Draw length question

[Steiger3208]

I draw 29" and am looking at a used bow that was made for 32" draw.  My question is do you loose more performance other than your 2-3 lbs. per inch less draw vs having the same kind of bow made to your 29" draw? Thanks Wes

[scedvm]

The bow probably wasn't made specifically for a 32" draw, more likely it was a longer bow ordered by someone with that draw and therefore marked accordingly.  I don't imagine there would be any performance loss other than the fact that it will be the less draw weight.  Having a very long draw is a blessing and a curse for me as I feel I get a lot out of a bow but I can not comfortably shoot the shorter AMO bows and arrow selection is somewhat limited....Shawn

[McDave]

If it was made for a 32" draw, it is probably a longer length bow, maybe in the 64-68" range.  At 29" draw, you're not quite getting the maximum performance out of the bow, since the maximum performance occurs when you draw the bow to the point just before it begins to stack (i.e. it increases disproportionately in weight as you draw it past the stacking point).  Even so, some people will knowingly give up that last little bit of performance in order to have a smoother drawing bow with less finger pinch. For example, Olympic archers will use a longer length bow than they need based on their draw length because they find that they can shoot the longer length bow more accurately, even though the performance might be less than a shorter bow.

[Steiger3208]

The bow is a 64" bow, which I prefer just for the reasons stated by McDave. I just wasn't sure if there was any difference in how they design a bow when they build it for 32" vs 29". Thanks, Wes

[Kris]

Likely not.  You wouldn't know what you were missing anyway.  In other words, if the bow meets your expectations of performance at your draw length, then so be it.  Agree with McDave above as well.  

You could always measure this bow on a scale from 29"-32" and graph a force draw curve to confirm your question i.e. 2-3 lbs/inch.

Kris

[katman]

Depends on the bowyer, there are some that maximize performance at your draw length.

[Orion]

I agree with Katman, it depends on the bowyer, and most do not build different limb stacks (limb tapers, thicknesses) to achieve different results at different draw lengths. (Certainly, the productions bows made in the 40s through 60s weren't built that way) They and most "custom" bows today are built to certain specs at 28 inches.  If a fella who has a 31-inch draw wants it, they'll weigh and mark the weight at 31 inches, but they don't do anything different to the build. This works fine providing the shooter buys a bow length that's appropriate for his/her draw, i.e., a long draw requires a long(er) bow.  There's more, but that's the gist of it.

[Bladepeek]

Some bowyers will vary the riser length to get shorter or longer working limbs with the same overall length. I used to have a 58" r/d longbow that was REALLY hot, but didn't stack at my 29 - 29.5" draw. I recently bought and quickly resold a 62" bow that hit a solid wall at 29". The second bow had a 21" riser, so the working length of the limbs was rather short.