Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

I recently purchased a SB and have been shooting alot of arrows to break it in. I feel that the draw length could be just a hair short and am wondering how badly it will hurt my accuracy. I feel some tension in my bow arm and feel that perhaps my bow arm may have too much bend in compensation (vs. being locked out)...but I am very particular and could be splitting hairs.

I realize that one downfall to shorter length is speed loss, but speed is not one of my priorities...accuracy comes before speed for me. I am grouping well, but am wondering what some of you advanced shooters can tell me about having a slightly short draw.

Thanks!

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

I don't consider myself an "advanced shooter", but I'll try togive a shot at some form of explanation. If I'm wrong, I'm sure that I will be corrected in short order.The shorter the DL, the less time the string is in contact with the arrow, so in that case it would be more forgiving of improper follow through, hence, more accurate; however, with proper form, crisp release, and proper follow through, just about any bow can be shot accurately if it is tuned and shot with the proper spinedarrows. IMO it would be better to feel confident and comfortable with your bow and DL. If you feel it is too short, then by all means tinker with the DL 1/4" at a time until you get it to where it feels just right. For what it's worth, I can shoot my wife's Rascal with suprising accuracy out to 40 yds. My DL is 29"and her DL is 25". It feels funny all crouched up like that, but I could shoot it all day and hit the bull's eye.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

Shorter draw length bows can be more forgiving. It is basically the same concept as having more brace height. And alot of the top archers and records that have been set are by shorter draw archers from what I understand. One advantage to being little.

However this is if the bow fits you. Shooting a bow with too short of a draw length can be just as bad as one with too long of a draw length. If it doesn't feel right, lengthen it a bit and see if it is better.

You should be able to stand straight and draw your bow with it held out infront of you smoothly. When at draw your bow arm should be straight but not locked, or have a slight bend in it. The Grip should rest in your hand with the pressure in the bottom where the bones to the wrist are. Not in the web of your hand at the top. Your shoulder should be low and forward, not up and rolled back. Your draw arm should have the elbow above the line of the arrow and your hand should be somewhere on the side of your face, not behind your head or neck. And usually your string will slightly touch your nose and bisect the corner of your mouth. This is a bit harder if you have a longer draw length and shorter ATA bow. The important thing is that your body and head remain straight up and down, not leaning back.

You can shoot a bow with a much shorter draw, but it is hard to hold steady for very long because of the bend in your bow arm. Most shoot a bow that is a bit long for them though. Also keep in mind the type of release you use and if you use a loop or not could effect your overall draw length.

Paul

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

The only way I know to determine your best draw length is to test at many slightly different draw lengths. There will be one where your pin floats less. This does assume that your form will remain the same. If you straighten your arm or bend it more, change your grip or anchor, you will find your ideal draw length also changes.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

When I first read your post I was thinking along totally different lines from what Roseaukane and Paul responded with. True, a shorter draw length could potentially lead to greater accuracy because of the shorter power stroke but as Paul mentioned having the bow actually fit you correctly is of much greater importance.

Many folks will tell you that a slightly too short draw length is better than one slightly too long. I somewhat agree with that but would also counter with the point that the correct draw length is better than one slightly too short. Case in point, I have tried shooting bows a half inch and an inch shorter than my actual draw length and they give me fits. I end up putting too much torque into the grip because of having to bend my bow arm too much. This drastically affects my accuracy.

I would agree with Straightarrow...try to find a few Switchbacks with draw lengths close to yours and see how they feel.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

I do not agree at all with this, and I hear it over and over on the net. If "the time the arrow was on the string" made any difference at all in forgiveness. Every top indoor shooter would be using very light and fast arrows to get them off the string fast. Yet they almost all shoot very heavy logs out of 50lb bows that go abouts 200 fps with a tail wind:)

The few inches of brace or the few inches in draw length and their respects to "time on the string" mean nothing in the world of accuracy. Shooting a very heavy arrow at 50lbs causes the arrow to be on the string much longer than almost every short braced speed bow out there................YET these target bow are the most forgiving bows out there:eek:

Shoot the draw that FITS you. The "forgiveness" comes with form - and form comes with correct drawlength.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

Im perfect then. Low poundage, shooting LOGS, short draw, and shooting 200fps with a tail wind. :D

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

True, though I would counter with the idea that it isn't time spent on the string but rather the distance. The longer the distance the better the chance of shooting errors imparted to the arrow upon release.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

Rack Attack ya hit the nail on the head there!!!!!

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

The bottom line is that you need to have the bow fit you . If its too short its wrong , if its too long its wrong . I disagree with Paul .I belive most archers can shoot a slightly longer draw bow much better than a slightly shorter bow . This is kind of a urban legand among archers that everyone would shoot better if they shot a inch shorter bow . Get the bow to fit you just right , youll be happyer , and shoot much better .

edit = To answer the original question I would say short is bad , will open up you groups left to right in most cases .

