Why so much interest in having a smooth drawing bow?

[Dartwick]

I frequently see this listed as an important attribute.
But it seems to me that all that matters is peak pull weight, arrow velocity(for a given weight of arrow) and a quiet low shake release in terms of measurable bow qualities.

I understand that a smooth draw(one that quickly builds then builds slowly) can contribute to an efficient fast bow, but why is it treated as a desirable quality itself?

[vermonster13]

Shoot a 100 bows and then see which ones you want to shoot again. Especially when it is cold and you're wearing the late season gear.

[mcgroundstalker]

If a bow "stacks" the last few inches of draw it may compromise your shooting ability. You need to come to anchor for each shot with control and not "fight" to get there.

... mike ...

[Jeremy]

What Mike said.  My father has an old 55" Root recurve that has so much taper built into the limb it starts to stack before 28".  It pretty much hits a wall before my 30" draw.  Contrast that with my grandfather's 54" recurve with very little taper in the limb... draws smooth out to 29" and then only gains 4# in that last inch.  I can shoot my grandfather's bow consistently... not so with my father's bow.

[Old York]

If you have not shot a bow that stacks, this quality may evade you. It did me on one of my bows that I thought was just fine, then I got a longer recurve {Quinn} and holy crum it's like "So THAT'S what they mean".

I've heard that ideally, one wants a bow [at full draw] to be in that gentle curve near the end of the force-draw graph. Shooting a stacked bow may lead to some pretty weird flight/tuning problems JMHO

[Jerry Jeffer]

If you like to struggle with your bow, then you don't need a smooth bow.

[BodarkOkie]

:eek:    :confused:    :confused:    :confused:    :confused:    :confused:

[tradwannabe]

i found that a smooth draw bow "feels" like drawing less weight than it is. I have a 55# recurve and a 60# longbow, but i draw about 5#'s more. The longbow feels like i am drawing LESS than the recurve. You need to go to a shop and try many different bows. Your draw length can have a significant effect on some bows. Since i draw 31", some bows stack at this draw, some don't.

[JL]

I won't own a bow that stacks. I long ago came to terms that I shoot a 60" or better curve better than anything. If I shoot a bow that stacks, all I'm thinking about is just that. If it's uncomfortable and awkward to shoot (for me), it's going down the road. All I want on my mind is that exact spot where the arrow is going to impact.

JL

[Dartwick]

Ok that makes sense to me. It not about the arrows flight its about finding your ancor woth out distraction for most people.

So a follow up question. Its important to have only a modest increase in the of 6 or so inches around your ideal draw lengeth. Is there any reason it matters earlier in the draw or is it just that it feels lighter to many people?

[Jeremy]

Dartwick, one of the keys to an efficient bow is getting the early string weight to rise quickly.  With two bows of equal poundage the bow with the most early draw weight will store more energy and, everything else being equal (mass, length, etc) will be a faster bow.

Recurves accomplish this b/c in the first few inches of draw the bow behaves as if it were a shorter bow - the string is making contact with the limbs... the more contact the "shorter" the bow and the quicker the draw weight rises.  r/d lonbows really have to play with limb taper and where in the limb the deflex reverses into the reflex - you need to tips to act first as levers to get the nice fat force/draw curves.

In either case after the limbs uncurl or come around the bow starts behaving as a longer bow and draw weight rises steadily until the stack point - which is where the string angle at the tips approaches 90 degrees.

[Jeremy]

One more thing.  A straight limbed longbow will have a fairly straight f/d curve throughout it's entire draw and doesn't store as much energy as a bow with lots of early draw weight.  But it will be extremely "smooth" until it starts to stack.

[Jedimaster]

I like you guys answers.  For me it is like this:  I have arthritis in my shoulders and it limits the amount of weight I can draw comfortably.  I can actually pull and shoot heavier bows but pay the penalty later with aching shoulders.  I have one bow that is 5 pounds heavier than I can normally shoot.  The difference is smooothhhnesss.  I don't have to wrestle and contend with stack at the end of the draw.  Just a nice smooth transition, a steady increase in weight.  No surprises.  Works for me.

[JStark]

I especially agree with Tradwannabe and JL.  My bow, though I love it and have learned so much on it, stacks horribly.

[tradwannabe]

there is another point to make here.
in a perfect world the force draw curve would be a flat horizontal line around your anchor/draw length. this would mean that if your draw varied a bit, the force would be the same so the trajectory would be consistent. this helps especially when you are in an auckward position.

[Roadkill]

they are just more pleasant to shoot-and a consistent draw force curve has to add to your accuracy-can't peove it but feel a smooth bow that doesn"t scream "loose the arrow" is easier to control

[James Wrenn]

A bow that gains less weight at the end of the draw is much easier to be accurate with.You creep a half inch on achor with a bow that gains 4 lbs on the last inch and that is 2lbs less weight on release.A bow that gains a bit over two lbs that last inche will have half as much effect on your ups and dows if you creep or short draw.Of course if you do everything perfect it does not matter but most of us don't.  

[Jeff Strubberg]

I understand that a smooth draw(one that quickly builds then builds slowly) can contribute to an efficient fast bow, but why is it treated as a desirable quality itself?

A smooth bow is one that doesn't stack at the end of the draw.  If you shoot a bow that gains 7 pounds in the last inch of draw and you miss your anchor by 1/4 inch, you are shooting a very different bow.  If you shoot a bow that only gains 2 pounds in that last inch and miss your anchor by the same amount, it's darn near unnoticable.

Smooth isn't just about comfortable, it's also about being more forgiving of small errors.

[Dutchman]

Originally posted by JL:
I won't own a bow that stacks. I long ago came to terms that I shoot a 60" or better curve better than anything. If I shoot a bow that stacks, all I'm thinking about is just that. If it's uncomfortable and awkward to shoot (for me), it's going down the road. All I want on my mind is that exact spot where the arrow is going to impact.

JL

Roger that!