You guys seem to be ignoring the #1 reason that hunters want short a-t-a bows for treestand hunting:

Clearance. Maneuverability.

November 2, 2006, 7:15 a.m.- I had a wide open 25 yard chipshot into the broadside of abuck that I'd dedicated my entire season to hunting. I was 25' high, shot was at4 o'clock, steep downhill over the right side of the stand, angling back. I'm a right-handed shot. Summit Viper treestand.

Bow was a 36" ATA Jennings one-cam.

I turned and drew, setting myelf for the shot, double-checkingmy limb clearance over the seat, then I aimed and fired. Apparently, I didn't give myself enough clearance between the bottom cam and the support truss on my climber seat - because upon my release, the cam smashed into my seat and caused my arrow to miss its mark by a solid ten feet.

If my bow was just 1" shorter, I'd have had aPY buckdown. It cost me.

Here's a pic of the dent in my climber rail. My camera wouldn't focus on it so well, but it's gouged in there pretty deep.


So there it is. A125+" buck's life, permanently etched in my treestand, serving as a constant reminder as to how this is very much a game of inches.

I'm 6' tall, right-handed shot, and just based on the design of my treestand - if my bow is too long, I sacrifice being able to clear the upper right truss on my stand - especially at close range or on downhill shots, where the bow is sharply angled downward. Those problems are magnified even more by shorter hunter.

So, shooting a 40" bow is fine, but be prepared to sacrifice some maneuverability, which, at some point or another, might cost you a shot at a big buck. For every gain, there is a loss. I'll sacrifice the "forgiving" qualities of a mammoth bow for the maneuverability and clearance of a short one any day.

I never want to go home empty-handed again, with another gash in my treestand - and know that 1 more inch of clearance would've had had me harnessed up to a big buck. That's a bad, bad feeling.

So, my current bow is 2"shorter than my last one. My next bow will probably be shorter than this one. The one after than will probably be even shorter yet.

If you're just hunting with it - I'd say that the few meager concessions that you're going to make by going "small" in accuracy/forgiveness - will be more than offset by your "gains" in maneuverability, clearance and weight.

My .02