Trad Gang

Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: moleman on December 01, 2012, 04:41:00 PM

Title: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: moleman on December 01, 2012, 04:41:00 PM
Shot my 62" longbow today, without stellar results, so i went in, grabbed a 70"er, went back out and beat the crap out of my block target.
It may be a psychological thing, but for me the longer the better.
To me a longbow was designed to be long and anything under 66" is to short to accomplish the forgiving nature of the original longbow design.
Seems a lot of the forgiving nature of a long, longbow, is sacrificed by going to short.
Looking for your thoughts on the long and short of it?   :coffee:
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: Knawbone on December 01, 2012, 04:52:00 PM
I think alot of it is what your used to shooting. If you shot your 62" as often as your longer bows you would find you could shoot it quite well. I do pref a longer bow myself, but can shoot shorter bows fairly well with consistant practice.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: Jason Kendall on December 01, 2012, 05:06:00 PM
I shoot a 58" all the time and cant hit anything with a longer hill style bow. It's all in what feels right to the shooter. Some bows are designed to be short, some styles are not.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: bretto on December 01, 2012, 05:17:00 PM
I've got a 56" bow made by Jason Kendall that I draw to 30" that I shoot as good as any bow I own.

bretto
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: Overspined on December 01, 2012, 05:22:00 PM
I'll shoot ALL of them
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: Rob W. on December 01, 2012, 05:39:00 PM
I'm shooting a 64" right now that is smooooth! I have to pay attention to the bottom limb in some hunting situations though.

I had a 54" that would put them in the vitals just the same with no limb worries.

Depends on the situation. If I'm looking for pressured deer in briar patch give me the short one and I will make it work. Stumping and early season longer is nice.

My Max length is 64" though. Fits behind the truck seat.

 :D
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: champ38 on December 01, 2012, 05:42:00 PM
I shoot a my 56" Shrew better than my 64" Turkey Creek...even at distances from 30-50 yards. Shorter bows are more forgiving   :bigsmyl:
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: dnovo on December 01, 2012, 05:46:00 PM
It's a psychological thing with me. I can't consider anything under 64" a longbow. Thus I don't shoot them and don't care to shoot them. My bad!
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: joe skipp on December 01, 2012, 05:57:00 PM
I seem to shoot my 58" longbow better than a longer one. Probably more mental than anything else.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: Bob B. on December 01, 2012, 06:31:00 PM
Moleman,

I suppoe it is more mental than anything.  However, I do believe longer can be more forgiving, especially with Hill style bows.  I shoot 68 inch bows better than my 66 even though there is little difference visually.  The draw and release have a much different feel as well, the longer being the smoother and easier on the joints.

Bob.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: medic77 on December 01, 2012, 06:38:00 PM
I shoot my 56" Centaur better than my 58" Centaur.  The longer the bow the more the string touches my chest.  The 56" clears away from my chest and I get a better release.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: JamesKerr on December 01, 2012, 07:54:00 PM
I haven't shot that many really long bows but I know that a 62" hybrid just feels right to me.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: 30coupe on December 01, 2012, 08:13:00 PM
I'm more consistent with my 58" Kanati than I have been with longer bows. To be fair, though, I have put more arrows through it than any other bow I've had, but I can leave it hanging for weeks, pick it up, and still hit right where I'm pointing it.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: **DONOTDELETE** on December 01, 2012, 08:29:00 PM
QuoteOriginally posted by moleman:
Shot my 62" longbow today, without stellar results, so i went in, grabbed a 70"er, went back out and beat the crap out of my block target.
It may be a psychological thing, but for me the longer the better.
To me a longbow was designed to be long and anything under 66" is to short to accomplish the forgiving nature of the original longbow design.
Seems a lot of the forgiving nature of a long, longbow, is sacrificed by going to short.
Looking for your thoughts on the long and short of it?    :coffee:  
Have you got pictures of these two bows?

Forgiveness in a long bow shouldn't have anything to do with the length if it's designed to draw the same distance without stacking up....   :dunno:
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: longbowben on December 01, 2012, 08:37:00 PM
The shorter the better for hunting.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: longbowben on December 01, 2012, 08:39:00 PM
The longer the bow is gets in the way in a treestand.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: rastaman on December 01, 2012, 08:45:00 PM
I shoot my 62 inches better than any of my shorter or longer longbows.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: on December 01, 2012, 08:54:00 PM
All of the bows I am currently shooting are 62". Just seems to be the best fit for me.

