My nephew wants to learn to shoot traditional and would like a recurve. He is 6'6" and has a 32" draw length. if i remember correctly he will need a slightly longer bow in order to shoot that draw length with out finger pinch so i was wondering if someone knew what length recurve would be able to accommodate that long of a draw length or is he SOL and needs to shoot a long bow?
I would think a 64" recurve would work well for him. With longbows you would be looking at 66" at the least.
I am over 6'5" as well and I have a 32" draw (+/-) and would recommend a 64" recurve. Black widows sounds like they can handle a longer draw with a shorter bow, but there will be a little pinch I imagine. I have a 64" RD longbow that shoots fine with little pinch. I also have a 62" recurve that stacks pretty bad. Hopefully he can get a chance to shoot them first. Hope that helps.
Thanks guys one last question, when trying to figure out what # bow to buy i know the extra draw length past 28 will add some weight roughly how much weight will it add?
I have a 32" draw length with most recurves. I have a PSA 62" and a 60" Kb Black Widow, both shoot comfortably, but the PSA is slightly more so. Unless a bow starts to stack, they will be adding 2-1/2 to 3# per inch of draw over 28 inches.
Thanks Neargeezer, glad you have input on BW's since they seem to be easier on long draws. MY 62" stacks at the end but I think the rule of thumb is around 2-3# per inch. ~10#'s at 32"
If you order a custom bow you can get it made to whatever draw weight you prefer at 32" of draw length. I find that most well made bows gain or lose 2.5# for each inch less or more than 28" so a bow that pulls 50# @ 28" will pull around 45# @ 26" or 60# at 32"
Black Widows generally add 5% of draw weight per inch.