Hoyt’s 2025 aluminum flagship compound is quiet, fast, balanced, accurate, and a great in-the-field companion. The Alpha AX-2 32 is worth every penny if you’re in the market.
by Jace Bauserman
I’ve been shooting Hoyt’s Carbon RX-9 for several months. I love it. Hoyt hit a sweet spot with the 33-5/15 axle-to-axle length, and the Gen 4 HBX Cams allow for extensive customization. The RX-9 is currently sitting in a Plano bow case, preparing to take an airplane ride across the big pond to New Zealand, a dream trip for me. The fast-shooting, balanced, and smooth-drawing RX-9 Ultra has earned my trust. I’ve put more than 1,200 arrows through it, and it is Hoyt’s finest carbon bow-build yet.
Read The Full Hoyt RX-9 Review Here
Still, I’ve always been drawn to Hoyt’s aluminum bows. I know I sound like a broken record. In fact, I’ve never penned a Hoyt bow report, and I’ve done many of them, without noting my love affair with the 2009 compound flagship, the AlphaMax 32.
Of course, Hoyt’s flagship aluminum series is always a win, and I’ve had remarkable in-the-field success with the Ventum Pro, VTM, Alpha X, and others. I am honest with every product review I write, and when it comes to hunting, I tend to end up putting the necessity of filling my freezer each fall on the back of a Hoyt aluminum—not carbon—model.
Why?
I shoot each bow head-to-head, and typically, at least for me, the aluminum wins my heart.
Why The RX-9 Ultra For New Zealand?
The RX-9 Ultra is, without question, Hoyt’s best-ever carbon model. Whether I love it or, more importantly, shoot it more accurately than the new-for-2025 Alpha AX-2, the jury is still out. I haven’t spent as much time behind the AX-2 as the RX-9. Still, I’ve spent many hours building the AX-2, tuning it, conducting speed tests, and sending enough arrows downrange to do a bow report to pass to prospective buyers. And I promise you’ll read more about it right here at Born Hunting in the future.
Expect more head-to-head videos and comparisons on our website and Instagram Page in the coming days and months.
Hoyt Alpha AX-2 32
The latest in Hoyt’s Alpha lineup is a trio of AX-2 models—the 32-5/16 axle-to-axle and 29-1/2-inch axle-to-axle rigs steal the show. However, this savvy bow maker also unveiled a 29-1/2-inch SD model that fits draw lengths between 23 and 27 inches. What more could a short-draw archer ask for?
My Alpha AX-2 32 was an out-of-box stunner. The riser is Black, and the limbs are my favorite Hoyt solid color: Bourbon. Without accessories, the 32-inch model comes in at a without/accessories weight of 4.55 pounds, lighter than last year’s Alpha X 33.
Drop cord slots remain. I’m a down cable rest guy, and I appreciate how the draw slots keep the cord out of the bow’s grip. The biggest story, though, concerns the HBX Gen 4 Cam System. Engineered around shooter customization, draw-length adjustments can be made in 1/4-inch increments to achieve a just-right fit and feel. Shooters can also choose between three letoff (75, 80, and 85 percent) settings and backwall options for Hard and Xtra Hard. If you prefer a valley, you want the Hard option. Something new to the HBX cam is the new-for-2025 five-module system. With five modules versus three, Hoyt engineers could optimize every inch of speed and efficiency.
The cam system draws like butter. The transition to the chosen letoff (I tried them all) is not abrupt, and the bow holds on target ultra-steady.
Hoyt claims the AX-2 32’s five-module system and overall bow build are faster than the 2024 Alpha X. I found this true. With my Alpha X 33, my 407-grain 4mm Easton Axis Long Range arrows produced an average three-shot arrow fps rating of 294. That was at a draw length of 28.75 inches and a draw weight of 67.22 pounds.
