should I increase my draw length?

mobow · 04-14-2004, 08:13 AM

I recently bought a new Hoyt, and of course these newer bows have no valley to speak of at all. I have developed a problem, when at full draw, I tend to bend my left arm a little bit. Now, with no valley, the bow wants to take off on me.
What I am thinking is to increase my draw length 1/2 inch, hopefully being able to lock my left arm fully extended. I will run into no problem with the arrows in doing this.

What do you all think, good idea or not?

BGfisher · 04-14-2004, 08:20 AM

Locking your bow arm is not good. Tightening the muscles in the arm or hand can induce torque. If you can't stay against the wall then you probably should shorten the draw, not make it longer. You also have to learn that to get good straight-line accuracy (form related) you should make a conscious effort to push-pull equally with each arm. And even so, 1/2" is a lot of change. I've changed mine to accomodate these more aggressive cams, but I shortened it, and sometimes it's only a matter of 3 or 4 twists in the string which might mean 1/16".

Kanga · 04-14-2004, 08:21 AM

bad idea.

You should never have the left elbow locked.

BuckAlley · 04-14-2004, 08:26 AM

I agree you should be shortening your draw not lengthening it. A little bend in the elbow is natural, and means a more relaxed form. If you find your bending your elbow too much that adds to inconsistency in your form, and anchor point. I went through this very same scenerio once. Mainly because my draw was too LONG. I was bending my elbow more then normal to reach a consistant anchor spot. That lead to bad shooting. I shortened my draw by 1", and now I have a more consistant anchor, and better form. Besides locking your arm will also lead to string slap on the inside of your arm!!!

Arthur P · 04-14-2004, 08:34 AM

Leave your draw length alone. It's not the problem Problem is you're losing back tension while you're aiming. Increasing the draw length would just make the problem that much worse.

I'd recommend going to 65% letoff to fix your problem. Sounds counterintuitive, I know. You'd think you'd want high letoff so you'd have less holding weight at full draw. But less holding weight at full draw causes you to lose back tension. Your muscles don't have anything to work against, so they just quit working at all.

Solution, you either need to lower the letoff OR set your draw length so that you pull firmly into the stops on every shot. You've got to keep your back muscles actively involved in the shot or you will creep.

Orions_Bow · 04-14-2004, 07:29 PM

NO - Arthur P said it best. you have another issue which is creeping forward right before the shot.

JeffB · 04-15-2004, 06:31 AM

I don't think anyone can say for sure without seeing you.

However the possibility is there. I do know that sometimes creeping does occur because the draw length is too short. If you cannot get your release hand elbow back far enough and lined up straight to allow the back muscles to properly engage you can have this problem.

I know that for me, too short is worse than *slightly* too long where draw length is concerned. In my case drawing slightly too long a draw length is more accurate/consistent because it forces me to push-pull/use back tension on every shot (but I fatigue quicker). On too short of a draw length my groups get sloppy because my release arm elbow is off to the side and I am not in proper alignment. This greatlyaffects how steady I can hold and causes bow/string torque (which causes arrow flight/tuning aggravation).

I would reccommend you find a good pro-shop and/or qualified instructor to check out your form, and go from there.

Techy · 04-15-2004, 07:50 AM

This is just another possibility. If your draw is too long you will tend to arch your back (lean back) when you come to full draw. People who do this will tend to straighten up a bit when they aim causing them to creep. In this case you would have to shorten your draw a bit. Just another thing to think about.