A number of years back I shot a 70" Big 5 that was marked 89@27". It was 92@27", I had a slightly longer draw in those days, 26&3/4". with that bow I noticed that if I stretched to nearly 28" or shortened to 26", the bow speed test with a chronograph or distance shooting showed very little arrow speed change. The explanation I got makes some sense as far Hill style longbows are concerned. When a heavy limbed bow is drawn further it picks up more static hysteresis and when it is drawn slightly shorter it is more efficient because less limb has to move, thus giving a more predictable shot as far as arrow to arrow speed. the string angle and the snap of the string from the fingers because of the weight, I am sure, is what put a number of bunnies and pheasants to their end with that bow, no deer however. further testing with other bows that I have owned has shown that draw length variations makes a much greater difference with fast bows like a BW takedown. The other thing that I notice is that not all bows like shorter draws, something just falls away from the limb action when the draw gets short. I shoot 26.5" right handed and 26" left handed with long bows and I am more accurate now than ever. Oddly enough, I am just as accurate at deer with a 62" r/d Robertson as I am with my favorite Hill style bows, but my favorite bow is still my 68" fast tip from a Hill blank halfbreed. The difference is slight, but it is enough to make more hits on small moving targets and that could be a small release variance or the straight grip that makes it point faster. Some people, just like me at times, turn their release fingers a bit on the string, the longer bow will be more accurate then.
Topic: Short longbows, missing something? (Read 634 times)
