Curious about your interests or thoughts.

[Trenton G.]

I had a 60" Buffalo longbow for a while. It was a fantastic shooter, just didn't work with my draw. It stacked a bit towards the end and I just couldn't get any consistency with it. A 60" recurve generally works for me, and I even have a 58" that I shoot ok, but 62" for recurve and 64"-66" for longbows is what works best for me. I've always wanted to try a Thunderchild or a Dwyer Endeavor though just to see how they felt.

[Cherry Tree]

Do you or would ever think of considering a 44" bow or even a 38" bow? Seems like 50s are short to most how about the extreme?

[ron w]

I have a friend who has a few real short bows 44 and even a 38.......just not for me with a 29"+ draw......he likes them.

[pavan]

I have a 27" recurve draw and a 26" longbow draw.  If I could hit something smaller than a basketball over 20 yards with a 48" bow I would be using one.  I tried three under years ago with a 50" Browning Cobra, I did not dare to shoot more than 20 yards, even then I messed up during the draw, lifting the arrow, and had a couple of whopper misses.  I guess a complete miss is always better than a bad hit.  I do stuff wrong with short bows, either trying to shoot three under or split finger.  That does not happen with bows 62" or more.  I go for aggressive power when I shoot at game, I must torque things up with the lighter short bows, so I am better off just canting more when I need it.

[Trenton G.]

No, I don't think I would even consider a bow that short. That's not saying there is anything wrong with them, and if people can shoot them well than by all means go for it! I just wouldn't feel comfortable with something that short. What I've found is the shorter the bow, the harder it is to pull compared to a longer bow of the same draw weight. I have a 60" recurve that is 57@29 and a 66" longbow that is 62@30. I draw 29", putting the longbow right around 59@29, but the recurve still feels much harder to draw and I can't hold it as steady. I can only imagine what trying to draw a 55+ bow of that length would feel like. I imagine it would be shaking all over the place. I don't know if I could hit where I wanted to at 5 yards, much less out to 20. I don't know. I guess I should try out a 38 incher before making all these assumptions. Interesting thread!

[bear mike]

Nothing shorter than 58 for me at my 28in draw my hunting bows are 64 and 60in longbows short bows don't work for me

[ShrtRnd]

62" Recurves is where I seem to be most comfortable in terms draw cycle & consistent accuracy. Given my height (6'2") and draw (29-1/2") it just seems to be my sweet spot of length in recurves. Having said that, not all the 62" recurves I have either owned or shot have been to my liking, so I guess bow design and personal preference certainly comes into play.

With the recent addition of the Robertson Mystical to my collection, I have stepped out of my comfort zone In terms of length (68"). As someone who has never owned or shot a Hill/ASL style of longbow, I may be in for a bit of a ride on this one 

[Steelhead]

No question short bows are more convenient for hunting in a lot of situations.I enjoy a short bow and love some of the advantages it has.Some of them are very stable and smooth for me.I think 58" or less would be considered shorter.I have good luck with 52 inch recurves lately.The Toelke Kestral/Troll and Red Wing Hunter are nice for me.I have owned many short longbows as well.The Shrew started the short longbow craze along time ago.They have continued to develop with many many offerings from many bowyers today.The designs are highly refined to get the most out of them in overall shooting qualities.

For the record I have hunted a lot with 64 inch longbows.So I am not prejudiced toward longer bows.The main advantage is lack of fingerpinch related to string angle.

I do think the trend has been toward shorter bows actually in recent years.Though ASL style longbows seem to be flourishing as well recently.All style of bows have their fans and some guys shoot all styles and have a rack full of bows that are very diversified.

Most bowyers have a diversified lineup of bows appealing to these varying appetites of bow styles and lengths.

I always like to have a shorter bow on the rack to fullfill that niche.Ofcourse thier are medium and longer lengths as well on the rack.I have hunted alot more with short bows in recent years.As long as it fits you and you shoot it well.Its a great design to have.

[Cherry Tree]

This has been a fun thread for me. Anyone else have Any thoughts?

[Gdpolk]

As a hunter I prefer the forgiveness of a longer bow given that I cannot always or even often have perfect form for a shot. I also have a long 29.5” draw which really makes longer bows work better for me. My favorite length to date is ~64” which seems to be about as short as I can go before seeing accuracy decline under field conditions. Also even the shortest of traditional bows aren’t short and handy by state archery regulations as compared to compounds and/or crossbows. I just learn to work with the equipment that I use. Nothing is perfect and without draw backs. To me the length of a longbow just requires some consideration that other equipment does not but I’ve not found it to limit my ability to hunt.

[lablover]

I prefer a bow in the 62-66" range I've shoot bows as short as 52" but just couldn't get comfortable with it. I've never had trouble with a 62" so I keep shooting them. Not against short bows just not for me.

[Don Stokes]

Howard Hill was quoted as saying he wasn't good enough to shoot a recurve bow. I'm shooting one now, but I don't like to go shorter than 60" because... I'm not good enough. I have large hands and fingers, and shorter bows give me finger pinch and are just too unforgiving if you're form isn't perfect.