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Draw Length and Competition Bow
BP_56
Member Posts: 3 ✭✭
Hi all, new to the board. I am wanting to get into competition bow and wanted to know the better ones to look for. I also wanted to know how to determine what draw length is necessary?
I wear 19 1/2 shirts with 36" sleeves if that makes a difference.
Thanks
I wear 19 1/2 shirts with 36" sleeves if that makes a difference.
Thanks
Comments
If you are looking for a bow to shoot competition you will want to know a couple things. As Bang has said the best thing is to start of at a pro shop and get measured. This time of year is tough to get allot of answers at a shop. Due to it is the height of the bow season and the shops are doing everything they can to set up bows for hunters and do the repairs. You will have a better experience heading out to the shops come gun season in your area. And The owner and his staff will have much more time to spend with you and to answer all your questions. This being said there are two things you are going to have to figure out. One is are you going to want to shoot indoors or outdoors? The second is are you going to want to hunt with your equipment also?
First bows that are fast and flat shooting will have a shorter brace height ( measurement from the inside of the grip to the string with the bow in the undrawn state) What this means to the shooter is it will be less forgiving, more vibration and more than likely on the noisy side. This type bow is used more by the 3D , outdoor target and hunters. Reason being fast and flat is an advantage when it comes to yardages. It is less critical.
The other side of the coin is Long brace heights that more or less coincide with long axle to axle bows. ( distance from the axles in the wheels or cams on the end of the limbs, measured from center of one to the center of the other )This translates to a bow that is very forgiving and much slower than the short axle and short brace height bows. And is the choice for the indoor shooter. They are not concerned about distances because they shoot from known yardages.
So a quick sum up here is Long brace heights means mistakes are not as critical as short brace heights where mistakes are amplified.
Bow manufactures today have done a tremendous job of giving the archer equipment that has the traits of a mix of these things in a short package. Without going into a long drawn out letter here let just say this. If you pick a bow that has a brace height of 6 3/4 inch and over, you will have picked a bow that will be fairly easy to master to shoot. And the manufactures with these brace heights from 6 3/4 to 7 1/2 in the upper end bows will pretty much shoot in the high 280's FPS to 320FPS + depending on the arrow used. A great choice for the 3D, Field and the archer that wants to bowhunt also.
If all you want to shoot is indoor competition at set yardages pick a long axle to axle bow with a long brace height and with some hard work you will master it quickly due to the forgiveness features of this style bow. And you will be painting the bull all day long with your arrows.
So BP try to head out to the shops after the rush is over, Find a shop that will let you shoot there bows. ( some will not )if that is the case find another one it will be worth the drive in the long run.Without being one sided, Take a good look at the Mathews, Hoyt,Bowtech lines they are on the pricey side but they have great resale value.
Hope this helped,
Shoot Straight,
Bigfoot [8D]
My preference is ATA in the 33" - 36" range and a BH of at least 7". Just makes for an easier bow to shoot in my opinion.
I hope I am on the right track. LOL been working on them all my adult life. I like to hunt with the shorter bows with 6 3/4 to 7 inch brace height. Pushing speeds to about 300 to 305 fps. But if I want to head to the shop and shoot indoor target I grab my old XI bow with close to 9 inches of brace and around 37" ATA and stand there and paint bulls eyes all day long. Hell you can drink a cup of coffee while watching the arrow flying to the target, but it is on the mark 99.9% of the time. [:)] I have just one word for a long axle bow with a big brace height and that would be.
SMOOTH !!!!!!!!!!![:p]
Bigfoot [:D]