While I did most of my Alpha AX-2 testing with Easton’s all-new 5.0s, I conducted the speed test with the same 4mm Easton Axis Long Range arrows. I set the Alpha AX-2 32 bow to a tested draw weight of 67.22 pounds and a draw length of 28.75 inches, and my average three-shot speed rating was 297 fps. Shooting Easton’s 380.1-grain 5.0s, the bow hit a top speed of 307 fps.
For a full review of Easton’s 5.0’s Click Here
With just a tick over 32 inches between the axle pins, the bow is neither long nor short. For me, it hits a sweet spot. I cheer bows with an axle-to-axle length between 32 and 33 inches. For me, bows in this axle-to-axle range carry well, are balanced and stable at full draw, and are ideal for sit-and-wait and spot-and-stalk hunting.
Naturally, the bow build was a breeze. For my attached accessories, I went with the usual suspects: a Spot-Hogg Boonie sight and a QAD MX2 rest.
First Arrow
My first arrow is never through paper. I’ve set up enough bows to know my final build will be nearly perfect. I want to get familiar with the bow before I start punching holes in the paper. Hoyt’s WIREWRX strings are solid; they do stretch, though. There is no sense in tuning a bow until you get at least 100 arrows through it.
My first arrow out of the bow press, and you can watch this arrow on my YouTube channel, was 12-ring perfect. The shot was only 20 yards, but the newly designed Easton 5mm Microlite Nock stuck straight toward me, and I detected zero nock travel.
My second shot was from 60 yards. I’ve dialed in enough Spot-Hogg five-pins in bows with fps ratings between 280 and 313 to get my pin-gap close enough to hit a BLOCK Infinity. My 19-year-old son Hunter stood behind me. The shot broke perfectly, and though it was two inches high of the square I was aiming at, Hunter’s exact words were, “Dad, that flew like a dart.”
You know you and a bow will get along when you take a bow from the press and put two killing shots on target from 20 and 60 yards.
After 20 minutes, I had a Spot-Hogg sight tape picked out, and though I never recommend moving this quickly, I was on a roll with the AX-2. On average, selecting a sight tape takes me two weeks. With the AX-2, two weeks after that first 20-minute shooting session, I still used the same sight tape. The bow was spitting darts to the tested distance of 123 yards.
After 100 arrows, I put a four-fletch Flex-Fletch 2.5 vane arrow through the paper. I had an ultra-minor tail-right tear, which I cleaned with two .0019-inch clicks via QAD’s UltraRest MX2. If you have not shot this rest via its back-riser face attachment, you’re missing out. I can’t give the rest higher praise.
To Read A Full Review of QAD’s MX2, Click Here
Hoyt Alpha AX-2: Balanced, Accurate, Quiet
I don’t geek out about bow speed. The bows of today are fast. I care that a bow is balanced at full draw, the pin holds on target, the arrow hits where the pin is when the release breaks and the rig is church-mouse quiet. Hoyt’s Alpha AX-2 checks all the boxes.
I shot this bow in wind, rain, snow, and one balmy spring day. It’s a Hoyt! When tuned properly, the bow is remarkably accurate. This is a prerequisite to achieving accuracy with any compound bow. The bow, even at 67.22 pounds, is plenty fast. After turkey season, I plan to return the bow to its max draw weight of 70 pounds. FYI, Hoyt bows, which I love about, tend to run a bit over a pound—or two pounds in some cases—above peak weight. Using a digital bow scale, my AX-2 32 produced a draw weight of 71.83 pounds.
Hoyt AX-2 32 Specs
- Axle-to-Axle: 32 5/16 in.
- FPS: 336
- Weight: 4.5 lbs.
- Brace Height: 6-1/2 inches
- Draw Length: 5-module system (26-31 inches)
- Peak Draw Weights: 40-80 lbs.
Final Thoughts
Hoyt’s 2025 aluminum flagship is a win. It’s a prototypical Hoyt—a bow you drop off a cliff, go pick up, and as long as you didn’t skimp on accessories, center the pin and kill an elk. The bow shoots ultra-accurate, is maneuverable, a tick lighter and faster than its predecessor, and a bow that fills me with shooting confidence.
