draw length?

[rich pierce]

Many native bows were shorter and shorter draw lengths were used.  It's not hard to get used to a shorter draw.  Bend the arm holding the bow a bit.  I have a wicked little osage bow 54" long and it pulls about 55# at 25".  I can shoot it fine although I am tall and long-armed.  It just pulls so far, then gets really hard to pull any further!

[Fletcher]

What Rich is desribing is classic 'stacking'.   It can indeed be lessened by a shorter draw length.  The down sides are:

1. You must then shoot pretty much 'instinctive style' which is OK but hard for some to master.

2. You will lose consistency in draw length and nock point hold, which will affect aim point and accuracy

3. The cast of the bow is dependent on the draw length, which means the arrow speed will be less if the draw is less and the cast is reduced.

My advice to new shooters is to go with a longer bow and learn traditional draw, nock and release techniques.  After you have mastered that, you can experiment with other shooting styles.

The real fun stuff comes when you can get off 6 shots in 10 seconds or less and hit your moving target every time!!! (a short bow with shorter arrows and instinctive style is a definite benefit here - although there are those who can do it with longbow)

If you don't believe that you need to go back to the Traditional Bow forum and look up some of Longhunters videos!

[rich pierce]

Yeah, I like 'em stacked!  

[Longhunter]

If you don't believe that you need to go back to the Traditional Bow forum and look up some of Longhunters videos!

[Longhunter]

Fun with a longbow