Pros and cons of axle length

popeye · 03-16-2009, 09:03 AM

I'm thinking about buying a new bow with a short axle length design.
My current bow an old PSEthat I've hunted with for probably 10 years.

Myquestion is what are the pros and cons of the short axle length design.

98Redline · 03-16-2009, 09:16 AM

The short ATA bows have been the rage for the last few years. By short I mean 33" and shorter.

The biggest advantage is that they tend to be more manuverable....at least that is the thought. In practacality I have never been in a situation with my 36" bow that I thought "If my bow were just 3" shorter, I could have made that shot.
Another advandage is that the shorter rigs tend to be a bit faster lb per lb than their longer bretherin.

On the downside, the shorter bows tend to take longer to get stable than a comparable longer bow. And as a rule they don't lend themselves to as much accuracy as longer rigs (This is one of the reasons you don't see guys shooting indoor spots with a short bow).

What it comes down to is personal preference. If you have not ever owned one, then it is up to you to try them out and determine how they feel to you. I have owned short bows in the past and I find that for me 35-36" is about the optimum balance between shootability and manuverability.

Regardless of what you pick (short, medium or long), one of the newer designs will be light years ahead of a 10 year old bow.

popeye · 03-16-2009, 09:32 AM

Great info, thanks!
I'm primarily a rifle and MZ hunter, so using a bow is really my 3rd choice. My old PSE does the job but I believe it's time to put it into retirement.
Sounds like it may be time make a trip down to the local bow shop

CHAMP198 · 03-16-2009, 09:52 AM

most of all the bows i have ever had in the past few years were shorter ATA lengths with the longest being 34" im primarliary a tree stand hunter and they help with moving around easier in the stand...but this year i went to a little longer bow with the 101st at 36" i will say that i find that i am much more accurate with it over the shorter bows and so far from what i have seen i have no problems yet and dont think i will in the stand either so i really like it...but i do think that the 36" lenght is where i would stop at and not go any longer

03-16-2009, 10:24 AM

If your PSE is 10 years old, I bet its around 42-44". Your in for a nice surprise.

I am all about longer Axle to axle, but 44" is a bunch to manover. What's funny is my commander is over 36" and is consider long.

Biggest pros of longer bows is string angle, stability, finger pinch (for finger shooters).

drockw · 03-16-2009, 10:38 AM

Weight... SHorter usually falls hand in hand with overall weight as well. Some of the new bows are extremely light. Im a tall guy so a super short bow for me is even less accurate it seems. For hunting 33 would be my minimum ATA.

Derek

popeye · 03-16-2009, 10:58 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: bigcountry

If your PSE is 10 years old, I bet its around 42-44". Your in for a nice surprise.

I am all about longer Axle to axle, but 44" is a bunch to manover. What's funny is my commander is over 36" and is consider long.

Biggest pros of longer bows is string angle, stability, finger pinch (for finger shooters).

I don't have the bow in front of me but I think your right.... 42" sticks in my mind for some reason. Some days it seems like I'm hunting with an English longbow

CHAMP198 · 03-16-2009, 01:53 PM

is it one of the old grey and white camo or green and black camo PSEs?
my brother still shoots the old white andgrey camo one and its huge