Questions for you Longbow Shooters????

[Bojangles]

I just got back from the Kalamazoo Expo.  Lots of good stuff there as well as a great group of people to associate with.  While there I looked at lots of bows.  Have been shooting recurves but was interested in a longbow.  Found a used one that is a great shooter, no name on it other then "Wildwood Traditions" stamped on the lower limb..  Bow is marked 62" AMO, 56# @ 28.  It has antler tips and a really nice locator type grip.  Price was right so I bought it.  It needs a new string. Right now it has what looks like  a recurve string on it.  I say that because of the large loop on one end.  Brace height, as measured from the deepest part of the grip, is 6".  Bow is very, very quite.  Now some questions

1.  Is the brace height correct?
2.  Because of the low brace height, 5 inch feathers contact the shelf when nocked.  Looks like I will need to re-fletch with 4 inch feathers.  Is that what you guys shooting longbows are using?
3.  I get some handshock when shooting.  Is this because of the low brace height?
4.  The string that is on the bow measures 58 1/2 inches.  Is this the correct lenght string?

That's all for right now but I am sure I will have more questions soon.  I appreciate all the help you all can give me.  Thanks

Bo

[ron w]

Brace height you can play with,On my 62" longbows I like 7"-7 1/2". Handshock can depend on the way you grip it,and of course the bow. I'm sure others will chime in, but everyone is different so play around with it and see what works and what don't.   good luck    ron w

[Chris Wilson]

You can raise the brace height enough to do away with the fletching contact when an arrow is nocked.  Use a decent weight arrow and don't hold the bow with a death grip.  The more tightly you try and hold the bow, the more you'll feel any handshock.  Some bows just have a bit of buzz to them no matter what you do, but it can be minimized.

[Bojangles]

Thanks guys.  I bought a new 58" string while I was at the K'zoo Expo and I just put that on.  Had to untwist it a bit to get the brace height down to 7".  Now the 4" feathers clear by about 3/16".  I am going to leave the bow strung for awhile to let the string stretch some.  Need to put a new nock point on also.  I'll probably do some shooting with it tomorrow.  Now I need to buy some more Easton 2018's as it seem to like these arrows.  I was getting a little bit of wrist slap at the 6" brace height so I am hoping that goes away with the increased brace height  So far I have only got to shoot this bow at about 10 yards and I was able to group the arrows into about a 3" group.  I'll extend the range a little tommorrow.  I'll try moifying my grip to see if that lessens the hand shock.

[Ol'school]

If you have a flemish twist bow string you can twist it to raise the brace height to clear your 5" fletch. That should also help clear up your wrist slap and most of the hand shock.

[Bojangles]

Okay Gang, I just got gack from the local Gander Mountain.  Took my new (used) longbow over and had a nock point installed at 5/8" above the shelf.  Didn't crimp it tight so Icould move it up or down if needed.  Took some Cabela's carbon 400 arrows, a cuple of Easton Legacy XX75 2018 w/ 4" feathers and I had one Easton XX75 2117 w/5 1/2" sheild cut feathers on it.  I quickly weeded out the Cabela's carbon arrows.  They just would not fly good.  The 2018's were 30" long w/ 125 gr field points.  These flew very well and I would consider them for use with this particular bow.  The 2117 was 31 1/4" long with a 125 gr field point. It also flew extremely well.  It would always group with the 2018 arrows.  I weighted it and it was 537gr. the 2018's were 530 gr when weighed.  Now I wonder if thw 2216's I have might not work good with this bow?  I'll have to strip some vanes and replace with feathers to see.  Anyway, last group I shot at 20 yards was an inch below the bulleyes and in about a 3 inch cluster.  Needless to say, I am very pleased.  Also, hand shock was minimal to non-existent.  This could be due to the higher brace height, it's now at 6 3/4", heavier arrows and not gripping the bow too tightly.  I will be hunting with this bow in the fall so lots of practice ahead for me.  

Bo