Draw length reality check

[pdk25]

6'1, broad shoulders.  29" on ASL, usually closer to 29.5" with my r/d style bows, and a little over with higher wristed longbows.  If I start to collapse shorter than that, I get alot more left and right fliers.

[Crittergetter]

I cant and I lean into my shot and draw 27". If I stand up straight and don't cant as much I can hit 28, but I shoot like crap and slap my arm.  I've always practiced like I hunt therefore I'm happy with the  27

[pdk25]

Originally posted by Jim Wright:
I never tried it before but I just put a yard stick against my sternum and reached out with both hand's and checked the measurement to my finger tips. It was the same as when I have had someone observe when I draw back a graduated arrow, 29 inches. I have measured the same draw length this way with high wrist recurves and my Toelke Super D, I can't figure how some guys get such a big difference in draw length between different types of bows.

It is pretty simple.  High wrist puts the deepest part of the grip further from your anchor point, which makes for a longer drawlength.  Now of the shelf is shorter from back to belly, that will make a difference as well if you are using the clothespin method.

[pdk25]

And that sternum yardstick measurement will not work well for broad shouldered folks.  The broader the shoulders, the shorter the measurements for a given a length.  That is an inverse relationship, when the should be directly proportional.

Idk about measuring DL in that manner, or how accurate it might be???? I measure DL using a marked DL arrow while I draw the bow. My DL is 29" on the dot.

Bisch

[Producer]

Nobody that I shoot with has a draw length when shooting that is as much as they think. When you draw and arrow back to measure your draw it is always more draw then when you actually shoot an arrow. That is my observation.

[Holm-Made]

I've had many customers in the shop and I've measured their draw with a marked stick.  Then I had them actually shoot with arrows of known length.  I watch to see how much arrow is sticking out the front of the bow.  Almost always their actual draw length while shooting is less then their pulled draw weight.  Now a days I don't even bother with the marked arrow.  We just go shoot right off the bat.
I would be hesitant to trust the clothes pin trick.  Just shoot 6 arrows the same length and have someone watch to see how much arrow is sticking out.  Measure it and you will have your true draw length.

[Orion]

Yep.  Producer and Holm-made are right on. Folks tend to overdraw when they're checking their draw length with a clothes pin or marked arrow.  When they're not thinking about it and just shooting, the draw often shortens perceptibly.

Jim:  As Pdk notes, if you shoot with a high wrist regardless of the grip style, your draw length won't vary, at least not very much.  But, if you shoot a recurve high or medium wrist and try a straight grip longbow and shoot it low wrist, your draw will shorten considerably.

[Bowwild]

I do the clothespin thing. I have a fish arrow set up for that very thing.

Before I do any of that though I make sure I'm fully drawn without overdrawn. To do that requires a look see at a straight line from the grip, through the anchor, past the elbow. The elbow must be slightly in front of that line less than an inch, or the back won't be engaged to "trigger" the release.

[mec lineman]

Good discussion  

[Matt Fowler]

Long story but I had to switch to shooting right handed. I could not shoot RH the same way I shot left handed. My LH draw length was about 29 1/2in Ended up with more of a target archery shot and a draw length of 31 1/2in. I'm 6'1". I shoot wood so now I need longer shafts. Been messin with reparrows.

[Owlgrowler]

29 1/4" draw and yardstick here, I'm 6'2 5/8". Gotta laugh at some of these guys

[warpedarrow]

I measured my draw length again the other day as I was curious if I could trim my arrows a little.  It measured 29 3/4 with the clothes pin.  Shooting with a buddy, he commented that I am pulling almost the entire length of my arrows which are cut at 30 1/4.  I know that I draw a bit more on a mid forty pound bow and probably short draw a little on the heavier bows.  I am just not ready to cut my arrows any shorter with that being the case.

[the rifleman]

5'9" and my draw is 26.5   Now this is when I am totally concentrating on full expansion and shooting level.  Knowing that this is rarely the case when hunting and knowing that my form is often less than perfect, I bareshaft arrows to show a touch weak and once fletched it makes up for a lot of my inconsistencies in draw length.  I would bet that most of the time when I'm not actually trying to measure it it falls more between 26 and 26.25".

[dirtguy]

Consistency of form.  That is what is more important than draw length.  If your form is consistent, your draw length will also be consistent and you can determine the correct arrow length and then get the correct arrow spine for that arrow length for your bow.  

Draw length is just a number that we use to achieve a result.  Longer is not necessarily better.        

[Tim Finley]

Bow handles can make a big difference a full handle recurve with a wide sight window can give you an inch or more over a small locator grip on a longbow.

[Sam McMichael]

I am another one of the T-Rex archers. I am 5'9" tall and only pull 25". I shoot Hill bows with considerable bend in my bow arm. This short draw, with my preference for 29" long arrows, makes for some interesting tuning.

[Tedd]

I'm 5'-10". Just got back from the gym so I'm a little stiff but I can just touch 28".  So that method isn't even close to being accurate for me.
I have a 31"+ draw length. Measured and re measured dozens of times. But there isn't anything funny about it. For 20 years I have been struggling with arrow length, spine charts and arrow weight. Some of the best arrow choices are too short or can't be cut to tune. Wood arrows are pretty hard to find. Bows tend to need extra fussing to keep quiet, string slap can be an issue, brace heights are critical, shooting problems are magnified and string pinch requires shopping for the right bows. I'd love to hunt with a Kodiak Mag. I'd like to shoot my 66 kodiak but it stacks hard after 28". Self bows need to be pretty long to hold up.
My current bow is 63lb@31". My arrows for hunting this year were cut at 31.5" and every once in a while I would bump a broadhead on the riser.

[stagetek]

6'7" 38" sleeves, and easily draw 32". I crunch a bit, and end up at 30 1/2". I envy you guys drawing 27-28".

[Cyclic-Rivers]

My draw length is less than what I think... I always think 29 but it's really 29.85.