A Case for a Longer Bow

[dad]

I tried to pull a 60" bow today and I could really tell the with my 30.5 draw. The bow was rated 45#@28.

[Ron LaClair]

Read Freds article in Traditional Bowhunter, "The case for the short bow" Feb/March 2008

[Rod in SC]

I've shot 62-66" inch recurves for over 20 years and then I made a trade for a 52" Cascade recurve. I shoot 52" now. Dang it's nice!  Got a new Night Hawk on order.  I'm just as accurate if not more so and the bow is smooth out to my 28.5" draw. It matters which short bow you shoot when you do the comparison.

[Rob DiStefano]

if i ever have a need to go short, hand's down it'd be a SHREW ... those short longbows are flat out awesome!!!

[Night Wing]

My signature says it all in what I prefer when it comes to the length of bows I shoot with my long draw length.

[dad]

I must be doing something wrong. Always have bows rated at 28" of draw. On my Bob Lee's it adds 3# per inch with my 30.5 inches of draw.

[Night Wing]

Originally posted by dad:
I must be doing something wrong. Always have bows rated at 28" of draw. On my Bob Lee's it adds 3# per inch with my 30.5 inches of draw.

The next time you order a bow and want the poundage at your 30.5" draw length, tell the custom bowyer and he will do it.

[dad]

I will the next time, because I will go lighter in poundage.

[Plumber]

longer is better for me.It seems smoother an easier for me to control.There are some minor issues when hunting from a blind but nothing that cant be worked out ahead of time.

[foxbo]

It depends on the style of the bow. I love the shrews, griffins, and my favorite shorties are the elburg mites. I've been shooting since the sixties and can't tell one bit of difference in my accuracy when I'm shooting my 50" mite, or one of my longer 66"+ bows. I wouldn't want a hill style any shorter than 66", but I love the elburg mites anywhere from 48" to 54".

I like the shorts better on my das as the mediums and longs tend to cause string contact with my nose much more so with three under than the shorts. I own bows from 70" on down to 48" and the one I pick up most often is the 50" elburg jaguar mite.

[Lee Robinson .]

I prefer a "happy medium." I think anytime one goes to extremes...be it really long, really short, really heavy, really light, etc...they loose performance. IMO, its about balance.

I have a 28" draw.

With our Protege Longbow design, I like 64."

When I shot recurves I seemed best fit with around 62."

When I shot a Hill bow I liked 67." A 66" was good, and a 68" was good, but 67" seemed perfect to me. (And, yes I could tell a difference between them).

[Rob DiStefano]

typically, what minimum longbow lengths work best for me ...

hybrid aggressive r/d (thunderstick moab) - 60"
hybrid mid r/d (mohawk) - 62"
straight limbed (howard hill) - 66"

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

I have to agree with Ryan. There's a reason why bows for target archery -- where accuracy is king -- tend to be on the long side of things. For hunting I tend to stay around the middle (62-64" recurves), but every now and then I shoot my father's old 68" Root Pendulus Supreme and remember how nice a longer recurve feels.

[Sam McMichael]

I, too, prefer a longer bow. All my long bows are 66" or 68" in length. They just seem to draw more smoothly than shorter bows I have shot. I just stay out of tent style blinds to avoid problems with the top limb hitting anything. Besides, in the tent blinds, I feel a little claustrophibic. Does anyone else feel that way?

[stickytoes]

my main problem with traditional archery is that i want to try one of each flavor....the real bummer is being left handed.....i will remain focused until i try them all

[buckeye_hunter]

I'm in the longer is better boat. I know olympic archers are not hunters necessarily, but their "job" is accuracy. If shorter bows were more accurate they would shoot them. They don't shoot short bows so I don't shoot them. All other factors are important, but none of it matters if you cant hit the spot. I am still working on that!

[S.C. Hunter]

I have almost always shot 62-64". I have tried shorter, but I may try a 66". 62-64 is where most of my experience has been and will probably remain unless the 66" proves better. The length here in Ca is not as critical as it was back home in S.C. More hunting from trees back home.

[Terry Lightle]

I am a 29 inch draw and shoot a 67 .inch bow and love it.51#@28 inches osage self bow

[Kris]

I've shot and hunted with "long bows" (62" plus recurves, 66"-68" longbows) for 25 odd years and agree with everything you all are saying.  However, recently I have gone to very short bows for my height (6"-1") and big hands/wide fingers (i.e. finger pinch).  I also draw 28 plus inches.  I am shooting a 54" Shrew Lil' Favorite and just killed a buck 12/23/10 with it and made one of the best shots of my life, from a tree stand, from a very difficult position.  I am also shooting a 58" Shrew LB and killed a doe directly under me 12/16/10 that would have been more difficult with a longer bow.  Last spring, I killed a 23# Tom from my Double Bull with my Lil' Favorite and made a very lethal shot, largely do to the fact, that I was not concerned about hitting my limb tips or anything else.
 
These examples are proof of nothing but are reassuring that I can get the job done with a shorter bow as well, and enjoy the other benefits they have to offer.   Short bows for me, are fun, refreshing and equally accurate for my hunting distances this late season.  I still own longer bows, I'm just not into using them lately.

I love both "long" and "short" bows, they each have their merits.  If I were purely shooting targets...all my bows would be long, for sure.  Long bows typically draw smooth and are forgiving.  Short bows carry nice and are sweet handling.  Field applications do warrant the use of a "shorter" bow at times.

Few of us own just one bow, use the one that lends itself for the situation at hand!

Kris

[Friend]

Longer bows are my over-whelming choice. Having said that, I believe that no one length is ideal for the many possible encounters. Bowyers have worked diligently to develop stable, forgiving and enjoyable-to-shoot shorter bows. My experiences with short bows in the past have not been enticing. However, I have the need for a short bow, have researched extensively and am having the big elf build me a dream TC. My expectations are hopefully realistic and my confidence is high. Turkeys beware!