Originally posted by Gary Sorensen:
I am 6'1" with a 31.5" draw. Up until recently I have preferred 66" bows. However, currently I am shooting a 56" Shrew Classic Hunter and just love it. It is very smooth and I shoot it as well or better than my longer bows. I plan to take it hunting in a couple of weeks and look forward to carrying such a light weight and maneuverable little bow.
I am also 6'1" tall, but after shattering my left collar bone a few years ago, my draw length is down to 29.5". Gary makes an excellent point here, which is that the design of the bow makes a huge difference in what length you need in order to have it shoot well at your draw length. Like Gary, I have some 56" Shrew Classic Hunters that shoot very well at my draw length, and even my 54" Shrews are fine even though not quite as nice as the 56 inchers. A 60" Super Shrew which has a longer riser and relatively shorter limbs than the Classic Hunter also works great for me. I can shoot a 56" Morrison Mini 14 with "C" longbow limbs very well, but the "D" limbs work better and produce a 58" bow that is about as smooth shooting as any bow. I also recently got a 60" Brackenbury Peerless which is a static tip recurve that feels more like a 64" bow of a more standard design. Also, I have a 58" Treadway Black Swamp that accommodates my draw length about the same as a 56" Shrew Classic Hunter, although I like the Shrews significantly better overall. In the standard bow designs, a 64" is a very good balance of length versus comfort, and a 66" bow feels a little better but is starting to also feel pretty long and less maneuverable. I understand that some of the Black Swans and other makes of bows also do well in short lengths for those of us with longer draws, but I have not tried them all. David Knipes swears by the Black Swans, so I have no doubt they are great and would be a good alternative for someone who wanted a shorter bow that felt good and performed very well. I have also heard good reports about Big Jim's 56" Thunderchild, which looks great too. I would like to try one some day.
I am certain that you do not need a longer bow in order to have one that shoots well, but heavier, longer bows do tend to be more stable and more inherently easy to shoot accurately. They also are more of a pain to haul around and to shoot in tight spaces. In a hunting situation, I shoot my 56" Shrews and my 56" Morrison as well as any of my longer bows, and even at the target range there is not a big difference in my shooting as I go from a shorter to a longer bow or the other way around. Know your alternatives and pick what works best for you and the conditions where you will be shooting.
Allan
Topic: Bow Length (Read 856 times)
