Draw weight @ Actual Draw length

[Pat Ct]

When a bow is custom built to a customer's specs, sometimes they are marked at the customer's draw length. My doubt comes from the actual build up of the bow: Is the bow built specificallly to peak at the customer's DL or is the form and limb formula the same as would be at any given DL, and just measured and marked under or over the standard 28"?

Thanks,  Pat.

[AZ_Longbow]

The ones I have orderd are made to hit the requests weight at the draw I ordered. I have watched a couple get made and the bowyer used went to my 29.5 draw and based all adjustments on that.

There are a few bow makers that do certain things to a bow depending on the customers DL, but most not. Some bow makers will recommend certain models to a customer based on their DL to optimize the dynamics of the bow. That is for laminated glass bows.

Selfbows are a whole nother animal! Selfbows will be tillered by the bow maker to a certain DL, and should no stray far from that, esp on the longer side!

Bisch

[Zradix]

Originally posted by Bisch:
There are a few bow makers that do certain things to a bow depending on the customers DL, but most not. Some bow makers will recommend certain models to a customer based on their DL to optimize the dynamics of the bow. That is for laminated glass bows.

Selfbows are a whole nother animal! Selfbows will be tillered by the bow maker to a certain DL, and should no stray far from that, esp on the longer side!

Bisch

x2

[Pat Ct]

So, unless you know the bowyer and how they build the product there's no real way of telling if any given bow is built to be most efficient at your DL, or simply inked with the standard DW @ your DL, is there? And, Bisch, I'm only talking about laminated glass bows, thanks for clearing that up!

[Zradix]

The only bowyers I know of that build to a specific draw length is Kirk at Bigfoot bows and Steve at Eaglewing.

There are probably more..I just know these guys do.

As Bisch mentioned a bowyer will recommend a bow for you based on your draw length. MOST of the time if you pick a bow length that has a max draw length a hair over your draw length you'll get the most speed. Notice I say MOST and SPEED. There are other things to consider than speed.

There are things to be gained by tuning a bow to your specific draw length for sure. But it isn't all that much. Often you'll find you can get a bow that is tuned for the same $$$ so a "might as well" thought comes to mind.

Also keep in mind that an easy 95% of the bows out there are not tuned to a specific draw length and shoot just fine and their owners love em.

[Orion]

Taxus, yes.  You're correct. When you think about it, bows built for a specific draw length (not just the weight marked at a specific draw length as most custom and all large commercial builders do) are actually less marketable on the secondary market, because they eliminate a lot of potential buyers who don't have that draw length.
That being said, there's really not a big difference, and most wouldn't notice it.

[Clint B.]

When I buy a used custom bow, I don't worry about the specific draw length marked on the bow, only the poundage it will be at my own draw length.  I also don't pay much attention to the custom tillering for three under versus split finger release. If it makes a difference, I'm not a good enough shot to shoot the difference anyway.

[Terry Green]

I can't wait to bid on the St Judes Auction!!!

[monterey]

To get peak efficiency, one approach is to purchase a bow that has an overall length best suited to your draw length.  Many recurve models are offered in different lengths.  The bowyer would know which is best suited to your DL.
 
Many recurves begin to stack right after 28" so If you have a long DL the FD curve can tell you what you can draw to before it starts to stack.

  Stack is not the same as a simple increase in draw weight due to the longer draw.  It's actually the point at which you are no longer bending the entire limb and adding stored energy.  It's the point where the limb is drawn to its max and most of the additional draw is bending the whole limb over with the flex point mostly at the inside of the limbs close to the fades.  Since it's bending at the inside, that exponentially increasing effort you are putting into the draw is of little use since it will be expended in throwing the entire limb forward.  Carried to the extreme, the string will eventually pull off the limb tips.

If you are dealing with a short draw, I don't think you are giving much up by shooting a typical recurve at 26 or 27 inches.  Any bowyer can build to achieve the draw weight you want at your DL if it is under the usual marked length of 28.  If you have a long draw you need to be more cautious.

The ASL or Hill style bow is one design that readily lends itself to being modified to optimise a specific draw weight/length.

Sorry if this comes across as unsolicited lessons, but I was not sure what would be the most helpful to you.

[longbow fanatic 1]

I've had an experience with one bowyer where the listed DW@DL was off by 2 to 3 lbs. from what was listed on the bow. That said, it wasn't a big deal to me. When I bought it, the seller put it on the scale to inform me the weight was more than listed. I know with Black Widow, you can pay a little more to hit the weight you're wanting (+or-1 lb), if memory serves.

That said, if I see a bow for sale that's listed as xx@31" DL, I will pass up that bow because I believe that bow was designed to hit optimum performance at 31" If I draw 27.5" it would not be to my advantage to purchase a bow to hit a certain weight at 31"

[acedoc]

my td longbow is listed at 45@28 and the bowyer told me to anticipate 53 lbs at 32. the bow feels smooth compared to a friends sage @45 lbs. when ordering my sky ilf i discussed this at length and the configuration decided was a 17 inch riser with xxl carbon foam limbs and the limbs at 60 lbs on max setting.

will let you know the difference in feel (once they both are compared).