In glassed, Hill style longbows, that are custom for your draw: is one, cut to the length using the formula of 60" plus the last digit of your draw, ie; 28" draw=68" bow, still a better choice or with the glass bows does one step down 2" in length because of the glass? I understand this may bump up speed a whopping 4fps or so, but, do you give up too much stability for it? I understand f.glass changes some of the requirements.
Now for the short version, is a 66" custom Straight Limb/Slight S.Follow too short for a 28" draw? Or is 68" the "only way to let it fly."?
Hey Swampthing, here's my experience. Some of it will depend on the length of the riser. I've owned a 66" Hill bow and a 66" Sunset Hill by Nate Steen. The Sunset Hill bow had a shorter riser and was a little smoother draw maybe, but really hard to tell too much difference. Recently I built a straight limbed slightly string follow bow that is a little over 68". Most accurate bow I've shot in a long time. If I were to order another Hill today it would be 68 or even 70".
IMO, don't read too much into the length thing. Have shot Hills only for 32 years w/o problems. Your shorter draw is suited for a shorter bow; however, it doesn;t mean you cannot realize huge benefit from a longer bow. Find one (short or long) you can't live without & shoot it ragged.
My bows are most comfortable 68" & up prefering the 70". 31" draw has something to do with that plus I'm 6'2". 66" is short to me. One of my hunting bows (Big 5) is 66" & smooth. Longer is noticeably smoother & I do not like shorter bows nor shoot them consistently well.
I've had and shot Hill's from 66" to 70",I draw 27" and my favorite is my 66" Hill.But you draw 28",I think I would go with a 68".
The "slight string follow" in your statement is the key! You can get away with a shorter string follow bow than you can a straight or reflex because of less early preload in the limbs. A 66" string follow feels a lot like a 68" slight reflex on the draw to me. You also will lose a little performance with the string follow that will be made up for with the shorter length. A 66" string follow would work just fine with your 28" draw - Nate Steen would probably build you a 67" for the best of both worlds!
Spanky
I have a 68" half breed from a blank that I made a little more whip ended, Schulz like, and left more meat around the handle risers, to move the bend out. At 57.5@26" it is relatively very fast for the draw. There is advantages in the Hill design if the tips work more in my experience. Don't be afraid to ask for a leaner meaner version if you go with the longer bow. If I had a 68" draw I would not be afraid of going to a 69 or 70", so long as the bow was lean and mean all the way out to the tips.