I agree with Bowdoc on this one, the LONG riser has made a HUGE difference in the forgiveness of a the short bows. I believe riser length as well as axle-to-axle length should be taken into consideration, because whatever torquing an archer may have is distributed over a longer span with a longer riser, blunting the hand torque just a little. Though they rate roughly the same, I can tell you that my Trykon XL is FAR, FAR more forgiving than my Highlander, with the same a-to-a and BH on both bows, and the Trykon is 9fps faster by IBO rating. I also agree with Charlie in that I like a longer a-to-a bow, and have never owned anything shorter than 35" personally.