draw length obsevation...your opinions please

[Uncle Buck]

I used to think, many tears ago that I had a 28" draw but measured using a real bow and found out it was only 26" I think the worst thing you can do is to usee those little 10# bows in an archery shop to measure. I have seen guys pull it back to around 28" and then fiddle with their stance, hands and arm to make it stay there because that was what your draw is supposed to be, isnt it, after all it says so right on the bow.

[Rob DiStefano]

it IS very important to determine draw length using a very light draw weight bow.

no, not a 10# kid's bow, a 30# or so adult stick bow.  you MUST feel your shoulder and BACK muscles moving and aligning as the limbs load up on drawing - won't ever happen with a 10# bow and more than likely won't happen to any newbie with a 40# bow.

for such a simple sport there are so many pitfalls - as in any free form aiming sport.

[huey]

Interesting post, and a coach or even someone with more expirence than me would be nice, but until someone comes along I will read this site and do the best I can. When I first started 28 1/2" to the back of point would hit and pull the arrow off the string. I am 5'9" and now shoot with a 26 1/2" to 27" draw as it varies depending on shot position.

[JJ1956]

I'am with Steve O on this. I us a clicker so I get the same draw each time

[Old York]

I recommend that if you really want to know your draw length,
go out and shoot a round of 3D or whatever,  with your
equipment you always use , and then near the end of say 20 targets,
have someone surreptitiously grab your arrow at back of bow as
soon as you've come to full draw.

Have them measure where they've grabbed the arrow.

Be prepared for an argument!

Or just get a clicker, then you can argue with
that, privately  

[tradtusker]

Ya iv noticed that often. Not many people iv seen shoot the actual draw length they claim.
 I have a clicker on my bows so i never worry about that but its interesting to see someone else shoot my bows as most never draw far enough to get it to click.

i based my shooting on the form/technique Terry Green Describes in the shooters forum, when i was done i increased my draw a good 1 1/2" with proper back tension and proper alignment.

[SCATTERSHOT]

As an add on to the observations above, I think that's why guys have so much trouble finding an arrow that works for them. If they are shooting a 50# bow, let's say, and only drawing it 26", the weight of the bow is only 44# at their draw.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by SCATTERSHOT:
As an add on to the observations above, I think that's why guys have so much trouble finding an arrow that works for them. If they are shooting a 50# bow, let's say, and only drawing it 26", the weight of the bow is only 44# at their draw.

Absolutely, which is why I agree with what Uncle Buck said. If you want to see a guy end up with overspined arrows, have him check his draw length on a bow thirty-or-so pounds lighter than what he actually shoots, and then order his arrows based on that often-too-long measurement.

[Rob DiStefano]

far more than half the trad archers i've shot with or seen shooting are short drawing an already short draw.  the typical culprit is almost always overbowing.  i've given a few of these folks a lighter draw weight bow to check out (say, 55# instead of 65#. or even 40# instead of 50#) and they're all amazed at how much their draw length grew.  :D

[J. Cook]

I just read Terry's tutorial on the proper form ...that's great info!  Thanks for doing that Terry.

Too bad it's I read it in the middle of winter, when I don't get home until well after dark and it's too cold to shoot much!  

Well...I'll just have to hold this info until I can shoot a bunch and work at it.  Good stuff!

[Austin]

Awesome thread! I just started shooting trad again this year and I started out with a 40lb selfbow designed for a 28" draw. After less than 1000 shots it broke because I was overdrawing it. I found a local guy selling an early blackhawk warrior (34@28) that seemed like a good beginner choice, probably about 40 lbs where I was drawing it. After putting a few thousand arrows through it I realized my draw had increased. I had learned to draw to where my back really locked in. I wanted a heavier bow for hunting, and began to look for a nice longbow in the 45-50 lb range because I knew the poundage would go up at my draw length and I could easily draw the weight. I went to lancaster archery and tested out all of the bows they had on the rack in that range (mostly samicks, tradtech, and a few martins). Every one seemed to stack really bad near the end of the draw, and it was hard for me to hold the weight at full draw.

[Rob DiStefano]

austin, at 30" or so of draw length you'd want/need at least a 64" bow.  lots depends on the bow type and design ... and the bowyer!