hill style longbow question

[Jmatt1957]

I have never owned or shot a hill style longbow. But have been thinking about it for some time now.How do you determine what length bow to buy? Most of my hunting is from a tree stand for deer.

[Brianlocal3]

General rule is based off your DL.  I'd call the bower of your choice and ask them their opinion. Craig at HHA, James at JD Berry and Steve at Northern Mist are all great to talk to, oh and not to forget Chuck at two tracks.

[centaur]

What Brianlocal said. I have a 28" draw, and my favorite Hill is my 66", but I have a 64 and a 68 inch and like them both, too. Depending on your shooting style, your drawlength may shorten somewhat with a Hill style bow. The bowyers mentioned above can steer you in the right direction.

[moebow]

I agree with all the above -- talk to your bowyer.  I will add that the "old" rule of thumb is to take the last digit of your draw length and add it to 60.  So if your draw length is 29", then 9+60 is 69" for the bow length.

Frankly, your draw shouldn't change just because you are shooting a Hill style bow -- form is form.

Arne

[Jim Wright]

Definitely talk to the bowyer. Your draw length does not lock you into a set bow length. Dan Toelke's Super Ds are an example and my 29" draw is easily managed with a 64" bow by him. There are other bowyers with a different design who would need to make a longer bow for me.

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

Originally posted by moebow:
I agree with all the above -- talk to your bowyer.  I will add that the "old" rule of thumb is to take the last digit of your draw length and add it to 60.  So if your draw length is 29", then 9+60 is 69" for the bow length.

Frankly, your draw shouldn't change just because you are shooting a Hill style bow -- form is form.

Arne

But Arne,
With a 31" draw I should stick with a 70" and not worry about getting a special "extra Long" longbow?

[ArrowPlane]

I would respectful disagree with your draw length not changing, if you are going from a high wrist bow with a deep riser.   You "break" your wrist shooting a Hill-style bow and your draw will be shorter.

I draw a good inch shorter on my Hills than I do on my old Bears with a high wrist grip.

Unless you have some seriously long arms or are anchoring way back, it's pretty tough to draw a Hill out to 31".

Just my experience, not claiming expertise  

Enjoy the Hills, they are tons of fun to shoot!

[Jmatt1957]

thanks guys

[Daddy Bear]

Originally posted by Jmatt1957:
I have never owned or shot a hill style longbow. But have been thinking about it for some time now.How do you determine what length bow to buy? Most of my hunting is from a tree stand for deer.

I go by the old rule of draw length to find a starting point.  In addition, there are generally three Hill profiles: String Follow, Straight, and Back-Set. To my understanding, Hill had a preference for a specific Back-Set profile for use in a hunting bow, and he had a preference for a specific String Follow profile for a target bow. I do believe that Craig Ekin ( Howard Hill Archery) uses Hill's Back-Set as standard for hunting longbows unless you request different. Not sure the ratio, but I'd think the majority of his bows are built with the back-set. When you add the option of a reverse handle, you can markedly alter the overall characteristics of a Hill bow by use of the different combinations.

My draw length of 27-1/2 inches calls for a standard PB&J length of around 68-inches.  If I were striving to maximize forgiveness for use as a target bow, I'd probably opt for a string follow the next size up in length than standard for my measured draw. If I were striving to maximize performance for use as a hunting bow, I'd probably opt for a back-set the next size down in length than standard for my measured draw. If I were striving for a cross purpose all 'rounder, I'd probably opt for a straight limb of standard PB&J length for my measured draw.

Adding to the draw length comments.  When shooting a big handle high-wrist bow, the bow handle will be pushed out further than if shooting a low-wrist small straight handle.  You can easily demonstrate this to yourself by placing your hand against the corner of a doorway in a straight handle low-wrist position.  From there, raise up into a high wrist position and you can clearly see this pushes you further away, which will add to your draw length.

Hope that is not too confusing.

Best