I' ve owned 4 bows since that first one and all were around 36" a/a with one havin an 8" b/h. I haven' t been able to shoot any of these 4 bows as well as that first 41" ' er.
Kinda makes you wonder why you even bothered with those other bows, doesn' t it.
I think when you' re splitting hairs, I' d have to go with brace height over axle to axle length, but I do think it' s a lot closer call than a lot of other guys seem to feel. I won' t have a bow that' s too short, either axle to axle or on brace height. A to A much under 40" is too short. Much under 8" is too short on brace height (unless you' ve got a pretty short draw length).