Cameron Hanes

Published setup (October 2025)

On Keep Hammering Collective episode 149 (October 2025) Hanes walked through the hunting bow he had just finished the season with. That episode is the source for the named parts below. Older sponsor posts and shop 'Cam's setup' lists are not treated as current. If a part is missing here, he did not name it.

The bow on that episode is a Hoyt Alpha AX-2 Keep Hammering Edition. He confirmed 32 inches axle-to-axle and an aluminum riser. He wants the extra mass — one hunting shot, held still, after days on a ridge — and a taller brace height than the short, fast hunting bows he sees most people buying. He did not state a draw weight on that episode. Hoyt's later Alpha AX-90 page calls him the original 90-pound Hoyt shooter and says he asked them to build that 80–90 lb bow. That is Hoyt's claim, not a measurement of the AX-2 he showed in October 2025.

The sight is a Spot Hogg Boonie. Three pins, in line on one post. For elk he sets them at 20, 31, and 41 yards — 20 / 30 / 40 in his head — and he said he practices the second and third pins on purpose so a bull that hangs up does not default him to the top pin. He still said to range the animal when there is time.

He named Easton Parallel Pro and Easton X10 as the shafts he trusts, citing the X10 family's Olympic gold-medal record. The hunting arrows he weighed on camera sat about 480–481 grains, four-fletched with low-profile vanes. He skips lighted nocks because the extra rear weight hurts front-of-center. He did not publish a spine, length, or vane SKU on that episode.

The release is an index-finger wrist strap. He said a hinge or thumb button is a target-archery tool, and that on a bull he sometimes has to fire now. He did not name the model. Spot Hogg sells a Wise Guy Cameron Hanes Edition; that is a catalog SKU, not proof of the unit in his hand on KHC 149. The string is a GAS Bowstring. He mentioned a peep, a kisser, and a nose button without brands. He runs a 12-inch front stabilizer with weight at the end and a sidebar to offset the quiver. He did not name the rest.

The CareScore lists below score those same classes. They are not a ranking of his personal bow, and we have not shot his setup.

Endurance training and the hunt

The ultra record is the public proof of the training, not a substitute for a published harvest list. DUV lists 44 ultra events and about 4,479 km from 2005–2025, including Cocodona 250 in 2025 (3d 12:33:37, 18th) and Leadville Trail 100 in 2025 (24:04:34). On KHC 149 he picked a forgiving bow for the same reason he runs: after a week in the mountains, form slips. He wants the bow to stay in the group when he is tired.

CareScore gear in these classes

These lists score published specs in the same gear classes named above. They are not a ranking of this archer's personal setup, and we have not shot it.

• Compound bows — CareScore hubSpec-scored hunting compounds, including Hoyt's current aluminum flagship on our board (Alpha AX-3). That is not the AX-2 he named in 2025.
• Best elk hunting bowsSame category, re-weighted for western elk. Useful if you hunt the country he talks about; it is not his personal bow list.
• Bow sights — CareScore hubIncludes the Spot Hogg Boonie we have on the board. Pin-count SKUs vary; he showed three pins, not a 5-pin tape.
• Best bow sights for huntingHunting-weighted sight list. Multi-pin vs slider is a separate avatar if you want that split.
• Best index-finger hunting releasesThe style he argued for on KHC 149. We do not claim he hunts with any row on this list.
• Best arrows for bowhuntingEaston hunting shafts live here. Parallel Pro is not a row on our board; X10 is the Olympic target shaft he cited for Easton's accuracy record.

Major achievements

• Author of Endure: How to Work Hard, Outlast, and Keep Hammering (St. Martin's/Macmillan), billed as a New York Times and national bestseller, with foreword by Joe Rogan
• Three published books: Backcountry Bowhunting: A Guide to the Wild Side (2006), Endure, and Undeniable (released May 2025)
• 44 ultramarathon events totaling roughly 4,479 km raced (2005-2025) per DUV statistics, including the Cocodona 250 in 2025 (3d 12:33:37, 18th overall) and Leadville Trail 100 in 2025 (24:04:34)
• ~489,000 YouTube subscribers and ~64M total views as of mid-2026
• Founder of the Keep Hammering Collective brand — apparel, KHC Podcast, and the 'Nobody Cares. Work Harder.' mantra
• Long-running sponsorships including Hoyt Archery and a reported 17-year Under Armour partnership that ended by mutual split

Setup questions

What bow does Cameron Hanes shoot?

As of KHC 149 (October 2025) he showed a Hoyt Alpha AX-2 Keep Hammering Edition, 32 inches axle-to-axle, aluminum riser. Hoyt has since put Keep Hammering finishes on the 2026 hunting line, including an Alpha AX-90 tied to his high-poundage request. He has not published a later named hunting bow on a source we fetched. Treat the AX-2 as the last named setup, not as a lifetime SKU.

Are his books the same as a hunting record?

No. Backcountry Bowhunting (2006) is the older how-to. Endure is the bestseller with a Joe Rogan foreword. Undeniable landed in May 2025. Those books are training and life, not a Pope and Young slam list. The public numbers that do exist are the DUV ultra log and the media audience — not a species-by-species harvest record.