I think I won’t name too many names here for fear of dragging people into this against their will, but here’s the thing….

Being a short-draw kind of guy, I’m often thinking about whether I’m getting the same horsepower out of a bow that a taller archer would get from pulling the same poundage. And I guess I’m gonna blame that on Fred Asbell, for suggesting that you can tune your bow to the lowest brace height that it’s happy with and that because of the longer power stroke, you’ll get a faster arrow per pound of draw weight. And that’s consistent with what I recall from taking a few physics classes… waaaay back when… because acceleration is expressed as feet per second per second, so – assuming that it takes a longer time to accelerate an arrow over a longer distance – you should net out with a faster arrow on a GPP basis if you shoot a longer draw length. (Sorry for the run-on sentence, but it’s kind of a run-on thought process….)

On the other hand, there’s a very accomplished bowyer here who told me in a PM that he doesn’t think it matters all that much and in fact he has shot the same bow in two different draw weight classes in a flight competition by simply short-drawing it to the lower weight. #50 and #35, if I recall correctly, so probably REALLY short-drawing… and I believe he’s WON a few of those competitions. So I don’t expect he would have gone this route if he expected to fare poorly…

And FWIW, there is a very well-known arrow spine calculator which predicts arrow velocity… and I get the same FPS out of that tool whether I plug in 500 grains @ #55 at 32” draw….. or at 24”. Run that math on an assumed 8” brace height, and the longer draw has a 50% longer power stroke, so you’d expect that would be worth SOMETHING, don’t you?

And we have at least one small-shop bowyer here on the Wall who says that a bow should be designed for the draw length of the user. Another bowyer site I visited just says that as a rule, a shorter bow will shoot faster than a longer one, and that kind of makes sense to me because it seems that the more deeply the limbs are curved, the more the limb tips will be accelerating vertically – in opposing directions – and that seems like it should take the slack out of the string faster, which should net a higher rate of acceleration.

Anybody who wants to check me on this… I’m thinking vector analysis – you’ve got a horizontal and a vertical for each tip and a spring rate /modulus for the material you're using: horizontal travel shouldn’t take ANY slack out, so the larger the vertical vector, the greater the acceleration. Right? Wrong?

But that gets me into a loop, because if the limb tips are moving away from each other more quickly… then it shouldn’t take them any LONGER to power the arrow through the distance between draw length and brace height, so maybe the string isn’t pushing the arrow for any longer amount of time… but on the other hand, it should be pushing at a higher acceleration rate… so even if it does push for a shorter time, maybe it all nets out even in the end?

very interesting, i too have a very short draw [26"] and am curious to see the reply's, i kinda hope that my short draw isn't penalizing me to much, rich pyle

the original martin viper and venom longbows were 64", viper, and 66" for the venom. the venom is several fps faster than the viper. we made bows from 52" to 66" in the 60's and forward. they all shot within a very few fps for all the recurves except the x-200. back in the late 50's to mid sixties we made recurves to 69". i still have one i made for my wife. it is as fast as any 58"-62" recurve we ever made. in the 52 years i designed bows i never found the need to have a different design for each draw length. the logistics of doing that is mind boggling if you make more than one model. it would take a medium size building for storage of all the forms and special lams you would need to do that! each bow would have to have a minimum of 9 sets of lams plus several different forms, not to mention the different risers. why would you do that when it's much easier to properly design a bow to accept a wide range of draw lengths?

This is not very scientific, other than that the arrows were tested thru a Chronograph. If you want the same speed a guy drawing 29"s is getting and you draw 27"s, then you have to draw 10 pounds more. Cold hard truth. My draw is 27"s, so not trying to rub it in. Equal arrow and draw weight.

GF, Matt..

I read your initial post about four times.. Not a complete dissertation on bow length draw length but thot provoking..

I have and have shot accurately and well with bows of many sorts from 52" to 76" NTN..over 50 years..

I have a 30" draw..

I don't think that speed and energy imparted are that critical for the hunter ..Maybe gives a bit flatter arrow cast?..

