tips for maximizing a short draw length?

[kahunter]

Well, I've decided to take the plunge and sell all of my compound gear to switch to stickbows.    

Does anybody have any tips for maximizing a short draw length to get the most power and efficiency?  I draw about 26", and 50lbs is probably as high as I can comfortably go right now.  I realize that is plenty for whitetails, but I am planning(hoping) to go after some elk and moose in the future, and I want to get the most out of my setup that I can.

I have a Bear Grizzly that draws about 41# at my draw length that I have been shooting quite a bit lately, but I'd like to go ahead and get something in the 50# range.

Are recurves generally a little faster?  What about a shorter bow?  Also, any tips on form would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[Doug in MI]

Shoot a fairly heavy arrow. 9+ grains per pound of draw weight atleast for deer, alot of guys will go heavier than that for bigger game. And use a sharp two blade broadhead.
Ken Beck of Black Widow shot a moose a couple years ago with a bow in the lower 50s range.

[Morning Star]

Stick with a recurve, unless you buy an ACS longbow, most recurves will put out more energy than a longbow.

When you decide on a bow, ask the bowyer which limb length will give you the most energy.  

I spoke with Ken Beck from Black Widow once about this and he mentioned that at my draw length the shorter recommended limb would give a little more performance.

Small diameter carbon shafting such as Easton Axis will give you the utmost penetration.  Use the heavy brass insert and a heavy head to bring arrow weight to a minimum of 600 grains.

Bareshaft tune your arrows! (critical)

A 2 blade head forsure, magnus 1 1/4" or STOS. (learn how the get them SCARY sharp)
If you just stick with whitetails and are setup as above I might consider giving the Woodsman (a well designed 3 blade) a try also.

My 2 cents

You'll be one proud dude when you make that first kill.

Good luck.

[kahunter]

Thanks for the replies.  Well, I just wrapped up my season tonight here in Missouri, so I'm going to start practicing hard.

[Slasher]

as a 27" draw guy (albeit a whitetail hunter ...)I totally agree with heavy arrows, with scary sharp 2 blades...the only two things I can add, is:

get close (20 yds...or so)

        and

 hit the double lunger!!! Nothing escapes that combo...

[mike g]

The above advice is good stuff, one other thing to consider is to have a Bow made 50# at your draw length....

[Steve H.]

"one other thing to consider is to have a Bow made 50# at your draw length...."

This is exactly correct....a slightly longer riser on a given length bow.  You want the bow to stack about an inch behind your draw length.  If a bow can be pulled to 28-29-30" etc. it won't maximize for a 26" draw length.

[R H Clark]

All the above is good advice.I would only add,don't be in too big of a hurry to get a new bow.Do some research and shoot everything you can get your hands on.You can learn good form and how to tune with the bow you have now.

An inexpensive Proline Typhoon Warf or expensive DAS would give you the ability to adjust the limb pad angle to perform better at shorter draws.A custom bowyer could do the same thing if he knows what he is doing.The problem is that some will say they can when they can't.

[Tree man]

kahunter, Attempting to maximize the performance  of your set-up is admirable and wise. Obviously, from the posts above you can see that there are multiple theories and methods of achieving "best performance". Having seen the results of someone shooting 44lbs @24 inchs over the past several years I would also encourage you to remember not to WORRY about it overly much. Yes that 44lbs @24 is from a bow constructed to perform best at that weight and yes he is shooting weighty arrows matched to his bow with sharp 2 blade heads....but this whole "power" thing can consume people too much-Any way you slice it most of the guys on here are shooting bows with higher numbers than the person I'm referencing but good hits with sharp heads tend to make for short blood trails.

[Shaun]

Short working limb - not always a short bow - makes for good short draw performance. Try a lot of bows and then talk to the bowyer about your draw length and draw weight. Recurves have a little more zip, but longbows may call your name. 10 or even 20 fps does not matter as much as good shot placement which comes from practice and confidence in your set up. Congrats on making the switch, you will find a whole new challenge and satisfaction from shooting stick and string.

