Bob, I owned one of the first Chinooks Dan made, a 60" bow. I have shot a couple of Kestrels at Dan's place and liked them very much. Both bows are quite fast and well-mannered as all Dan's bows are. I remember the Chinook being very, very quiet but as it was a bow I owned, I took the time to fine tune it. I draw 29" and never found the 52" Kestrel uncomfortable to shoot. If someone wants a short recurve he could hardly do better than the Kestrel and the Chinook is the finest 50s style recurve I've ever shot, there's no wrong choice, pick one.