Hickory - How short can you go?

[canopyboy]

Question:  Let's assume a standard 28" draw, and a 50# or less draw weight.  What's the shortest anyone has ever successfully made a bow out of hickory to do that?  With and without bending through the handle.

I tend to think of everything in longer, more comfortable lengths.  But 64" with a stiff handle definitely isn't pushing the limits.  Just wondering if a person could make a minimal handle area, get a little more out of the limbs and drive the length down to 54-56" without taking too big of a chance.

Thanks.

[Pat B]

Theoretically twice your draw length for a selfbow. For a sinew backed bow maybe 10% shorter.

[Black Mockingbird]

In one of the TBB's Tim Baker posts a pic of a stiff handled 48" hickory recurve being drawn to 28".......but thats insane and very unheard of to pull off.

Ive seen some folks take bend thru the handle bows a couple inches past half of there length,and i have made selfbows bend half there length....hickory will take it,it just will take a lil more set than a average guideline built bow

[John Scifres]

I once saw a 48" rigid-handled hickory drawn to 28".  It survived but definitely was not an efficient design.  String angle was way past 90 degrees so stack was a big part of the draw weight.

Try one at 56" and report back to us.  The good thing about hickory is that it usually folds instead of shatters  

[Sam Harper]

You're just limited by stack.  By recurving the tips, you can make it a little shorter without it stacking.  I can't give you a number, though.  Maybe you should experiment.

[George Tsoukalas]

For a 28" draw 67" ntn, is what I would do fora minimum. It all depends on the stave. Be sure your draw is 28". Your actual shooting draw can only be evaluated while someone watches you shoot. Jawge

[canopyboy]

Originally posted by John Scifres:
Try one at 56" and report back to us.

That may be what I'll do.  Will report back.

[okie64]

Heres a pic of one I built a while back. Its 58" ntn and 1.5" wide out to midlimb and narrows to 1/2" tips, 8" of stiff handle and heat treated belly. After shooting in it still held about 1/2" of reflex. If you're going to make a hickory bow that short I would definitely recommend heat treating the belly or it will take a lot of set.
[IMG]http://i1231

[okie64]

[RECURVE319]

I have never built a hickory bow, but I have a white ash bow that I built 10 years ago that I call the miracle bow. It's 55" ntn and 50lbs @ 27". It's built more like a flat bow. The handle is very small and, the tiller is almost perfect. lol. This bow has seen more than 500 arrows, and the tiller has not changed. I think this is pushing it, but I like short bows.
 

Rick.

[ALW]

I think a lot has to do with the design and how much set is acceptable to you.  I tiller the bows I shoot to 30" and I pretty much make all my bows of hickory.  I like about 64"-66".  I usually flip the tips or recurve the outer 1/3 of the limb.  The last one I built was about 67" ttt, I recurved the outer part of th limb, and due to the stave width I make it 1 1/2" wide to just past midlimb then tapered it to about 1/2" tips.  I tillered it out to 30" and it's around 55# at my 29" draw.  I toasted the belly and it took very little set.  If you go really short I'd say you should go pretty wide and flip the tips.

Aaron

[Roy Steele]

I've built over a dozzen in the mid to upper 50's. I've seen unbacked wood land bows in the high 40's. Shorter your bow the wide you make it.
 Mid 50's @28" 50#'s At least 2 inchs to keep set and string follow exceptable.

[LittleBen]

I built a hickory bow from a stave. It's only 54" ntn, probably 55# or more at 28" (I draw 26 but I've overdrawn th ebow just to see). Its heat treated and reflex/deflex. cant be more than 1 3/8 at the fades ... even taper to 1/2in. not as fast as my 62" hickory of same weight but it aint goin to snap thats for sure. Built it for blind hunting. Anyway I'll post some pics. the handle is only 6in long, that helps; oh and no cutaway, shoot off the hand. Cheers

[LittleBen]

Go crazy but go hickory .... from stave ....