NO! Do not attempt to modify your natural draw length. I tried it and it turned into a chain of events that started shooting problems that I still haven't recovered from, 15 years on.

About the loop, your draw length does not change. Period. However, using a longer loop will allow you to shoot a shorter draw length bow. I've shot 2" long loops in order to shoot a 31" bow. Now, that's an extreme example and I do not recommend going that far. The main reason is it takes your peep sight a long way from your eye. The string angle with these squatty little bows they're making nowadays moves the peep forward to start with, then adding another inch or two to that.... You have to have a peep the size of a hulahoop just to see thru it.

But for 'normal' usage of a string loop... Your own physical draw length never changes. You shorten the bow's draw length and/or adjust the release's length of pull to offset the length of the loop.

Really and truly though, at 31" draw you are not going to have much problem getting a bow. A few models do not go past 30" draw but the vast majority of bows are made to 31". When you get over 32" is when you begin having problems. At my 33 1/2" draw length, there are very few bows made to accomodate it.

I like the specs you're looking for in a bow. For the most part. But here you are saying on the one hand that you're having trouble finding a bow and then, on the other hand, you're getting all picky and specifying single cam only. Fine and dandy if a single is what you really want, but don't rule out dual cam bows entirely until you give one a try.

I have a strong perference for duals. In my experience, they are much easier to work with and require less maintenance and tuning than singles. With the possible exception of those singles that use a dual track idler and split that long string into two shorter sections.

TooTallJones


I haven't been keeping up with compound lately but I suspect just about any of them will work for you. I know that sounds very general, but I bet its true. A $200 Alpine will shoot pretty much the same as a $750 Mathews as far as accuracy etc etc. Maybe a bit of speed difference,etc, but its the feel of the bow that will probably change more than anything. I had a Renegade last summer and it was nice - not quite a Mathews feel but really nice.

Want some EBAY tricks ? I don't have EBAY at work, so i'm going off memory here and might be a bit off on terminology etc. on the below tricks


#1 - Got to EBAY home page and click on SEARCH. From there you choose SPORTS and then ARCHERY I believe, and then BOWS and COMPOUND. Click on "newly listed items". What you will sometimes see is a Q2XL for $300 or a Havotec for $175 - BUY IT NOW bargains that don't last long. Search often and you might hit that DEAL that just is too good to be true.

#2 - Got to EBAY home page and click on SEARCH and then ADVANCED SEARCH. Once there, type in "bow" or "compound" or "Mathews" etc etc. Also click on COMPLETED ITEMS. This will give you the past 30 days of items that have ended on EBAY. What you are looking for is prices on certain bows.

Lets say you are looking for a Havotec bow. You find 25 that have ended on EBAY. There will be a price range that they are selling from - and there will likely be a few that are priced too high that did not get bids. Email those fellows and see if they'll make a deal off EBAY. I know, its cheating a bit, but everyone does it ! Sometimes that works - and works well.

# 3 - Look for bows (the bows you have identified as being on your "A" list ) that are listed without pictures - or listed wrong. Like instead of the item description being "Hoyt Havotec" its " Hoyt Havatec" or "hoyt Havotc". Simple errors like that can throw off buyers and you'll get the item for less maybe.

# 4 - Also look for odd ending times - like early morning. Items that end on weekend nights between 7 pm and 10 pm will go higher becuase thats when people sit down to surf for stuff to buy.

# 5 - Feedback is important, especially with a $300-500 bow. A new seller might not get premium price for his bow - but if you email ahead of time and are confident the seller is a good guy, you might get a better deal too. ALWAYS get delivery confirmation and insurance - ALWAYS.

That said, if it were me looking for a bow, I'd go to the following sites and try to find one. Jan/Feb are THE times of the year to buy a bow. New models coming out and people that are done hunting but don't have 3D shoots to go to are ansy to buy/sell/trade. BE PATIENT - theres one out there for you, no need to hurry. Good luck.

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/forumd...p?s=&forumid=8

http://www.archery.net/classpro/

the one on this site is good too

I'm going to second stealtys recomendation to check out archerytalks clasifieds . Its sponcered by martin archery and there are allot of nice martin bows up for sale . Most martin bows adjust 15 pounds instead of 10 that most other manufactures do , a plus for some geting back into archery after a layoff , and some of their bows go to 32 inches . heres a link .
http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/forumd...p?s=&forumid=8

Finger shooters bring the string to the corner of their mouths.....release shooters have a different anchor point or I do.

I have a 30 inch draw, the bow I have came with a 29 1/2 in draw length. I had the string loop put on there and it's almost right on the money now.