shorter vs longer overall length advantages?

[Monroe]

Hello,
   Newbie here.  See Bear has a 48 inch recurve and a 52 inch in the 55 pound range which I'm interested in.  Think shorter may be better for tree stand hunting like I do, but wonder if there are disadvantages I'm unaware of?  Thanks in advance.

[saumensch]

if you have a longer draw the sorter one might pinch

[LAR43]

Shorter bows are more critical of errors in your form. There's not an awful lot of difference between a 48 & 52 inch bow that you'll notice when shooting them..

Larry

[BowHuntingFool]

I hunt out of treestands with 64" and 66" bows and never had a problem! I believe finger pinch and your form would be the main issues with a shorter bow!

[Monroe]

My bad.  I misspoke.  48 inches vs 58 inches.  Big deal or no?  I have a 29 inch draw on a compound, so not extreme.

[JimB]

48" is an extremely short bow.Target archers shoot 66"-72" bows.There is a reason for that.

Extreme string angle on shorter bows causes finger pinch and that causes release issues that affect accuracy.Short bows magnify shooter error.

I have a 29" draw length and find that a 56" recurve is about as short as I can go and have everything work as it should.I have a dandy custom 54" bow that is good shooting qualities in the shorter lengths.I can hit with this bow but I have been unable to properly tune a set of arrows to it,because of form issues caused by finger pinch.I am getting bad arrow flight and noise in a bow that should be deathly quiet.

Bad arrow flight will rob momentum from the bow.Penetration can be as much as 20% less than with good arrow flight.That is a lot of wasted energy.

Most of us use bows shorter than target archers,to aid in manueverability,but each of us has a minimum that gives us the performance we need.

Shooting in the field,at game,under pressure is much harder than shooting targets and there is a lot that can go wrong with such shots.I have always loved the looks and feel of short bows but I understand that when the chips are down,the last thing I need is a bow that magnifies my error.

For me,56" and above is where I need to be.

To answer your question,the difference in a 48" bow and a 58" is huge.A 58" bow would be a great starting point for people with 28"-29" draw lengths and is plenty manueverable for treestands,ground blinds,pop up blinds,stalking and shooting from a low kneeling position etc..

[Monroe]

Thanks JIMB.  That's exactly the info I needed.

[Dave Bulla]

I also use a 66" longbow and have no problems from a treestand.  Of course, with my long draw, short bows are pretty much out of the question.

The thing that puzzles me is the general notion that you need a short bow for tree stand hunting.  I just don't understand it.  Unless you are trying to shoot sitting down at a steep angle, it's pretty much a non issue.  Stand up to shoot, lean out a little and git 'er done.  When you set your stand up, plan ahead so your shooting is done from the right direction.  As for the occasions where a deer comes in from the wrong side, well, a couple practice draws and a little situational awareness goes a long way to preventing inadvertent limb contact with the tree or whatever.

I dunno, short bows to me are like light weight or compact rifles.  I've just never seen the need.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I am a big advocate of the short bow. The old 48" Bear's gave the whole concept a bad rap. Todays short bow, with proper limb design, does not pinch even out to some extreme draw lengths.

As far the need for a short bow....I hunt Michigan. Thick, brushy, Michigan. I appreciate the shorter limbs when in a ground blind, but I think they really shine in a treestand. My favorite set up in a tree, when I can find it, is in a nice thick gnarly pine. The less I have to trim the better.

I do understand the beauty and smooth shooting of a full sized long bow (or recurve, for that matter). But for me, I just don't see any difference on the target. Keep in mind, I'm not shooting tournaments, either.

As far as the light rifle comparison, I agree that the weight of a full sized rifle will help you hold on target much better. My favorite flintlock weighs 12 pounds....I just don't see   the weight making that much difference in bows measured in ounces. Again, thats MY opinion. There are much better shooters on here than me, who can prove that theory otherwise.

