The Case (Not Arguement) for The Longer Longbow..

[Mongo]

I gotta agree with the less fingerpinch/smoother draw gang.

[Owlmagnet]

"...they offer a locator grip option for their Hill Style bows. Is that like mamory glands on a bull...?"

CB, do you want me to incite a cyber-riot?!! I think I'll leave that bait on the hook...

My only experience is with straight grips, but I believe that the slight locator depression on Hill Syle grips has more to do with a repeatable grip, rather than a change in wrist position. My guess is that you would tend to maintain "heel down" pressure with all three of the available grip options. If I am wrong, I am confident a locator grip fan will be kind enough to correct me shortly!

[arrow flynn]

I draw 27.5 in 95 I flew down to new orleans rented a car and drove up to poplarville Miss. For my oneonone seminar w Bob Wesley and or course I had to have ahhill longbow I told him so.and so he ordered it and heinspected it before sending it on to me.it is a70inchbig 5 brown glass white belly hut I only draw 27.5 .bob thought a longer bow would draw smoother and shoot better bob was kn his 60sthen and his target bow was 70 lbs.

The most accurate longbow I have ever seen was a 68" r/d that was nearly a complete reverse handle, I think it was an earlier version of one the 7 Lakes  designs.  I gave it to a friend, at my 26" draw it was a bit lighter than I wanted to use and he needed a really good bow. That bow is equally as accurate for him. My favorite  Hill style bow is 68" and whip ended, if I had a bit more than a 26.25" draw I would probably go to a 70" bow.

[Hopewell Tom]

I have a 66" 54#@28" Mowhawk LB and HAD a 60" 54#@28" Chekmate RC. As I'm aging (62 in October), The Mowhawk is "somehow" easier to use.
Except that I shoot a recurve better (my form issues, for sure) and like a shorter bow.
BUT, sold the RC and cannot bring myself to let the Mowhawk go. Maybe mostly upset at the fact that I struggle to get such a sweet bow to shoot for me.
String slap is the problem. And not with every shot.
Messes up my sequence because that's the last thing through my mind before release.
The longer bow guys always say that the length isn't a problem when hunting. Must be true.

[buckeye_hunter]

I shot an older HH longbow that was 70lbs at 28 in and 66 inches long. My recurve is only 50lbs at my draw and 62 inches long. I swear the HH felt the same as my recurve. I couldn't believe it was a 70 pound bow when I checked the specs after shooting. I didn't look at the draw weight before I shot since the guy just handed it to me and said, "Give 'er a try." Great shooting bow and I don't usually like the feel of a HH. Still can't believe it was a 70 pounder. I think it was the longer style bow that made it feel easier to draw.

It would be interesting to see how a 68 inch bow feels. Maybe I could shoot 80 pounds?

[Night Wing]

Longbow or recurve, I will take the longer bow over the shorter bow everytime.

I have had a few 70 inch longbows over the years, most of them very heavy draw weights, but even on the not so heavy ones,(Zebras), what I really liked about them was the forgiving nature of getting good arrow flight when my release totally went to crap.  I shot a deer at over thirty yards and the last thing I remember was my ring finger snagging the string past my shooting glove while middle and index finger were completely off the string.  The arrow flew perfect and I killed the deer. Afterwards back home, I tried that same thing with my Bear takedown just to see, punched a hole right through my garage wall.  Tried it again with the 70" Zebra and the arrow flew fine. The one thing I run into with the extra length is at times when hunting, I needed to cant the bow differently and found that I would get a lot of string contact on my chest with the longer bows, as in shooting down out of a tree stand with the bow laid over flat and me not willing to bend that far over when 18 feet off the ground without a harness on.  Back in the day those large permanent stands were nice, one could lie down and take a nap on them, but they did not come with safety harnesses.  It is quite easy to shoot a longer bow out of hang-on tree stand than those carpeted treetop Hiltons we used to build.

[RC]

I really like my 64" Mohawk. Not a problem from a tree and certainly not on the ground.I find I shoot much better at longer ranges as far as left and right goes with a longer bow. Plus they are better for flipping snakes out of the way than a short bow.....RC

[Hopewell Tom]

I hadn't really considered the snake flipping characteristics of the longer bow, but it does make sense...

[Chromebuck]

Joe,

I think you are the only person I'm familiar with that shoots 66" recurves and top shelf ones at that.  How long are the risers on your Blacktails?

RC,

What is it with you and snakes?  That was good...      Are you on the Hope or Faith lineup this year?

~CB

[Owlmagnet]

RC,

I've only ever flipped one snake with a bow, a 62" Martin Hatfield vs either a black snake or a cottonmouth laying up in some brush I was slipping through, (I couldn't say, he became airborne before I could make a proper identification). While I am a committed Hill bow guy, I have to believe that the nicely recurved tips of the Hatfield contributed to both height and distance over what I would reasonably expect to attain with a straight-ended longbow....

[Archie]

I don't really use a case for my longer bow, especially since it's a 2-piece.  I just use a bow sock.