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

The way I've been taught to check for minor draw length problems
If your draw length is a little too short, the movements in your site picture will be more short and jerky. You will be able to hold on your target, but it's easier to throw one out.
If you draw length is a little too long, the movements will be longer and slower but with a littlegreater range of motion.
Perfect draw length the movement of your site picture is slow and small.

This is for draw lengths that are within 1/4" of perfect.
In all cases, I think that the closer you can get to perfect, the better. Terry Ragsdale, one of the best professional shooters of recent times, says that he spends more time adjusting the draw length on a new bow than all other tuning combined.

Hope this helps,
Allen

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

I prefer short dl bows.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

Proper fit is where it is at,comfort lends itself to consistency.I thought Pauls explanation was excellant and appreciated the amount of detail provided.I do agree that most archers draw length is to long and most also shoot poundages that are to heavy,a lot of the draw length issues are stance related,being to open in one's stance.Do A google search on Kirk Etheridge or Bernie Pellerite and see the stance they recommend.Proper draw length is extremely important if you want to shoot with back tension,the comment made by the gentleman about Terry Ragsdale makes perfect sense to me.I have made minute adjustments in the past and after they were made it was like AAHH! Now we arewhere we need to be.Another good reason to have non stretch strings and cables!

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

If you shoot a loop make it a little longer. One of the guys I hunt with has a 33" draw length but Mathews only makes a 31" draw lenght so he has a 2" loop and shoots bullets.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

Actually mathews has a bow...I can't remember the name of it.............lol[&o].....and I am a dealer[:o]....that goes to up to about 40" draw.

It was designed for Shaq - They do not advertise it but I believe they still make them.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

With a 33 1/2" draw, I've never been able to try shooting a bow that had a draw length that was too long for me.;) On the other hand, I've done some very good shooting - even won a few tournaments - with bows drawing a measely 31". I see a whole lot of guys shooting draw lengths that are at least 2" too long for them, with their arrows' nocks drawn nearly back to their ears. Most of them seem to shoot okay, but I've never seen one of them taking trophies home from tournaments.

So, I say having a draw length slightly too short is better than having one slightly too long. But if you're feeling strain in your bow arm due to the draw length being a bit short, you really need to fix it.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

Hey now...I saw that...you big ape...

:)

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

I'm not sure I'd call Arthur a "big ape", even by email - smiley or not! ;):D

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

Straightarrow, the heck of it is... He's right.[8D]

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

While many may have a variety of opinions, knowing the answers to several questions and being able to see your form is the ONLY way to properly make recommendations.

Some of the questions would be:
What DL are you presently shooting? If you've been used to shooting a DL that is 2" too long, which is NOT uncommon, then you'd have to be brought down easily. A moduled cam is usuallythemost economicalfor this. It's VERY rare that someone is shooting a DL too short, but it does happen.
What DW are you presently comfortable with? Some of the older cams will loose/gain weight depending on which way you move the DL. In cases like this the new DL may seem more or less comfortable depending on which way you go. Knowledge about changing DW when DL is changed is sometimes overlooked, and the corresponding comfort is therefore compromised/compensated. Incorrect DW can affect accuracy as well as incorrect DL.
What do you plan on doing - target shooting or hunting? While many will disagree, there can be a big difference in how you're set up and the comfort/effectiveness you'll feel with each style.

I usually spend at least 15-30 minutes with each customer trying to understand where they've been and where they want to go with archery. Once they've made themselves clear to me, I can address their particular needs. The process of both changing or finding their proper DL for their particular needs can then take minutes, hours, days, or months. It all depends on where they are and where they want to go.

Now to the question. "Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? NOT! You'd have to answer my questions firstand show up at the shop for me to even make an attempt to answer that question.

Good luck and good shooting.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

The #1 issue for me in finding the correct draw length lies in the mechanics of shooting with back tension. I like to set the draw so that I am comfortable when making the shot, and at the same time I am able to pull hard enough off the wall to execute the shot properly. If I am too long I cannot pull hardoffenough off the wall.Alot of the top shooters that I have spoken with say that they pull very agressivelythrough the shot.. If mylength istoo longat full draw , it is too spongy and I cannot acheive the shot sequence that I have set up for myself. My mind travels too far and I am not just aiming while executing the shot. If the length is too short I am cramped up in the bow and will have a tendancy to torque the shot. With the length too shortI tend to float more as the bow is now being fired and aimed more with my arm muscles and not my shorter back muscles and bone structure. To me, draw length is the single most important factor when setting up a bow. Just because I feel that my draw length is 29 1/2 and I purchased a 29 1/2 in draw length bow, doesn't mean that I am good to go. I will spend a week or so just setting the draw length, by very small increments. There is a happy balance, and each extreme can be detrimental to pinpoint accuracy.

RE: Is Short Good or Bad for Accuracy? (draw length)
 

Gentlemen, thank you for the reply's!

In speaking of micro-adjustments, I assume that is accomplished by twisting or untwisting the string? Any suggestions for number of twists etc? After shooting the new bow for more than a week, I am searching for about an extra 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch...