Shooters with a true 30" or longer draw..

[Kentucky Jeff]

I know you are out there...not many but some.

Look, I know people will say you don't draw 30"  Ok fine...my local bow dealer made a costly mistake thinking that too...

I asked for 31" .300 spined carbons and he cut them to 30" (by mistake or not).  So he tells me to try em because nobody has a 30" draw.  So I take my bow, screw on a broad head.  And draw the arrow until the broadhead rides up on the arrow shelf.  Then he tells me that's not my shooting form.  So I shoot a dozen field tips with him marking the arrows as I shoot and he admits I've got a 30" draw.

Look folks, I know lots of people claim to have longer draws and reality is different from perception.  But I'm 6'3" and have really broad shoulders and long arms with big hands.  I'm pretty strong too..  Former noseguard played college football etc.  I've got an honestly long draw...

So after a couple of months of taking advice from people about tuning carbon arrows, what I have found is people tend to speak from their own experience.  Which is great--I'll take advice from an experienced person over a book any day.  BUT, if all your experience is with people with 27-28" draws you really don't have a clue what people like me need!  those 500 spined carbons may be perfect in your 50# bow with a 27-28 inch draw but that same shaft at my length is a weak joke!  

So what I'm finding is I need to "interpret" the advice I'm getting from some folks because my situation with a long draw, while not unique, is not common.  And as such few people have ever dealt with the issues that go with ape like physiques.  

Anyone else in the same boat?

[wtpops]

Yes im just over 31". Here is a link to my last atempt at tunning a carbon and glad to say it worked

  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=105381

With some more testing i ended up getting the arrow i wanted. The MFX 340, 3" footing, 50 grain hit insert and a 150 grain tip arrow came to 603 grains

[Paul Shirek]

Just shoot what you need. Don't worry about others advice on what they think you should need. I have a true 30 in. draw and shoot far stiffer arrows then most others, but they fly great. I normally shoot 80-85 lb. woods or 400 carbons. My bow draw weight is 58-62 lb. recurve.

There are a lot of folks out there that say that you cant shoot good either. Show them wrong. With a long draw and a reasonably heavy bow you should be able to shoot well out to fairly long distances.

[PaddyMac]

I shoot 31" arrows and that is as short as I dare. I would like to shoot full length carbons at 32.5 but 3555s are too weak at that even with 145 gr points. 7595s would be fine if I could get 'em 4 feet long...

I want to shoot a heavier head, but my draw length has me in a box. I shoot 175s out of 3555s and 31 is as a short as I can go with my draw length.

I've never had somebody tell me I don't draw 30 though.

   

[pauljr]

My arrows are 32" bop i draw about 31. Im using axis fmjs 300 spine out of my 59lb BW and they bare shaft perfect. I had a bowyer tell me the same thing once, he didnt get to build me a bow.

[Looper]

Yep, same thing for me.  I'm 6', wide shoulders and monkey arms (76.5" span). I draw a hill style to 31". My r/d bows to 31.5".

With my r/d bows, all of which are 55#@28" (62-64#@31")I end up shooting the AD Hammerhead with the stock insert and anywhere from a 125 to a 200 grain head.  They are a forgiving shaft, and give me the weight I want. I can get some other shafts to fly well, but they just end up being too light.

My favorite Hill is 45#@29" (51@31). It shoots a 65-70 surewood, with a 125 grain point like a laser. And pretty hard, too. I have a couple of 80@31 hill styles, but it's hard to find wood arrows for them (need 105 spine). I need to build some more hickory shafts for them.

The problem with having bowshops give you the wrong spine and length isn't exclusive to long draw guys. I have a buddy who has a 27" draw, which is up from the 25" he had before I showed him a more correct anchor point.  He went to an archery store in New Mexico, and they sold him some GT 3555s cut to 27", with the stock insert and 100 grain tips. Those arrows spined out around 90#.  He was shooting a 55@28 bow, and not even pulling it to 50#.

He asked me to help him tune his bow. I watched him shoot and he couldn't keep his arrows in a 2 foot circle at 15 yards and his bow was incredibly loud. I took a look at his arrows and thought, there's no way these are right. I screwed on some 225 grain tips, changed his form and grip a little, and, bingo, nice little 6" groups.  He was thrilled.

He couldn't believe that an archery shop would have sold him something so far off.

[Night Wing]

I'm small framed at 5'9" and weigh 158#. I'm narrow in the torso, but I've got a long wing span for my height and this long wing span has given me a 30" draw length.

Since I have a long draw length and shoot low poundage bows, which you can see in my signature, I've always shot aluminum arrows out of my recurve bows. With that said, I shoot 32" BOP (back of point) aluminum arrows.

I shoot aluminum arrows because the proper spined carbon arrow for is a 500 or 600 series carbon shaft, but these full length series shafts don't come in a 32" length.

 

[sweeney3]

...are rare.

