Hello all. As my "handle" suggests, I'm new to bow hunting/shooting. I've hunted all my life but never with a bow. I'm 32 years old and after just about a week of shooting in my backyard......I wish I would have taken up the "sport" a LONG time ago. It's a blast.

I am going to post some questions that will almost certainly be obvious to just about everyone in this forum but me, so please be respectful of that.

Question #1. Correct Arrow Length.

My bow is setup at 64# with a 27" draw length. I bought the bow, a 2004 Martin Mag Cat at Dicks Sporting Goods and was "fitted" for it by the staff. The guy who fitted me seemed to be very knowledgable. The arrows he suggested were an 8 pack of Carbon Rebel 6075. They are 32" long!! See attached photo (any suggestions regarding my form would be appreciated too!)

I had my wife mark a damaged arrow with a silver sharpie at the front of the riser at full draw....naturally it measured out at 27". What should I have the arrows trimmed at? 27" or 28"?

Here's the attachment....was WAY too big on the first attempt.

My advice would be to try a few cut 1" past the far side of the riser at full draw. It will increase your speed and give a little extra safety for broadheads. Check out the FOC on the first one you cut, you may want to adjust the length and or tip weight.

Yes you need to shorten those babies up. One inch past the arrow rest is where I cut mine. Looks like you could loose almost 8 inches.

Not including the field point, there is right at 6 ¼ inches to the front of the riser. If I go with the suggestion of 1" past the riser, that would have me trimming them down by 5 ¼ inches.

I have one arrow that has damaged fletchings. I will cut it and check the FOC.

Any input towards my form?

Those arrows are way too long.I agree with MOTOWNHONKEY.1" past the arrow rest,unless your cut out isn't big enough then you go with 1" past the riser,but that's a newer bow,and you should have a large cut out.Honestly I don't see anything that stands out with your form.Looks fine to me.Good luck!!

Welcome to the forum. You'll find a lot of useful tidbits here.
Is your wrist sling putting pressure on your bow hand? If so, you might want to loosen that puppy up. Otherwise, it will put unwanted torque on your bow.
Good Luck.

Thanks ranch. One thing I should point out about my form has to do with the "bow" in my left arm. I cannot lock out the arm. Broke the radius bone in high school football. That is as straight as it gets. I wasn't sure if that would cause a problem with my form. The biggest setback I notice is it limits me on my maximum draw weight. I can only draw it back to around 68lbs before my left elbow wants to fold up on me.

I didn't think about that. Here's another shot from the other side.

Wow a sporting goods store finally set someone up properly! Its a miracle!!!

The bent elbow is actually what you want. Yours is bent more than usual, but its just fine.

I like to cut my arrows to be even with the front of the riser, but you could cut yours down to about1" infront of the rest. Or 1" in front of the riser....its really your preference. Just make sure you have a shop do it with a highspeed cutter. Carbon arrows cant be cut ANY other way.

The only form thing I can recommend to you is to relax the bow hand...it isnt gripping the bow, but it looks like your fingers are tense...(maybe they arent, but they look like it to me). You want every muscle in your body relaxed, especially your; face, hands andarms. Back muscles are the only ones that should have tension.

Looks like you are on the path to success already. Good luck and have fun with it----Matt