I have always shot short bows. 58" or less. Recently. I bought. A 62" bow and have been shooting it great. Granted I have never owned this brand of bow before so maybe it is simply the design of this bow?
I only draw 25" so that is why I have always stuck with shorter bows. Obviously a shorter bow has the advantage of being a little more maneuverable in a blind or treestand. Other than that, what are the advantages of the shorter bow over the exact same bow in say 62"?
I know that some shorter bows shoot well, (I have owned them), even for people with a longer draw. But are people giving up a little just to have a shorter more maneuverable bow over the same bow 4 or more inches longer?
That is the advantage.
First I will say I have a 30 inch draw and shoot my 64" Talltines longbow great. It is my go to, never leave the house without it bow. However, due to length (and not performance) I had a mishap on a giant herd bull elk.
I was peering over a hill with the rise in front of me I tried to draw my bow but realized due to the bottom limb being long I couldn't shoot. I let a 350 class bull walk all over me. With a bow shorter I make that shot. I never got another opportunity!
I picked up a stock 58" Thunderchild from BigJim. It is a better feel than some 62" bows I own and will be in the mountains with me in the mountains after white goats this fall.
well..assuming both bows are equal quality..etc etc etc..
Being a little more maneuverable is about it.
May be an argument that a shorter length "stock" bow might be a little better for those with shorter draws...but that can be done in custom longer bows too..
Wapati -- that's exactly why I shoot not only short bows, but short asymmetrical "horsebows" with the bottom limb 3-5" shorter than the top limb.
Possibly, the only disadvantage of a 62 bow with a 25" draw would be less efficiency. If built for a 28" draw, the loss of 3#/inc. (9 lbs +/-) might affect you, both are dependent on the design.
I shoot short bows because I would look funny shooting bow taller than me.
I think this thread already gives the two advantages for you (at a 25" draw):
1. Manueverability
2. Efficiency
Disadvantages:
Some say shorter bows are "less forgiving". I agree with this (based on my personal experience and feel). I used "quotation marks" because this is often a topic of opinion/discussion.
For me, I have deduced two things:
Longer limbs generally mean more mass which means greater stability - to me.... You have another post about the Bobcat - or similar bows - these are short limbed bows with greater mass so that offsets this disadvantage.
Finger pinch/"forgiveness" of release imperfection...this can occur with certain designs on short limbed bows with longer draws. This will likely not be a concern for you. I feel this often on shorter bows. I need to work on the consistency of my release. I put this more on the archer, not the bow, but for me a longer bow is more forgiving on this. I draw 29" though.
When I drew to over 28",(I looked funny doing that), I had a 50" Browning Cobra. I tried three under, split, no matter what I did, I did not trust myself to shoot past 20 yards with it. It seemed that the deer knew that as well. Then one day I bought a 62" Black Widow found out real quick that I could not shoot uphill with that long draw. Now I shoot longbows and draw under 27" both left and right handed, some days I think my 62" R/Ds act too short. I used a 52" Pearson for awhile with a release, I hand a finger injury. When my finger healed I found that I still cannot shoot past 20 yards with a short bow, I sometimes really wish that I could, they are easy to hunt with.
In the brush and in the blind is only place I feel short bows really shine. Where I hunt in tree stand, they are pretty much wide open trees so longer bows aren't hindered much. I have a 31" draw, I can shoot a 58" bow if it's fairly low draw at 28", but I have to be real mindful of my draw hand grip on the string so as not to get pinched. I practice shooting bent over all the time with my 64" longbow so that terrain poses very little problems for me but brush can be a real show stopper!
58 for you is probably about the ratio as 48 would be for me.
Why would anyone want to.shoot a bow as long as 58" ? I can shoot my Bear 48" magnum just as good as my 68" Gordy Moray. It's all in the head !
QuoteOriginally posted by njloco:
Why would anyone want to.shoot a bow as long as 58" ? I can shoot my Bear 48" magnum just as good as my 68" Gordy Moray. It's all in the head !
I don't notice any difference between my 58" and my 52" KMag. The SuperMag interests me but I'd like to be able to try one first. Little concerned even at 28.5" it could be a problem for me?
Bear 48 Magnum has the huge brace height, that's why you can shoot it with a normal draw length and not get a lot of finger pinch. I can't shoot one with my long draw, back to bow design having a lot to do with it.
QuoteOriginally posted by njloco:
Why would anyone want to.shoot a bow as long as 58" ? I can shoot my Bear 48" magnum just as good as my 68" Gordy Moray. It's all in the head !
I say this in a teasing way....but this statement comes with a signature listing 5 bows, 4 of which are 64" or greater.....
A short bow is also very convenient for stalking and still hunting where you dont have the option to clear or cut saplings,sticks,weeds etc that might be in the way of limb clearance.
Short bows manuever easily and quietly through cover when still hunting.
As mentioned previously by others a shorter custom bow would only be advantagous due to length; a shorter stock bow @28" may be better performing than a longer stock bow. You can see what length I like.
They are nice to stir the firebox in the woodstove with. :bigsmyl: I had to! But I confess..my 60" Centaur is a pretty good bow to have in my Turkey blind. rat'
I was waiting for riverrat to comment. LOL
Other than the advantages already mentioned i say a short bow makes you a better shot. If you have 2 bows that are of the same design and you practice with the shorter bow and master it, then shooting the longer bow should be a piece of cake.
I really think that the old bowhunters and archers that encouraged an archer to match the archers bow length with their draw length were dead on. I recently was reading that Jim Brackenbury only hunted with 66" recurves. :dunno:
http://www.brackenburybows.com/interview.html
I ask because I have shot plenty of shorter. 56 or 58" bows and they shot good. But i never shot any of those same bows in a longer version.
