Arrow Speed Versus Brace Height

[AKKirby]

Just checking with you experts out there - with a lesser brace height (7 inches) will you get more arrow speed than if at say 8 1/4 inches ?

FYI,this would be for a 50# recurve.

[tj69]

A little bit, but almost not measurable, I guess.
What kind of bow?
If it is a recurve, the bow will probably be with 7" brace height much more noisy.
just my 2ct.

[Don Stokes]

Each bow has its own best brace height, depending on string type, so it's not wise to vary to much from the optimum. But the answer to your question is yes, a lower brace height keeps the arrow on the string longer, so more of the bow's energy goes into it. By going from dacron to a low-stretch type you can lower the brace height and still get the best performance, if your bow will take the low-stretch strings.

[Chuck Hoopes]

For a touch more speed with lower brace, you sacrifice, some quality in arrow flight, clean release becomes more critical and bow is louder.  I shot w/ lower brace hts. for years, then increased them significantly,-- it was way, way, way, easier to shoot accurately, particularily under stress of hunting conditions. - You will get cleaner, more accurate shots off, faster.  Low Brace ht. is fine for target, 3D shooting, but in the real world a higher brace will serve you better.

[AKKirby]

Appreciate the feed back - this is a Hoyt Gamemaster II,shot last night with 15 other guys(traditioinal shooters) and took first. Must mention I just put on a new Fast Flight string  I have it tuned alright but one thing about Fast Flight versus Dacron on this bow is that it definitely is louder. Only way to keep it from being too loud is to keep the brace height at around 71/4". Dacron sting quiet but more handshock and tends to hit my arm more often. More vibration in Dacron.

[Jeff Strubberg]

You will, but only if you maintain arrow tuning at the lower brace.

A lower brace height means a longer power stroke and more juice to the arrow, but you can lose what you gain and more if your arrows start flipping around.

[pdk25]

Originally posted by Chuck Hoopes:
For a touch more speed with lower brace, you sacrifice, some quality in arrow flight, clean release becomes more critical and bow is louder.  I shot w/ lower brace hts. for years, then increased them significantly,-- it was way, way, way, easier to shoot accurately, particularily under stress of hunting conditions. - You will get cleaner, more accurate shots off, faster.  Low Brace ht. is fine for target, 3D shooting, but in the real world a higher brace will serve you better.

I've heard this argument a couple of times.  I guess I have never made drastic enough changed to the brace height to notice differences in any effect on my release or shootability.  If you're arrows are tuned appropriately and you slightly increase the overall arrow weight to accomodate the increase in stored energy, I don't know why there would be negative effects in that regard.  Maybe someone can explain the mechanism behind this.

[Dartwick]

apparently I was in error

[pdk25]

regarding?

[Dartwick]

my mistake  

[George D. Stout]

Well it so happens I've been playing with brace on a Shakespeare Necedah, so I'll give you my findings.  I started this bow about 7 3/4" and shot it for awhile and it shot okay.  I recently bought a 12 strand dacron flemish twist an inch longer than the bow calls for and twisted it to brace.  Just for schnits and giggles I lowered the brace to 7" and it shot better and was actually quieter; a pleasant surprise to me.

So then, I shot it till it stretched completely and it ended up at 6 1/2.  I've been shooting it there and it is very pleasant indeed.  It's very quiet and I picked up some performance as well. Since I don't have a cronograph, I simply shoot for distance and average it out.  The 6 1/2" brace gave me around 26 to 30 yards extra cast, shooting the same arrow over distance.

Now the Necedah doesn't have a deep recurve so the lower brace actually sits at the end of the string groove and thereby utilizes more of the curve without getting whip ended.  That same low brace with a deep curved model would probably be problematic as it would tend to be noisier and probably a little jumpy.

Each model of bow will have a brace that just works best, and it may be in the middle of a suggested height, or at the very low end.  You almost need to spend some time with that bow to see what it likes the best.

[AKKirby]

Thanks to all for the input.Definitely have found that you need to play around with adjusting  brace height for shootability, accuracy and quietness.Bow I'm shooting is a Hoyt Gamemaster II and prefer a Fast Flight string over a Dacron.Dacron quieter but more handshock & vibration. To eliminate I had to crankup the brace height to 8 3/4. Went back to Fast Flight,shooting well and not quite as  noisey as last Fast Flight string. I feel a lot of that was due to lower brace height I ended up with.Shooting at 7 1/8 versus 8. Must be doing something right - shot against 15 other guys the other night and took first so we know the bow shooting OK and no handshock.

[Chuck Hoopes]

Originally posted by pdk25:
 

Originally posted by Chuck Hoopes:
For a touch more speed with lower brace, you sacrifice, some quality in arrow flight, clean release becomes more critical and bow is louder.  I shot w/ lower brace hts. for years, then increased them significantly,-- it was way, way, way, easier to shoot accurately, particularily under stress of hunting conditions. - You will get cleaner, more accurate shots off, faster.  Low Brace ht. is fine for target, 3D shooting, but in the real world a higher brace will serve you better.

I've heard this argument a couple of times.  I guess I have never made drastic enough changed to the brace height to notice differences in any effect on my release or shootability.  If you're arrows are tuned appropriately and you slightly increase the overall arrow weight to accomodate the increase in stored energy, I don't know why there would be negative effects in that regard.  Maybe someone can explain the mechanism behind this. [/b]

It is no great trick to tune a bow to shoot at a lower brace ht. Why Higher brace height works for me,after 20yrs of shooting lower brace, for that little increase in power stoke,that going to a higher brace is hard to say.  I only know the result - mainly 1.can get on target faster, and 2.more forgiving on bad releases. If you have shot longbows much, and I mean the straight ones, not the reflexed ones, you know how much quicker you can get on target, than say w/ a recurve. Iam shooting a recurve now, and I think that in someway the higher brace, just makes everything just a little more straight/ forward/direct as in a longbow. Not so much slop- if this makes any sense.  Its like how much play is in the wheel of the family car v.s. the wheel of a sports car. Its a hard thing to explain, just a feel thing.

[tj69]

My experience with the game master:
It is a fast and accurate bow, but pretty noisy.
Thought about some good silencers?

[James Wrenn]

With an 8 strand d-97 string I find around 6 3/4 to 7" on my gamemaster to be much quieter than the higher brace heights with larger strings.Mine set on a rack for a year because it was too loud for me even after days of messing with it.The small string and lower brace fixed it.  

[AKKirby]

That string sounds like it might help. I have limb savers on it along with otter strips for string silencers. Thx again to all for the comments.