Why the fuss over brace height?

[Tom Anderson]

I often see folks comparing the brace heights between various bows as if one bow is better because it has a higher (or vice-versa) brace height than the other.  What difference does it matter as long as the brace height for each bow is matched to the bow, shooter, and arrow?

[sore fingers]

I dont know why it would be a big deal. You have to find the sweet spot for each bow. The few fps you lose or gain from brace height dont mean squat to me if it isnt shooting good.Seems like thats what your thinkin too.

[pdk25]

Never noticed anyone making that judgement.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Generally speaking a higher braced bow is easier to shoot accurately, its more forgiving of poor form and doesnt smack your arm as much. The farther the string has to travel to get back to brace the higher the chance of a poor shot.

[Jeff Strubberg]

And the less energy that bow will generate.

Tom, you are spot on when you say that a brace height has to be matched to arrow, bow and shooter.  Folks ask for brace height reccomendations all the time, and far too often it sounds like there is only one allowable brace height for each bow model out there.

Ain't so.  Manufacturers reccomendations are what the manufacturer has found to work well for THEM.  You ain't them.  Don't be afraid to experiment a bit.

[Night Wing]

I have two 66" Blacktails which you can see in my signature. They both shoot the same 32", 2212 aluminum arrow, but with different point weights.

The 42# pound bow has a brace height of 7 7/8" while the 37# bow has a brace height of 8 1/8".

Changing the brace height when dealing with point weights also helps with windage, which mens for me shooting right handed bows, it helps the arrow move from left to right concerning impact on the target.

BTW, the recommended brace height for a 66" take down Blacktail is 7 3/4"-8".

[Burnsie]

If a bow tunes well at a lower brace height it will have a longer power stroke with more energy transfered to the arrow.  It has its pros and cons.

The compound world makes a big deal about brace heights being high or low when they promote their various models.

[kawika b]

Originally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
Generally speaking a higher braced bow is easier to shoot accurately, its more forgiving of poor form and doesnt smack your arm as much. The farther the string has to travel to get back to brace the higher the chance of a poor shot.

Originally posted by Jeff Strubberg:
And the less energy that bow will generate.

Tom, you are spot on when you say that a brace height has to be matched to arrow, bow and shooter.  Folks ask for brace height reccomendations all the time, and far too often it sounds like there is only one allowable brace height for each bow model out there.

Ain't so.  Manufacturers reccomendations are what the manufacturer has found to work well for THEM.  You ain't them.  Don't be afraid to experiment a bit.

Suggested brace heights are just that... suggested.

If I had to choose between two bows of the same weights... and of different designs... and they both shot the same speed... I'd go with the bow with the higher brace height for reason that PEARL DRUMS stated. Stored energy is more so determined by limb design than brace height.

[ChrisM]

Recommended brace heights are just to get you started.  The final adjustment must be made to the shooter and his chosen arrow.  As said before if it ain't set to you the bow will not be accurate and I believe that bad arrow flight will negate any speed advantage that a low BH will give ya.

[Spookeytooth]

For example: The Bob Lee takedown likes to quiet down CONSIDERABLY @ higher than suggested brace.
Loose some FPS; gain some quiet stability
Thems the breaks

[Shawn Leonard]

I agree I don't hear that discussed too much, but as for the question, all bows have a brace that they shoot best at. It may not be where they are the fastest or the spot they are the quietest but there is definitley a BH that will make the bow perform overall the best. Shawn

[pdk25]

Z

Changing the brace height when dealing with point weights also helps with windage, which mens for me shooting right handed bows, it helps the arrow move from left to right concerning impact on the target . [/QB]

Ok, I'll display my ignorance. Wouldn't this mean that you have induced a tuning problem for you setup? Unless you mean that you had a tuning problem that you are trying to fix with brace height rather than tuning your arrows or sideplate.

[LKH]

One of my Harrison's sounded like a .22 going off.  I raised the brace height about a half inch and it quieted right down.

