As I was trying out arrow shafts at the local archery place, I noticed that every one of them slipped past my thumb if I drew my right hand back to my ear or below my jaw either one.  In fact, only full length 36" dowels seem to make it to where there is any room for a tip.  

I'm 6' 4", but my armspan is 7' 2" because of a connective tissue disorder.  My left arm is heavily damaged, increasing the length I have to pull a bow to get to either of those draw points.  Would some kind soul please tell me how to measure this correctly and what I'm doing wrong, if anything?

Back your ear seems to me like a far anchor point. But if its working, it's working. The way I measure mine is to put a clothes pin close to the end of the shaft. Draw the bow to full draw and have the clothes pin just touch the riser. Then measure the length. This is how I do it. It might be wrong. I'm sure some experts will stop by soon. Hope that clearer than mud.
Dustin

Most of the trad shooters I know pull till they put the middle finger at the corner of their mouth or somewhere repeatable on the jaw.
The correct draw length should includ the drawing arm and elbow being straight back nd in line with the arrow when at anchor.

Grab the longest arrow you can find and put a peg on it about 7/8 of the way towards the tip. Pull back along your bow until your middle finger touches the back side of your mouth facing away from the bow. The peg should have slid down until it is level with the edge of the riser at your full draw.

Just mark where the peg was, or leave it there and you will have your exact draw length.

Next step become a professional fighter, with a reach like that you'll clean them up!

I always come to full draw, mark arrow at the deepest part of the grip and add 1 3/4 inches . Roy

Gentlemen, if my draw point is wrong, it's because I have nobody here to correct me when I get bad information.  Most of mine was from when I shot yumi during martial arts, and from what I read, it's a bit... different.

Corner of my mouth gets me around 32-33" or so, and that's a little easier to deal with.  I was starting to feel that I was doing something off, and now I know.  I knew my draw was long anyway, but it wasn't as long as I thought it was.  Maybe I can get arrows "off the shelf," but for now I'll see what I can do with these.

Clothes pin on a shaft plus head taper plus 3/4" gives you the optimal shaft length.  But draw length will be 1-3/4" less +/-.  But then, what matters is the shafts.

Anchor should look something like this...
 

That makes perfect sense.  I'll get my wife to measure with with me tomorrow.  That looks a lot closer to how my hand ends up when I draw anyway.  Practically nothing on me is "normal," and my elbows are in that, so that looks eminently more comfortable.

There are a lot worse things out there than being wrong.  Hurting from shooting would be one.

Yep.  I anchor to jaw-bone along thumb ridge and middle fingertip touches the rear of my slightly protruding upper canine tooth (properly crooked English teeth).

And extra, unused arrow is just unnecessary extra arrow (31-1/2" shaft length).

 

Most accurate would be to have someone who knows what full draw position should be and have you come to that position and then measure.   The formulas will work for some and be close for others. I wouldn't trust any of them over actual observation.

Your biggest challenge will be finding someone who knows what the correct full-draw position should be.

The position of the drawing arm elbow in relation to a line projected from the grip, through the anchor and beyond the elbow is the determining factor.

Will it matter.  Yep, under or over-drawn and you might as well leave your back muscles at home and target panic will eventually be your constant archery companion.  

NOTHING is more important than this as the foundation of your shot. Once you get correct draw length the next most important feature of your shot will be the goings on between the ears to counter destructive seduction by the target.

I just put a clothes pin on the arrow and draw to my anchor. It will slide down the arrow to where you stop. Then you can measure your draw length. Works great for me.

get a a bunch pieces of cardboard, cut them to a nickal shape then poke a field pointed arrow thru each one,, now draw back to anchor while standing, sitting, kneeling,, with and without your heavy coat on... its all right there.. compare all the measurements and you'll know what your shortest draw length is which chould be sitting and shooting forward.

QuoteOriginally posted by Bob Abeln:
I just put a clothes pin on the arrow and draw to my anchor. It will slide down the arrow to where you stop. Then you can measure your draw length. Works great for me.

same here