What's most important in smoothness of draw in a longbow? Is it the length of the bow or the core wood? The reason I'm asking is that last year I had a 64" Mohawk longbow with boo limbs that was very smooth drawing. I ended up selling it.      Anyway I just got another one this time 62" also bamboo. It just doesn't feel as smooth drawing as the 64". I might be able to swap for a 66" Mohawk with osage limbs. Will this bow draw as smooth as the 64" with boo limbs? I know it's probably a stupid question. How smooth a bow draws is more important to me than speed or looks.

A longer limb tends to be smoother, all else being equal, but limb design is a factor that often comes into play, with some designs being much smoother than others. Limb core material can make some difference too, but it is very secondary to limb design. A 54" Shrew Classic Hunter with any core material will be much smoother in the draw than a 64" bow that is poorly designed, even if the 64" bow is fabricated from the most advanced materials made. The best person to answer your question about any particular make of bow is the bowyer himself.

Allan

If it is the same bow and same weight the longer bow will feel smoother no matter the core material as long as the extra length is in limbs instead of riser length.jmo

Design,I made a short asiatic type static recurve,45#@28.the strung bow is 49.5".and can draw it smoothly to 32.the lams I used were red elm,tapered and parallel maple.

design, materials, the list might go further.  As an example, my draw is 32".  I have a 56" Shrew Classic Hunter (pre-carbon) that gains a consistent 2.5#/in from 26/27" all the way to 32".  Not sure how many can claim that (I'm sure others can - don't want to debate that).  I have had othere bows just "hit the wall".  My 68" ChekMate Crusader is also a darn smooth one all the way back to my anchor.

Go figure.....