I agree with you Pinelander, about being accurate. Bowhunting is not catch and release...it is life or death. The moment we draw down on a live animal is precisely the time to be as accurate as we can be. There is no lose when punching paper if you make a poor shot. On an animal, again, a life hangs in the balance.

The best short bows i ever shot are the Groves 56" Magnums. I have two. One is a wood one piece and the other is a Phenolic handle take down with which I killed a caribou at 50 yards. While i still like those bows a great deal I shoot my DAS for serious shooting...when you need to be really accurate and need ultimate confidence in your equipment. Mine is 58" but would be shorter if I could find shorter limbs.

 

I completely agree about the longer bows. Only in my ground blind have I had problems with length. The good of the longer bows outweigh the bad ten fold. "Bowhunting is not target archery" is a complete friggin crock. Maybe people will straighten out their views after a few bad hits on animals. I doubt it. I haven't gone out in the woods yet after anything bigger than squirrels because I don't feel I'm ready yet. I'm close, but not quite there. Wounding critters isn't any fun.

 

Amen, Piney! I shot my first 66" longbow just a couple weeks ago and couldn't believe the difference...a whole 'nother level of smoothness. 'Course we don't even hunt out of treestands much out west...though I think we should more.

However, I've heard it's very hard to build certain designs at longer lengths and keep stability. I know Jim Neaves of Centaur really doesn't like to build his past "60. Don't think you can get a longer Saluki with the siyahs.

If I were to shoot a really heavy TJ Craig style recurve, I wouldn't consider less than 64"...I'd love to shoot a Dale Dye #75 or so at 64, even 66". Have any of you guys seen the pics of that Snakewood handled Dye on the Wall...if that's not art, then I don't know what is and I've been to more art museums that trad shoots...

I've seen a 70" Harrison HHC longbow being advertised and if it weren't so light, I'd love to shoot it, because I'll bet it's smoother than Rod Jenkins release.

 

Atlantis, you got me curious about the Dale Dye bow with snakewood but I couldn't find the post?

 

Some people are concern on recurve bow lenght. A 64" recurve is a "long target bow" but it is OK to hunt with a 64" longbow. :sbrug:
My 63" warf is way chorter than my 64" longbow.
Martin

 

My LB is 64" and I was wondering how well it was gonna carry thru the swamp.....I was plesently surprised that it carried well and snagged less than my 62" recurve ever did.I can shoot my LB sitting flat on my butt however my range seems limited in this position 10 yrd no problem 20 yards and I'd better get to my knees at least LOL.....some would say for a LB 64" is short but I kinda like it so far,ofcourse I've not used it in a blind so I can,t say about that and from a stand where there are cross bars I need to lean into the bar on close shots to get string clearance of that same cross bar. I strap the seat part of the climber to the tree so I can lean against it to get the extra room....wear a safety harness esspecially when leaning out away from the stand...Can't think of any other issues with a 64"er and not sure how much less accurate a shorter bow would be.

 

Beleg2, sweet warf riser...what is that?

 

I got caught up in the short is better deal.I have built many bows under 60" and won my first 3d with a little 54" flat bow.Then the Goblin came along and shed some light on the subject. I learned real quick I shot longer better and longer does not always mean slower.After using it in most hunting situations except for useing in a blind I have no use for a short bow any more.The longbow I am shooting now is 65" only because I could not make it longer.I swapped out my short limbs on the DAS for mediums as soon as I found out it would fit in my blind.

I know a lot of people like short bows and shoot them well.I bet you can't find a handfull of them that would not shoot a longer bow better however. jmo

 

Atlantis,
According to TB4U the riser correspond to the PSE SD 2000.
I made this one and have another on the way, that will be my second Warf.
Martin

 

I started out all wrong with bows that were too short and also too heavy. Talk about a deadly combination...for the shooter, that is!
At the time, I only remember one person telling me that at 6'2", I'd be better off with a 66"or even longer longbow. Unfortunately, he was in the minority and I didn't follow his advise for several years.
I'm now shooting a 60" DAS because I needed the short length out of blinds.
Nevertheless, I recently ordered Winex limbs to make a 62" DAS. I think I'll like it better 95 percent or more of the time.
Seems to me that the question of suitable bow length is another case where the preponderence of advise is dead wrong! Most people who give advise should preface their remarks with the phrase "I don't know anything but I'll tell you what I think anyhow..."
Jim

 

Bowhunting IS target archery only the spot is brown. I love my 66" Tamerlane (66" Comet XL ordered) but it is a bit long for my Brickhouse blind. I really need to get outa that blind anyway and do some real hunting. I sure do a lot of reading and snacking in there! I'm going to try a Ghillie suit this year and the 66"er will not be a problem. I have a long draw and love the tall bows, low poundage and fast arrows!