Brace height is just one of the variables that we need to consider to get good flight and a quiet bow.

[Ragnarok Forge]

I use brace height as one of many tools to achieve perfect tuning with my bows. I consider  brace height to be useful for micro tuning.  It always seems to end up with the bow shooting the quietest at the perfect brace height for each arrow set I use.  This also coincides with maximum performance for that bow with that arrow set.

[hvyhitter]

I couldnt care less what the bowyer recomends for brace height. Brace height is an important part of initial and final tuning. When I get a bow I set the nock at 5/8 to 9/16(after 20 plus bows all end up around there) if longbow I set BH at 7, if recurve I set at 7 1/2 and I tune from there. I tune for a quiet bow and best arrow flight with broadheads. Couldnt give 2 cents for whatever anyone else uses with the same model bow.(even two bows identical may tune different)

[Bud B.]

All good responses above. It gets the cogs a turning. Stick with what works. My Super Grizz likes about 8 1/8 or more. If it gets down to 8" with string stretch the arrows are irratic and noise increases dramatically. And I too thought arrow tuning and bow tuning are all part of the great combination. A perfectly matched arrow to bow requires all things to come together - brace height, nock style/grip on string, arrow length, dynamic spine, arrow weight, point weight, fletching, etc...throw the shooter in there and everything could change based on form, release, consistency, etc...

It all has to come together for accuracy and consistent arrow flight.

Traditional shooting is fun for this reason. You can't just get to a point and stop adjusting infinitely. Inevitably something in the formula is going the change and adjustments will need to be made.

Sorry to ramble.

[Schultzy]

Good responses everyone!

I see allot of traditional bowhunters Ignore their brace height. Most aren't Ignoring It because they think It's where It's suppose to be but rather cause they don't know any better. It's not just brace heights either, It's arrow and bow marriages as well. I've tried helping a few friends out as you can see there's problems In their arrow flight. They want help but at the same time they don't. I used to be one of these people.

[Night Wing]

I can't speak for high poundage bows, but for very light poundage bows, I have some first hand observations concerning brace height and point weight.

Shooting my 66", 37# @ 30" recurve, (19" riser, 23.5" limbs) with a 7 3/4" brace height, I can shoot a 32" BOP 496 grain 2212 aluminum arrow with a 150 grain point weight. This gives me a 13.4 GPP arrow, with 15.4% FOC, moving along at 162 fps.

But, by raising the brace height to 8 1/8", the same 2212 arrow works best with an 85 grain point weight. This gives me a 431 grain, 11.64 GPP arrow, with 10% FOC, moving along at 172 fps.

There are trade offs and one is the low FOC percentgage. To compensate, I will need to shoot a narrower broadhead than what most people shoot. My choice, if Magnus doesn't discontinue it, is a 2 blade Magnus 85 grain Stinger broadhead which is 2" long, but only 7/8" wide.

[Stumpkiller]

Lowering the brace height has the same effect as using a lower spined arrow, raising the brace height raises the effective spine.  Obviously, the shaft isn't changing but the way force is applied to it is changed.  A high brace height gives more of a kick on release and bends the shaft out as the inertia of the head is overcome.  On a very light arrow it may actually give a better speed.  A low brace height builds up energy over a longer distance (more impulse: force over a period of time) and will favor a heavier shaft.  As you change head weights and overall arrow weights it is just one more variable to use in tweaking.  Whatever outcome you are hoping to maximize there will be one brace height that best delivers it; however flat the curve may be.

These aren't huge differences in 1" or 2" of height change, but it will have some effect and can be used to fine tune arrow flight.  Personally, I go with the lowest quiet brace height as I hate to waste anything.  As in the energy transferred from the bow to the arrow.

[alex m]

I've read some manufacturer's warrenties are void if their recommendations are exceeded.  But how would they know?  I tune for arrow performance and a nice quiet "thunk" sound.