Bisch
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: GRINCH on December 01, 2012, 08:57:00 PM
I shoot 56-62 inch longbows,depending on the situation I practice with whateverbow I'm using don't notice much difference.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: centaur on December 01, 2012, 08:57:00 PM
I agree with Ben that long bows are a hindrance in a tree stand; that being said, I shot one of my deer this year with my 68" Hill, out of a tree stand. I sure like the stability of a longer bow.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: kennym on December 01, 2012, 09:14:00 PM
If I shoot one bow longer, I shoot it better (maybe)  :D
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: threeunder on December 01, 2012, 09:45:00 PM
I've got 6 longbows. 1 is 64", 1 is 62", 3 are 60", and 1 is 56".
I shoot my 60" MOABs the best, followed by my T-Child (56")...
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: ichibuns on December 01, 2012, 10:05:00 PM
Got three myslef two@60" and one @62 and love shooting all three and one recurve @60 also all four bows are 3p.takedown  :thumbsup:    ;)
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: L. Harris on December 01, 2012, 10:17:00 PM
moleman, you are most likely right, however I like shorter bows and aquired a "short" longbow in a trade on here. It is 50"s tip to tip and was built by Lostcreek Bows. When showing it off at a trad 3-D shoot everyone said it was WAAYYY to short to be shot accurately. Another member on here from Texas that I have the honor of shooting with, calls it a short,stupid little bow. However I think he will agree that it is a great fit for me and shoots plenty good! I think it is just the mindset of the person handling the bow.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: Arwin on December 01, 2012, 10:53:00 PM
I was a die hard fan of a 62 inch longbow. Went down to a 58 incher and settled right in at a 60.    :thumbsup:  
 Good out of a treestand, pop-up blind or for stalking.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: sheephunter on December 01, 2012, 11:20:00 PM
64" ers is as long as I own and for me it is what I am shooting the most during that time that I shoot the best.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: Forrest Halley on December 02, 2012, 12:32:00 AM
QuoteOriginally posted by Kirkll:
Forgiveness in a long bow shouldn't have anything to do with the length if it's designed to draw the same distance without stacking up....    :dunno:  [/b]

I also don't see what the length NTN has to do with anything about forgiveness. To me, it comes from smooth draw characteristics as far as the limbs' input into the shot.

So is forgiveness really a function of draw length?
Is a bow drawn to 30" more accurate than one drawn to 26"?  Does increased draw length hurt accuracy by keeping the arrow in an affectable position longer?
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: on December 02, 2012, 01:45:00 AM
A number of years back I shot a 70" Big 5 that was marked 89@27".  It was 92@27", I had a slightly longer draw in those days, 26&3/4". with that bow I noticed that if I stretched to nearly 28" or shortened to 26", the bow speed test with a chronograph or distance shooting showed very little arrow speed change. The explanation I got makes some sense as far Hill style longbows are concerned. When a heavy limbed bow is drawn further it picks up more static hysteresis and when it is drawn slightly shorter it is more efficient because less limb has to move, thus giving a more predictable shot as far as arrow to arrow speed. the string angle and the snap of the string from the fingers because of the weight, I am sure, is what put a number of bunnies and pheasants to their end with that bow, no deer however. further testing with other bows that I have owned has shown that draw length variations makes a much greater difference with fast bows like a BW takedown. The other thing that I notice is that not all bows like shorter draws, something just falls away from the limb action when the draw gets short. I shoot 26.5" right handed and 26" left handed with long bows and I am more accurate now than ever. Oddly enough, I am just as accurate at deer with a 62" r/d Robertson as I am with my favorite Hill style bows, but my favorite bow is still my 68" fast tip from a Hill blank halfbreed. The difference is slight, but it is enough to make more hits on small moving targets and that could be a small release variance or the straight grip that makes it point faster. Some people, just like me at times, turn their release fingers a bit on the string, the longer bow will be more accurate then.
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: Traxx on December 02, 2012, 02:50:00 PM
Does anybody else see the contradiction,in the Term "Short Longbow",or is it just me?
Title: Re: Short longbows, missing something?
Post by: Cyclic-Rivers on December 02, 2012, 03:10:00 PM
I shoot all my bows the same... like crap!