 

I've tried several of the short bows over the years and have allways came back to the longer ones. Longbow or recurve, i shoot em better if they are long. 62" for recurve, 66 for a longbow. I've never had the trouble that some seem to have with the longer bows out of a tree stand. My warf is 64" and it served me well last huntin season.

Lambow

 

I agree that longer bows are easier to shoot well, but I've always preferred shorter bows for hunting. I think a lot of it depends on how you hunt and also how big you are. Being 5'6", ground clearance is a bigger issue for me than a guy 6'. In my early hunting years, I missed a slam dunk shot at a turkey because my bow tip hit the ground when I shot crouched behind a fallen log. I had another similar incident involving an elk. Almost no one hunts from the ground anymore. I read somewhere that only 1 deer in 50 are shot from the ground. Hunting by spot and stalk is a whole nuther story. Having a shorter draw also makes shooting a short bow less critical than it would be for a long draw archer. Bottom line is, for me, 58" is the longest bow I'll carry into the woods.

 

Yes David, I agree and a good point... the "height-challenged" archer would be pushing it with anything much over 58", regardless of hunting situation. There are those that truly do have a short draw and can use short bows very well. And as Bill C. pointed out, I suspect the Kinetic is quite different when it comes to a 58-60" length bow. Just seems like there's a disproportionate amount of trad archers that shoot short bows or have short draw lengths.

 

Pinelander,
I agree completely with your findings... I' not near as accurate with a 60in or less bow.. That includes Adcocks. I only have a 27 in. draw, however, the longer the bow, the better I shoot. It just plain feels better also!! 62in. is the shortest I will go and I prefer 64 or 66in.. I can shoot Quinn's Comet XL very well. Many bowyers will tell me that I only need a 60 in bow for my 27in. draw.. I know better now. The longer bows are more forgiving to me.. Man, the 60 in. fast hybreds like the Morrisons and Adcocks that really sling an arrow are really tough for me to shoot.. The slightest error in release, or bow hand movement, and the consequences seem greatly magnified over a longer bow.... :2cents: Thanks, Jim

 

I've shot bows of 62" and longer now for about 40 years. My last short bow was a Wing back in the 1960s. No scientific study here, but I've observed two things about short bows:

1. "Short is fast" is more mythical than factual. The shock when the short limbs hit full travel creates all kinds of kinetic energy, and not all of it in the direction the arrow is traveling; and

2. That same kinetic energy (energy expressed in all directions) makes the bow an inherently unstable shooter and so affects accuracy.

BTW, finger pinch makes a good release suck! :2cents:

 

The shorter a bow is, the more important that it be designed and built correctly. There are some really evil little bows out there for sure. As in most things bowhunting related, you weigh the trade-offs. I think within reason, the longest bow that works for the way you hunt will give you the best success. That said though, it hardley matters how well your bow shoots if the tip hits the ground, the top of your blind or overhead branches. The more controlled your shooting environment, the more bow you can tolerate. If you are shooting from any kind of stand or blind you can check your clearances ahead of time and make adjustments. Hunting on the fly, you never know what circumstances will present themselves. I've been caught where I couldn't have drawn a 36" bow. I do think that many hunters choose bows that are too short though, so I'm not disagreeing with the premise of this thread. There has always been this idea that hunting is one way and target is diametrically opposed. This site has opened my eyes to the fact that they are a lot closer related than that!


I agree with some of the misconceptions listed above. I've tested bows with identical limbs, set-ups, and arrows and seen maybe 2 fps difference between 58" and 62", and even that could have been due to other factors.

David