Forward Handle Question

[Tagsoup]

Some of the bows I plan to try at Kzoo have forward handles. Just wondering what the benefits/drawbacks are. My draw is 27 inches. Layman terms work best for someone like me. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[D. Key]

My understanding is that you can have a shorter bow with a forward handle if you have a longer draw and not give up any performance or accuracy.  I too, have a 27" draw and I recently bought a 58" Dwyer Endeavour which has the forward handle affect.  I can't tell any difference from my other bows performance or accuracy.  With our 27" draw, we could most likely shoot a 54" bow with forward handle just as we do with longer bows.

I'm certainly not an expert but that is what I believe is the reason for a forward handle.

[Orion]

Because the limbs rest on your hand with a reverse grip rather than 1 1/2 to 2 inches in front of your hand with a standard grip riser, it's a little harder to torque the bow (side to side), or put another way, the bow is a little less sensitive to side to side torque. 

Because the limbs are closer to the hand, they do not flex as much/far as the limbs of a standard grip bow at the same draw length. I think this permits a somewhat shorter bow for a given draw length.  For example a 66-inch reverse handle ASL instead of a 68-inch ASL with a standard grip for a 28-inch draw. 

Because the limbs don't flex as much/far, they may need to be constructed with a little more early load. This may or may not affect the smoothness of the draw and speed.  If so, I haven't noticed. I just like the feel of a reverse handle, and I do drop down two inches in bow length with my reverse handle bows vs my standard grip longbows. 

That's about all I can come up with, and my observations apply to ASLs only.  R/D longbows and hybrids have much greater variations in riser and limb design that can overshadows these features. 
 

[STICKBENDER98]

Pretty much what Orion said, best advice I can give is to talk with the bowyers at the show, they are the experts.  Good luck with your search, and happy shooting!!!!


Jason

[bucknut]

You really shouldn't see any performance gain, but the accuracy should be a bit better. For reasons already stated Less Torque and higher brace height.

[McDave]

If the only thing you do is to move the handle forward, you will lose the effective draw length by the amount that the handle was moved forward, and gain some stability.  When I say “lose the effective draw length” I mean that while the measured draw length will remain the same, the limbs will flex less, as was pointed out by Orion.  It is quite an art to move the handle forward and maintain the efficiency of the bow, sort of like having your cake and eating it too.  I think that Black Widow has managed to do that, and perhaps others as well that I have not personally shot.  The combination of accuracy and performance is hard to beat.

[Ray Lyon]

The Super Shrew is one of the finest forward handle bows. 

Benefits include pointability, stable and accurate and the ability to have this in a small package. As you can see by the picture, there’s a fair amount of reflex in the limbs that keep the performance up. 

[Tradcat]

I sure would love to demo a shrew bow!

[Tagsoup]

Thank you for the info. That’s what I was hoping to hear. Getting ready to head to the expo and find my next bow.

[jeffg]

I have been shooting a NM Ramer for over a year now. The forward handle is way more forgiving than the standard handle. I do not notice and "limb efficient " issues at all.The brace height needs to be a tad higher by about 1/2" because of the reverse handle.
Speeds through my chronograph with 2 NM bows one reverse handle and one Classic same # same arrows and only 2-3 FPS difference.  bit I will take smooth, acuaret and for giving any day over presumed efficiency and or speed.