Just got back from the post office and picked up my new John Strunk Selfbow "It was made in 1990 but it's new to me" My question is can anyone tell me what the brace height should be on one of his bows?

He's in Tillamook Oregon just give him a call.  If this is still good his email is spiritlongbow@oregoncoast.com

DA,
I have Spirit Curve 60" bamboo backed yew. John told me brace height was 5-1/2". His phone nmbr is 503-842-4944

paperwork with my vine maple says 6"...but guessing 5.5-6.5 would be the range.

Every piece of wood is different. What length is your bow? Is it a static, straight or r/d? Most will fall between 5.5-7.5". The best way to find out is start low and twist your way to a tuned bow. He could make another identical bow and it wont tune the same as yours...odds are. Self bows are a totally different animal as opposed to glass bows which can be quite consistent (+/- 1/4") from one to the next.

What Chris said....generally you should shoot the lowest possible brace height that still gives you good/consistent arrow flight.    Your bow will last longer, shoot a bit faster, and a bit easier to pull.

This bow is a straight bow, Spirit Buffalo Runner 64# @26". My draw is a little over 28" so I'm guessing I'm pulling around 70#'s. This is the first selfbow I have ever owned/shot and let me tell you, it has some hell of a bow slap. I normally don't wear a arm-guard but before I took my first shot I decided to put one on "just to be on the safe side". I put roughly around 50-60 arrows through her yesterday and enjoyed every shot but between the noise from the slap and bruising of my arm through my arm-guard told me "I must be doing something wrong" or is this normal with a selfbow. There is no rest or shelf on this bow so I put on one of my leather gloves so that the fletchings would not cut my hand. For those of you that shoot selfbows, is this kind of bow-slap what I should expect when shooting a selfbow? It is fun but painful at the some time or am I doing something wrong?

Self bows are built and tillered to a specific draw length, or under. You pulling it 2+ inches past its built tiller isnt a good plan. Did you order it new this way or buy it used?

Chris, I bought this bow used. I did speak with John a couple of weeks ago and he said that he could drop it down in weight and extend it to my draw for $75.00. I don't mind spending the extra $75.00 but before I do I just wanted to now if this is what a should expect as far as the terrible bow slap. Like I said before this is the first selfbow I have ever owned/shot so I am on a whole new playing field.

Low Brace Height & Arm Slap can be common with Self-Bows from my experience.

I just built an osage self bow. It is 65" long, 59# @ 29". I brace this particular bow at 6.5" and it just tickles my arm, which is normal for me. Every long bow I have ever shot glass or wood does the same. Part can be contributed to the "broken wrist" style of shooting. And a lower brace height can also play a part. If you enjoy the bow it would be worth the money to get it fitted.

Two ways to stop the arm slap on a self bow raise the brace height or use fast flight string it has less stretch.

thats if the bow is fast flight compatible. don

There is nothing about a selfbow that would contribute to string slap other than a brace that is too low, or an elbow that hyper extends. If you are used to a 7" or 7.5" brace and you have a hyper extended elbow, a 6" brace on a selfbow may contribute to string slap.

I own 28 of John's selfbows. Every bow he makes comes with a paper that recommends care and a brace for that bow. I have never seen any brace recommendation higher than 6" on John's bows, and the bows I have run from 58" to 70".