When I just recently got this new/used 62" I am shooting far better than I ever have. I can't decide if it is merely the design or the added length? I'm wondering if I had this 62" in a 58" if I would lose much as far as stability and accuracy? I think it is a mute point with a 30" draw and the longer bow would definitely be advantageous. I'm just not sure with my short draw?
Has anyone had the same bow in a long and short version to compare.
Curious is the 62" a lower draw weight also? I have had bows from same bowyer in different lengths in similar draw weights, I did shoot the longer one better but I don't know if that is a bench mark you can trust because both of them were probably shorter than I should be shooting at what they pulled. I've read over and over, over the years that longer bows were more forgiving and that longer lever arms are more efficient, what I don't know is, at what point can the average archer shoot the difference! And if your only shooting 20-30 yards or less it's probably a mute point. I'll say this though, have you ever seen an Olympic archer shoot a short bow? To me that's a strong argument for the longest bow you can stand for what you do with one. My normal bow is 64" and I just put together a 58" setup for hunting turkeys from a blind and for rabbits in the brush, different tools for different jobs.
Ceme24 busted me !, just kidding,I stopped listing all of my bows awhile ago. Why would someone need more than one short bow.
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h477/njloco/IMG_1679-1.jpg) (http://s1111.photobucket.com/user/njloco/media/IMG_1679-1.jpg.html)
Shot at 18 yds. The high shot was the first shot, I shot and posted this picture a while ago, due to someone posting that short bows are not that accurate.
P.S. I'd pretty much have to agree with what oldgoat states, the only exception would be about the Olympic shooter as they are shooting at longer distant targets and need the longer bows,but take a look at that old bow they just dug up in Europe, I think it was something like 43 " and like 5000 years old, probably was mine in another life, and that explains why I shoot a short bow pretty good. :biglaugh:
I have a really nice 60" Grooves, I can shoot good with it as long as use a cant pinch tab, I get occasional fliers when I use a glove, twisting the release or something. Some call a 56" Bear takedown short, at my current draw that would be just right, to me that is not a short bow. Short is 52 or less. The old Super Mags had the glass strips on the grips, the new ones do not. I found that the flat back bugged me when handling it. I had one for a while, tried to shoot it three under, I cannot do that anymore. It also did not have the cast that my Super Kodiak had. I still hope to find a shorty that works for me, they do have their place, but they are not all created equal.
The nicest short bow I have shot is probably my 54" Shakespeare Super Necedah. I can get good groups out to 40 yards with it and there is no finger pinch. It is also an extremely smooth drawing bow all the way to 30" with no noticeable stack.
I can't miss with any lenght of bows at 10 yards,so I use the bow that is more maneuverable in my hunting ground.
Said that maybe I would use a longer bow for 3D but I don't see a big difference of accuracy out of 30 yards,my max hunting range,between a short and a longer bow. If I have to hunt at longer distances that that I would pick up a wheely bow or a rifle.
Short bows make you look much taller .... so you'll look better in your hero shots :)
"I was peering over a hill with the rise in front of me I tried to draw my bow but realized due to the bottom limb being long I couldn't shoot. I let a 350 class bull walk all over me. With a bow shorter I make that shot. I never got another opportunity!"
I shoot 68" longbows and I guarantee I could have shot at that bull.. Cant that bow! I can shoot my bows almost horizontally if need be.
Yeah Pat no doubt you could...My failing is that after laying in a thunderstorm with that herd of elk I wanted a no-doubter. I normally cant quite a bit, but even with a 3 o'clock can't I couldn't guarantee my limb wouldn't hit the rocks. Horizontal was a no go as it was not a shot I felt good about. Combined with a cow laying 10 feet away I elected to let it ride...
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/wapiti792/image-11.jpg) (http://s147.photobucket.com/user/wapiti792/media/image-11.jpg.html)
*Think maybe he is telling me to go to hell here
Wipiti792, now that's hunting,and great picture !
That's a dream hunt for this Midwestern boy!
I shoot a sort bow because lets face it... I'm married, Not trying to compensate or show women how big my junk may be. :p
I can't count the number of times i've been very close to elk and the length of the bow didn't make a bit of difference. When you are busted... your busted...LOL
But i prefer hunting with a bow 60" or less.
You can find shorter bows out there that shoot very well from a canted position, but the center shot needs to be cut just too or just before center, and the shelf height cut low enough to keep the arrow shaft coming right off your knuckle.
I've built recurve bows that you can shoot at a 3 O-clock cant with no effect on windage at all.... Its not the shape of the limb that makes the difference, or the length of the bow either... It's having a the shelf cut to the point where you tune your arrows to come around the riser and keep them as close to center as possible from tip to tip, coming right off your knuckle.
A perfect example would be Ron LaClairs Shrew. If you have your arrows tuned properly, you can shoot those very short hybrid long bows at any angle.
Choosing the correct tool for the job at hand typically makes life a little easier.
Am a longer bow fan yet lost my two best shot opportunities last season that seem to have been easily possible with a shorter bow.
Have high expectations for a 56" TimberGhost which is soon to find its way to Kentucky. Don't believe I would attempt to draw any consensus for a particular benchmark. Since I regularly shoot 3Ds, I am aware of my 3d performance and how they relate to my effective hunting range. Note: am quite aware that the effective hunting range constantly changes pending conditions and varying circumstances.
If I can score an 8 or better average on a typical 3D range, then I will be extremely confident pursuing gobs at my typical shortened effective range in the field....hi expectations for me.
792
Got ya, I should have realized that circumstances prevented..