[LongStick64]

I picked up a real shorty from VTMonster, a Black Swan Sniper 50" 50@28. My draw is 26", dwarfville I know, so I can get away with shooting these bows. I also have a Saluki Turk at 54". The Black Swan Sniper feels much more stable than the Saluki and it's 4 inches shorter, much of it is in the design of this bow, very forward angle, so the limbs look they already in position even if the bow is not yet braced.

[Rob DiStefano]

no question about it - really short stickbows in the 48"-52" lengths are far more maneuverable in thick bush or aloft in tree branches.

the bugaboo is what has already been mentioned - finger pinch and some measure of 'instability' and 'criticality' to the release/shot.

i have a 29" draw that doesn't work well for me with a bow less than 62" of length.  i'm somewhat better with 66", but i do hunt with a 62" t/d longbow.

[30coupe]

Bow design also plays a role in stopping finger pinch. I use 58" Kanatis and get no finger pinch. The R/D and forward handle design help a bunch. I only draw 28" but I have experienced finger pinch on some shorter bows. I had a 52" Herters recurve that pinched like crazy.

Generally, the longer your draw, the longer you will need to go to eliminate finger pinch. A 58" bow is plenty short and maneuverable in either a blind or a tree stand.

I also have a 62" TD longbow. I have hunted out of tree stands with it with little difficulty. I did hit my knee with the lower limb on a very close-range shot from a tree stand, causing the shot to go over the deer...kind of embarrassing on an eight yard shot    

I killed my first deer from a tree stand using my 62" Mahaska one-piece longbow, and I was sitting down in a ladder stand at the time. So it can be done.

A pop-up blind could be another situation though. For that I think 58-60" is about max in most blinds.

[Morning Star]

For hunting purposes, I recommend people find the shortest bow they can shoot well.  A-lot of that will depend on your draw length and form.  Some people can just get their fingers off the string better than others.
For me that ment moving to 56" bows.   I'm primarily a bowhunter and I can tell you going from a 60" to 56" was a very nice change.  I personally had no changes in accuracy, it was a no brainer.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

I'm with Dave on this one - I don't understand the short bow/treestand argument.

I use a 64 inch recurve for my 29 inch draw - and I'm only about 65 inches long myself  

I've never had bow clearance problems when hunting whether on the ground or in a tree - I guess I've used a longer bow so long its second nature to me.  Some smaller commercial ground blinds won't work - but that's easy - I just don't use them.  Heck a pruning saw is about 7 bucks and you should be clearing shooting lanes from your tree anyway.

Shoot some bows and buy what you like as far as type/length etc goes.  In my opinion, buying a short, long, heavy, light, or otherwise bow just for something like "limb clearance in a treestand" is barking up the wrong tree.

R

[waknstak IL]

I hunt with a 60 inch longbow. I started out with a 64 inch. No problems in the tree with either. The shorter bow is much easier for me to shoot sitting on a stool. And most importantly the 60 incher will lay flat behind the seat of my truck  

[joevan125]

I hunt with a 62in recurve out of a Summit open shot deluxe and have found this combo very easy to shoot out of and can even shoot my 64in longbow with no problem.  

[Bjorn]

There is more personal preference to this than actual pros and cons. Listening to us is OK; but you have to try it out for yourself. Get a hold of a short bow in your weight, shoot it a lot and see what you think. Whether it is a demo from someone like BW or a Kodiak Mag that you borrow from a friend, or get cheap off the auction site you will know within a week of shooting if you could be happy with a short bow.

[Mike Burch]

Ditto on what Bjorn said.

Mike

[Pat B.]

I've been shooting recurves and longbows for a long time.
The shortest bow I have is 62" and have done all of my hunting, from tree stands, for the last several years with 66" longbows. Lots of folks like the shorter bows but I'm guessing that the majority use bows 60" and over. Shoot both long and short bows before you decide!

[Shaun]

Your 29" draw with wheels will have little to do with your stick bow draw length unless you use a very high (straight wrist) grip and have long arms and wide shoulders. A longbow with low wrist will cut another inch off. I like all lengths of bow but the shorter they are the less momentum stability they have. My present favorite is a 69" selfbow and yes it fits in tree stands.