains the easy to-carry balance of most  tec-risers.

But, as you may know, a lower brace height typically makes a bow more difficult to shoot accurately. The longer the power stroke, the longer the arrow nock stays on the string, making even the slightest hand torque a major problem to shooting accuracy.

Shorter brace heights also bring the bowstring closer to your bow arm, increasing the chance of string slap to occur as the string moves forward at the shot, which in turn creates torque and disturbance to arrow flight. These items normally make a speed-bow harder to shoot accurately.

STEALTHSHOT AND TEC RISER

Darin Cooper, Hoyt’s Senior

Product Design Engineer, believes the Katera’s innovative technology drastically changes the shooting nature of a low-brace bow. “With the Katera, 1 think that brace height is more a matter of your performance needs and your intended usage rather than

having a significant impact on how forgiving the bow will be,” he said. “Qn Hoyt’s TEC risers there is very little torque transmitted to the handle, so tuning issues and torque don’t impact accuracy as they might on other short brace-height bows.”

“Also, as long as you have bowstring clearance for your hunting clothing or a string stop is installed (like our StealthShot Accessory) to keep the string from hitting your clothing, the accuracy difference and forgiveness between a 6-inch and 7-inch brace-height bow will be difficult, if not impossible to notice. However, you may have to use a little stiffer arrow with a 6-inch brace height bow because the power-stroke driving the arrow is an inch longer than the 7-inch brace height bow.”

Z3 CAM

The new Z3 Cam & 1/2 System on the Katera is nothing short of amazing, and is the key feature 1 believe will quicldy seli people into the bow. This system was designed for all out rocket arrow speed, but it doesn’t have the harsh draw cycle of other radically designed systems. Qn your very first pull you’ll have a hard time telling which system is smoother—last year’s Vector or the new Z3, yet the Z3 is about 5 fps faster. The draw cycle was obviously designed with bowhunters in mind.

While shooting the Katera 1 enjoyed the cam’s smooth transition into the valley; there’s no harsh, twitchy narrow-valley feel here. Of course, the cam is equipped with a firm stop, so you can aim with solid pressure against the wall until the shot just goes.

I’ve always been a forgiving bow kind of a guy. When hunting, 1 want my arrow to find the spot, despite making some shot mistakes. That’s al! part of high-adrenaline bowhunting. For this reason, I’ve always steered clear of short-brace bows. However, after shooting the Katera, I’m very tempted to enter the speed-bow side. It’s simply mo sweet to pass up.