[Chortdraw]

 You don't have a short draw!! I have a 24-25 in. draw, shoot 42-50 lb r/d longbows and have yet to loose an animal with a good hit and a sharp blade. For Elk I would go to at least 50lbs.if you can shoot it accurately. I also shoot bows from 54' to 60 in. max. My 56' works just great for most of my shooting.

[kahunter]

Great advice, guys!  I was shooting this afternoon playing around with anchor points and grip positions.  I think I really like a low wrist grip.  It just feels more consistent to me.  My Grizzly isn't made for that, but it still felt good.  I've always liked the look of longbows. . .

Hopefully I can find someplace around Kansas City that has a few lefty bows I can try out.  That's the only bad part about being a lefty; you can never find things to test!  

I've heard there is trad shop north of KC.  Does anybody happen to know where it is?

[longbowguy]

Two form factors can increase your draw length, and are better form anyway, in my opinion. Stand erect- don't lean toward the target. Use a deep hook hold on the bowstring, past the first joint of the middle finger, into the pad.

Then just make sure you use all of what you have got. Make your full draw and pull through the release to a good brisk follow through. - lbg

[Doug in MI]

kahunter I went with Bowyer Jim Renolds of Thunderstick bows to a Missouri bowhunters banquet that should be comming up soon.I beleive it was in Jefferson City, MO? Anyway there were a few bowyers there with bows to try out. I also remember Black Widow being there. plus there were guest speakers, raffles,ect... and a nice banquet at night. You might check that out. I'm sure others here could give you more info.
I would also recomend Masters of the barebow videos if your having trouble with shooting or tuning your bow. Good Luck

[James Wrenn]

Get a good performing bow,learn to tune it for perfect flight.Tuneing and arrow/broadhead choices are the most important thing when it comes to killing.Right behind shooting ability that is.    Recurve or longbow does not matter.Some shoot one better than the other but if you buy the best performers the shape of the limbs could be either and does not matter.Same can be said for bow length.Really the main thing is pick a bow you shoot good and is not a slug and learn to use it well.Everything else will fall in place.jmo

[tamure]

I'll throw one more thing out there, which I learned the hard way. When I first started shooting traditional, we measured my draw length at 24". I got arrows cut and tuned accordingly. About a year into it, I bought a custom made bow, a very short (53") recurve, 53# at 24", to maximize power at my short draw length. It took a few months for the bow to be finished. Well, long story short, by the time it arrived, I was having trouble with it, it felt like it was stacking and pinching my fingers.  

You guessed it. My draw length now measured 26". As I gained strength shooting, my draw length increased a whole 2", and the expensive custom bow I bought didn't "fit" me any more. So that was a several-hundred-dollar lesson for me, not to mention all the time I spent longing and pining for my new custom bow to be finished.

I don't know what your draw length was when you were shooting compounds, but when shooting trad, most people's draw is a little shorter. It also takes time to build the muscles holding the bow back at it's full weight.

Just another reason not to be in too big of a hurry. You might discover that, given a little time, your "short" draw length really isn't so short any more.  

[kahunter]

Good advice, Tamure, I'll remember that.

[Naphtali]

You might investigate using a thumb ring draw rather than conventional one for two reasons:

1. Arm strength needed to draw [a given] weight, for me, is less when using a thumb ring than with fingers.

2. At the same anchor point you are drawing 1-2 inches more draw length using a thumb ring than using fingers.

Just a thought.

[kahunter]

Interesting. . .I may check those out.

I measured my draw length today using the method on the Centaur website and it came out to 24"!  Using a yardstick as an "arrow" it comes out 25"-26" depending on how erect I stand.  

I'm not going to stress over it.  Being short never hurt me too much playing basketball.  Scoring on the "big boys" is just that much sweeter!

[Rico]

As long as you get the arrow weight up there around 9# per lb of bow and you can do that with adding a heavy head which will also give you more FOC I don't see how it would be any different then the archer shooting 30" arrows.
  An archer shooting 25"@50# using an arrow of 450gr is going to be very close in performance to an archer shooting 30"@50 using an arrow of 450gr. I wouldn't worry about your draw it is what it is.