Tall Friend, What lenght of Bow?

[ChristopherO]

I have a friend who has expressed an interest in shooting 3D with me this year.  He hasn't shot a bow in nearly 35 years and the old Indian recurve that he used at that time is small even for me with a 27 1/2" draw.  Jeff is a very tall man with draw lenght of 31" to 32".  We used to work construction together but now he is an online teacher so his concern is to not have a too heavy of a pull weight.  40# or so is a good starting point.  Plus, he doesn't have a bunch of $ to spend.
Long/Flat Bow, Recurve?  70 + inches?  Any suggestions what would be a good choice in this situation?

[Bowspirit]

I'm 6'4", have a 30" draw, and have yet to find any problems with my 64" Bear longbow. I'm sure he doesn't HAVE TO go to a bow as long as 70 inches. Nothing wrong with it, but not nessecary either...

[steadman]

I too am 6'4". I shoot a 66"-68" longbow. No problems. Try to get a few different bows for him to shoot, that would be the best.

[jrchambers]

i draw 30 im only 6'2" but long arms i shoot 58 curve and a 58 long bow works good i bet a 60 or 62 curve would be plenty

[vermonster13]

The problem you are going to have is getting a bow that light in weight at that length draw.

[Big'n]

I'm 6'5" and draw 32 1/4". My longbow is 66" and my recurve is a short 60"(wouldn't want to go any shorter than that). I've been shooting trad equip for a while now and I bought an awful lot of bows before I started listening to some of the older fellas and started shooting longer bows. I guess coming from the wheelie bows I wanted something short........GO LONG...The LONGER the BETTER.  GOOD Luck and God Bless!  DAVE

[BobW]

Get him into a decent length long bow.  I'm 6'7", have a 38" sleave, and draw 32" (or more, but that is when I run out of arrow).  After blowing up a "shorter" recurve, I did a little bit of research with a number of boyers.  Ended up with a 68" long bow (see signature below).  A long(er) long bow will also help in that it is more forgiving as he developes form.

What VT13 said is true.  Two of the three bows I own are custom built for me.

Don't let guys miss-lead you.  There is a heck of a lot of difference from 30" to 32" in stress developed in the bow, as well as it will likely stack.  Most of the boyers I talked with essentially told me to look elsewere.

Lastly, he may want to shoot 3-under, so as to minimize potential for finger pinch.  That choice too, will make it even more difficult to find a bow tillered that way, though that can be compensated for (raise nock, elevated rest, etc).

Wish you/him luck.  Don't let him get discouraged.

BobW