Draw weight question???

[Chromebuck]

The knowledge base of this site never ceases to amaze and I submit this question with full expectation of contemplating far more than a simple draw weight question...

Last week I was shooting a local archers Greg Coffey made Shrew(jrchambers), and noticed that
a heavy bow built for a longer draw-length than my own felt quite smooth at my shorter draw-length.

I generally shoot 53-55# at 28" and wondered if one can be better served by ordering a 62# @ 30" bow?  I've read were Cade Cabrera is shooting his fathers Kempf Raven based on this principle.  

Is there a cleaner release when shooting a bow designed for your draw-length versus perhaps a more spongy feel of drawing far short of the stacking point?

Thanks in advance,

Keith

[JRY309]

If bows both are say 60",one marked 55#@28 and the other one marked 62#@30.What does the bowyer due diiferent in making the each bow.Other then what he writes on either bow?Does he use a different taper in the laminations?Different length in the riser of the longer draw bow he is building in the same 60" bows?

[jrchambers]

keith my bow was built for 58 at 28.  what you were feeling is the beauty of the shrew, its that smooth to 30.5

[hunthold]

I think the bow design was the result of it feeling smooth for ya..

[Chromebuck]

Hmmm...  Perhaps I'm overthinking this.  I do believe, however, that some bowyers do have different lamination recipes to accomodate our more primate natured brethern.
   

[jrchambers]

you are right about that keith. although the overall design, ex forward riser, more working limb, heavy reflex deflex, shorter brace height and many more I don't understand.  there are quite a few shorter bows that are made for above average draw lengths, just like there are a lot of in between length bows that are not.  I have a 64 inch Adcock 3 piece rd  that hits the wall at 30.5

[damascusdave]

Take a look at the Bigfoot Bows website...Kirk is a sponsor and frequent contributor here...pay particular attention to his bowyers notes which discuss bow construction for specific draw lengths...I draw somewhere around 30.5 inches and have come to the conclusion I shoot best with a bow that draws on the harsh side and stacks some...I find it gives me a feeling of being more in the shot...having said that I also like my static tip which kind of works the other way...no stack and even a bit of let-off feel...all comes down to the same thing...personal preference of the moment

DDave

[Orion]

Though a few bowyers may use different limb stacks/tapers, riser lengths, etc to accommodate different draw lengths, most just make the bow the same and mark it differently, for example 50#@28 becomes 55#@30, etc.  That's the way all commercial bows that I'm aware of were made in the past. That gives their bows a lot of versatility because one knows that the bows can be shot at a little above or below 28 inches with good results.  

Bows actually built for specific quite short or quite long draw lengths aren't very versatile because the short bows will stack quickly beyond their intended draw length, and the long bows will be soft and slow below theirs.

However, at any given draw weight, a longer bow will generally feel smoother  (which for some means it feels lighter though it really isn't) all else being equal.

[damascusdave]

BTW I have checked draw weights on quite a variety of bows at between 28 and 31 inches...a bow that is 62 pounds at 30 inches could very easily still be 58 pounds at 28 inches...I have a 58 inch d/r longbow that is 49 at 28 and 53 at 30 inches...all depends on design

DDave

[Orion]

Yep  The 2-3# weight gain per inch of additional draw is just a general guideline/rule of thumb.  How much a bow actually builds weight (or loses weight under 28 inches, is a function of initial bow weight, length and design.

[slowbowjoe]

I asked the same question a while back. Got the same consensus. Big Jim added his knowledge in that thread, and said bowyer's don't change the bow to suit the draw length, that's a matter of the particular bow's length.
Pretty much as I'm reading it here.