Would you expect greater accuracy with a long Hill-style or a short Hill-style?

I used to think my 66" Sentman was better accuracy-wise than my 60" Great Northern, but I've started to doubt that. What's your experience?

All depends on the shooter. The bows are equally accurate. However, the shorter the bow, the more finger pinch, felt or not, which makes it a little more difficult to get off the string cleanly, which in turn can affect accuracy. If you have a long draw, stick with a longer bow and vice versa.

A straight limbed Hill or Hill style are not designed to be a short bow.I only draw 27" and would not get a Hill under 66" long.A longer bow does tend to be more forgiving and accurate depending on design.Short Hill style bows may be alright if you have a very short draw like for a youth.If you want a shorter bow in the 60" range look for a different design like a forward handle bow with a good amount of reflex deflex.A Hill recommends say for a 28" draw,60" + add 8" for your draw would be a 68" bow.

Shorter bows are never more accurate. It is called "finger pinch" but it should not be. It's really string angle. With a shorter bow you'll have more string on your fingers at full draw than a longer bow. You just can't get away from it.

Bowmania

I've found longer is better with all weapons. Not just bows. I need all the forgiveness I can get.

Longer bows are more forgiving of inconsistent shooting form. They are steadier and track better to the target. A shorter bow will give you more zip in the speed department but not by much. The hit window is smaller.

The more speed the less forgiving the bow is.

I have a sort draw (25"-26") and find that with my light draw weight that the arrow flight is sluggish as the limbs don't work as much.

Shorter limbs while giving more accountability also become less stable or "forgiving". I, however, love the maneuverability of the 64" bow. Feels right for me as I can quickly deploy the bow. I do have a 66" bow that gives me better accuracy at shooting tournaments. It just a matter of preference I guess.

I hear of people shooting heavier draw weights 60+lbs and very short draw lengths 25" with a 68"-70" longbow. So who am I to judge?

Longer bows are sweet shooters but im just as accurate with my 56" longbow as my 60+ ers. Of course the release has to be spot on with the shorter bows but i can drive tacks with it just as well who knows we all diffrent. Either you can shoot em good or ya cant!

I shoot a 58" and 64" longbow. I draw 27", both bows are 55#. I would say they shoot the same speed wise but the longer bow is smoother, quieter and like most stated, no finger pinch. They both have their place in hunting situations and I've taken game with both.

My D L is 27" I shoot a 66" LB. However according to the reasoning on this thread my optimum long bow length should be 67". I suppose that this is feasible.

I suppose finger pinch also has to do with fatness of fingers -)

Pinch was reduced for me recently by switch to a tab with spacer..however jury is out on relative accuracy of tab-with and tab-without.

I don't build bows, but I can tell you that the length of the bow is only one variable, so don't Fixate.

Riser/overall mass matters. How that weight is distributed matters. Else, 'splain to me the popularity of stabilizers; just because something can be taken to an extreme doesn't mean that it doesn't matter in the first place.

I agree somewhat with Bowmania, though, that String Angle is the greater concern, but while it's generally true that longer bows have a shallower string angle, it's not entirely about length...

Think about the flex pattern in the limb. What matters is how far apart the limb tips are at full draw; if you built a bow where the tips traveled straight back, the string could remain completely straight. Zero angle. If the bow were hinged in the middle, string angle would (or could) approach 180 degrees if you draw it far enough... And I have no idea what it would do to dynamic efficiency, but in principle, a recurve could be designed so that the NTN length was at its maximum at full draw. I suspect there would be some undesirable side effects....

Anyway....It's probably true that a given design can be generally a bit more accurate for the Average Joe, but JMO, if you believe that one bow is more accurate than the other, it will be.

If only for YOU.

Someone described it to me like this: hold a 4 foot 2×4 in your hand and rotate your wrist. Now do the same with a 6 footer. There is less ability to twist your wrist as easily. Can't say that matters much when comparing a 62" to a 64" bit it may if the spread were greater. I have found, for me, a 64" is easier drawing and I'm more stake 2 than with a 62" or less. Just my opinion though.

Lots of things go into stability in a bow; length, mass, and even design of the limbs/riser. The string angle is a lot more tolerable on a longer bow, but at what point it becomes an issue also varies from shooter to shooter. I draw less than 28" and just a tad more than 27" and prefer the longer bows (over 64"). More power to those who can shoot 56" longbows well....I'm not one of those.

I currently have a 65" straight limb bow that shoots very well. Actually it has about 1/2" of string follow. String angle is very comfortable and with arrows of 9 to 10 gpp there is no noticeable thump on the shot.

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