The important thing about one's archery is that one can command the bow..has decently matched up equipment and consistent form.. and as Roger Ascham once wrote..Tox to Phil as I recall:

"What is the most important part of archery"?..

answer: ""TO HIT THE MARK..:)"....

This one is a static I made years ago..77#@30"..It'll cast aa 740 gran arrow close to 300 yards..and it's smooth and fun to shoot..BUT whatever one shoots..he/she should be able to hit the mark aimed at..:)Jim

I'm 6'2", 190ish, my draw can be any where between 26 and 32", I know 32" is best for KE. but its not always required, I can kill a deer just as easily with a 25" draw as I did as a child, I killed 100+ deer never reaching my current draw length, I started at 10yrs old deer hunting, dont over think this stuff to much it takes the fun out if you do. I am not sure what you asked in your topic I got confused a little maybe.

As for horsepower the longer draw will win. As for arrow speed a shorter arrow can be built to weigh less because it has lower spine requirements and less inches of shaft to weigh. Even at 24" draw though you can easily have sufficent horsepower to kill most any common north american game animal.If arrow weights are equal the longer draw will win.

Speed kills!....

We have all heard that before..:) Mostly attributed to illicit drugs and driving poorly-too fast in an automibe..:(

For the archer?..Speed-cast of the bow-arrow setup DOES help for the recreational shooter or hunter..

A flatter casting setup helps minimize distance estimates for those of us who shoot trad with out range finders and sights..:)

The most important matter is that the archer can command his bow.. That the bow and arrows are tuned well..

And that the archer's form are solid..Consistent..repeatable..

A few foot pound os energy that doesn't hit the game well or the target have ZERO value..

So concentrate on your form, your tackle..( broadhead sharpness) and even a 40# 1960 Bear Cub will do the job..:)..

I DO like the heavier bows and arrows..this old wing Thunderbird is about 75#@30"..and I can manage it..have arrows that fit it know how to shoot it..:).... but I am an extinct critter in so many ways..:)..hence my handle...Jim

To me, shorter draw equals shorter arrow which increases arrow spine. Increased spine allows the use of a lighter arrow (1916 vs 2016 for example) than someone with a longer draw length which results in an equally flat shot and the same speed as the person with the longer draw length, albeit with less arrow weight.

But match it to the right weight head, follow the 10 grains per pound standard and the result is one should not feel handicapped by the shorter draw length...you have more than what it takes.

Accuracy and a tuned arrow with a sharp head trumps speed and power always...which is X2 what Dire Wolf stated so well.

Hmmmm. Don't know exactly what you're trying to say. Are you saying that a shorter draw will cast the same weight arrow as fast as a longer draw, all other things being equal. It won't. The longer draw will win every time.

Re brace height, small adjustments in brace height are aimed at getting the arrow to fly better. They have a negligible effect on draw weight and thus performance/speed, probably less than 1-2 fps within normal adjustment ranges.

Shorter limbs recover faster than longer limbs and thus will be a bit quicker all other things equal than a longer bow. Luckily, shorter limbs usually occur on shorter bows which are better suited for folks with shorter draws. So, one way to reduce the performance/speed discrepancy between shorter and longer draws is to shoot a shorter bow if you have a shorter draw.

You raised a few other issues as well, which I will leave to others to address. My head hurts. Keep in mind that with all of this, the practical differences aren't really that great.

And I have lost a few pounds since that pic with the WingThunderbird was taken earlier this year..:)

Good archery is about form..consistency..practice..tackle matchup for the task you are persuing...how you hold your mouth..( strike that last....:)AND it's about hitting the mark..

Most of we archers enjoy our archery more when we HIT THE MARK we intend upon..:)..Jim

Not going to mention names, but a very well known traditional archery shop owner did some testing with the chronograph and came up with one inch of draw length equals ten pounds of draw weight meaning if you could draw one inch farther, you could drop ten pounds of draw weight and get the same speed from the same arrow. Now obviously, that's a general statement and will vary between bows, but it's ballpark. I believe longer limbs are more efficient due to being a longer lever arm. But a good bowyer can equalize out some of those things and maximize a bows efficiency to your draw length.

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