[JCJ]

Jeff:

I am 6'4" and I have a 32"(front edge of riser) draw with a recurve bow. I am currently shooting a Bruin Woodsmaster, 60", 45# @28" bow. It is 56# at my 32" draw. I shoot it with a B-50 dacron string. I use CE Maxima 250 carbon arrows (33" to BOP) with standard inserts and 250 gr. field tips. This combination shoots perfect little bullet holes through tuning paper at 10' and the arrows fly perfect. When I hunt I trade out the field tips for original Woodsman's mounted on 125gr. steel broadhead adapters. No difference in flight from my field points and they go right through deer.

[robtattoo]

I draw a gnat's over 31"
All my bows draw between 62 & 65# @ 31" & I shoot the same arro from all of them. Full length (32-½") MFX 340's with 100gn inserts & points weighing between 200 & 300gn

I have been told several times, that at my height I cannot be drawing that far (I'm 6' dead, with a 72" span) but for me to get proper alignment & utilise proper back tension, that's where I am. I reference at the corner of my mouth & since I stretched out my shooting has improved tenfold.

I would dearly love to have a shorter draw. The extra speed & powerstroke is fantastic, but being limited to bows of 62" or longer is a bit of a disadvantage. I'd love the option of being able to shoot a 56 or 58" bow, but it simply isn't going to happen.

[JCJ]

Robattoo:

If you ever get a chance to shoot a 58-60" Bruin by Mike Steliga try it and see what you think. Not sure what it is about the design but it works very comfortably with my long draw. Better yet they are really easy to quiet and plenty fast.

JCJ

[Bob B.]

Hey Jeff,

I am jsut a bit under 6'4" and have broad shoulders.  I do not have terribly long arms, but do draw 30 1/4 inces.  I buy my carbons uncut and take my wood arrows and just put a taper on the them for the tips, no need to cut them, they just end up too short.

I can shoot different bows down to 64 inches, but like Rob said, although the power stroke is amazing, the length of bow issue can be a handicap.  Shooting from a blind is not gonna happen for me.  One of the most comfortable bows I have ever shot is my Deathwish, D shaped bow.  It is yew back and belly with 3 lams of boo core.  It is silent and so smooth, but it is also 68 inches long ... not exactly a deer blind bow.  My arrows (wood) are around 600 grains, I have a lighter tapered set that is around 570, and a heavier set around 644, the rest are all about 580 - 600 grains ... and long.  It is tough to find a quiver that is deep enough for the arrows as well.

Bob.

[COLongbow]

I have an honest 29.5 draw, and shoot a 60" Widow PCH, which is rated to a 31 draw.

I hear what you're saying about shooting a stiffer arrow than you might think. I'm shooting 32 inch CE Heritage 250's out of a 47@ 29.5 bow. Sounds too stiff, right? They fly like lasers. I know the little bit of extra length on the arrow helps, and I have 125 heads and 50 gr brass insert. They're pretty heavy and I can watch my hot pink fletch all the way to the target and they are unquestionably straight flying. Bareshaft confirms it.

Long draw shooters have it good, we're lucky. Just gotta dial in the arrows and the rest is cake.

[drewsbow]

I'm in the boat and paddled around in circles with too stiff an arrow for years before I got straightened out.
Every bow is cut different and everyones shooting style is also which makes it tough to use others advice .
 There are a few on here that will get you in the ball park with their advice but I take it all with a grain of salt and my own knowledge of my shooting needs and style. Drew

[Oregon Okie]

I'm drawing 31". Shooting a stiff arrow but I'm going to toy around with some lighter spine after reading the recent thread on carbons that Shawn Leonard put up. Just to see what happens. I'm with Rob on the curse of the long draw.

[AdamH]

It may be your shooting style, my specs are identical to yours {body type} and I've been 29'' for 20 plus years ...

[jhg]

Hard to help with no info regarding your set up. I draw 30" and shoot a 60#  High Performance longbow. My arrows are almost full length but I can shoot an arrow as short as 30-3/4". These are carbon arrows.

And I can shoot either 400 spine or 340 spine out of this bow, I just have a shorter arrow using the 400's, same weight up front.

If you follow OL Adcocks bare shafting method,   1) don't cut your shafts before you have confirmed your findings by adding or subtracting weight up front and  
2)don't have some preconceived notion about what you should be shooting for spine, you will find out what you need to know for your set up. What causes problems is many of us don't follow a plan, get frustrated and then get bad advice.

Got a long draw? Start with full length arrows. Get a couple of spine weights as a test kit. Get them to fly great bareshaft.  Then if you want to make them shorter, cut 1/4 inch at a time while adding weight. Is easy. IF you understand and follow a method.
For the inexperienced like me or maybe you this is a good way to learn then you can cut corners as you get to know your tackle.

[Pointer]

I draw just a bit over 30"...  I use goldtip 55/75's mostly.. even on 45lb bows...just a necessary evil with a longer draw.

[COLongbow]

What jhg said, x2.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

I'm 6' 4" amd draw 32". The arrow suggestions folks give based off their 28" draw lengths usually don't translate well for someone drawing much further. The opposite is also true, which is why I generally shy away from suggesting arrows spines for folks with normal draw lengths.