With all the interest lately in shorter longbows and recurves, and the growing use of portable ground blinds as a alterative to tree stand hunting.I'am considering building a recurve that is really short,like 48 to 50 inch short.Not having a whole lot of experience using shorter bows,I was hopeing some of you fellows who do use them could give me your thoughts on stability,accuracy and performance.And if you could,what make of short bow you shoot.Looking forward to your input,Oldway.

this week I started , again, to shoot my Ben pearson BP-H52 I'm really enjoying everything but the finger pinch, Dear lord My fingers are killing me! this is a 50#@28 and 52" long. I couldnt imagine shooting much heavier.  For stability it's really not that bad, accuracy is great a bit on the loud side though.  I put some bow hush on last night but havnt shot it with it on yet. My fingers are still recovering from 2 days ago.  It shoots a GT 55/75 better than a 35/55 which I was suprised to see. I'm determined to kill some animals with it.  My dad has had this bow for 40 years and it has never launched a killing arrow....

Thanks Matty,I was a little concerned about finger pinch with a shorter bow.

I gotta Rodney Wright Stalker..46" recurve,  60# @ 28".  Finger pinch hasn't bothered me at all.  The only bad thing I can say about the bow is if ya got longer than 28" draw it stacks like a brick wall.  I don't, so no problem.  
 With a good release, it hits where I'm looking, same as my 62" and 64" bows.  I'm very happy with it.

The shorter bows that have shot well for me without pinch for the most part have been static tipped.

I really like short bows. Recurves and longbows. The short bows that I shoot the best are the ones with the foward grip, like my Bear Kodiak Mag and the Shrew type longbows. I really believe the foward grip design helps stability. Brokenwing

I shot a Sheepeater Spirit a few weeks ago. The owner said it was 47 inches strung. It was smooth out to at least 29--no stacking or pinch. Static tipped...

Cascade Golden Hawk Magnum 52" shoot well for me at my 26" draw length.  They have wide limbs and high brace height. I haven't shot anything shorter but wouldn't hesitate to get a Golden Hawk Magnum in 48".

On the subject of finger pinch(not to hijack thread) can't this be decreased alot by shooting 3-under? I shoot split finger and get a lot of finger pinch from my old 58" Grizzly. I can't imagine shooting anything shorter without losing my index finger past the last knuckle.

Mark

I recently got a 52" 55#@28" K-Mag for ground blind hunting.  I have never owned a bow this short before.  After having shot it for several days, I have to say I'm impressed

I shoot three under with an elevated rest, and I can advise finger pinch isn't an issue for me.  

My draw is 28.5", and I know the moment I pass 28" as the K-Mag begins to stack. It draws smoothly through 28" though.  Could be a problem for a 29" or longer draw.  For me it's not really an issue, it's just there. Almost like having a clicker as I know I'm at full draw.  :D  

It tuned up easily with a brace height of 8.5" and a +3/8" nock point height.  With a 525 grain 30" 2413 it chronographs 179.5 FPS. That's plenty zippy for it's job.

I find this little bow surprisingly easy to shoot well out to 20 yards.  It's very light and I have to really pay attention to follow through but if I hold up my end of the bargain, the K-Mag holds up it's end.

IMO the K-Mag is not a do-everything bow, it's a situational bow. It will be a superb ground blind bow but it also will be perfect for many tree stand set ups.

I really like it...

I shoot 3 under and love short bows. They are the cats meow for thick stuff, blinds and are less prone to brush snags while walking.
I reviewed several short bows from 46" to 52" and the big question a shooter needs to confirm with the bowyer is where they will stack. Some don't stack, they stop at 28", others draw farther. It realy depends on the draw length you have if this is an issue for that particular bow model and length.
Ask the Bowyer.A 48" bow I can shoot with a 27" draw may be wrong for you with a 29" draw, but at 52" it might be perfect.

I have shot longer bows in blinds,however after shooting true short bows in blinds I always take the short bow for blind hunting. With 2 in a blind a short bow realy shows it worth.

In thick underbrush and grass where shooting a longer bow would be a problem from lower limb clearence the short bow realy is  a great choice.

Pete

Elberg probably makes the best short longbow I've ever shot all the way down to 48".