Brace Height Decrease-Will it mess me up?
 

How do I know if I'm "ready" to get a bow with a smaller brace height? My current bow has an EXTREMELY forgiving 8.5"...I'm looking at a couple bows that have either 6", 7" or 7.75"...Obviously the smaller the brace the faster the bow.

I shoot very consistently now but I'd like a little more speed and a new bow...will this REALLY mess me up or will my form just get more fine-tuned and eventually make me a better archer?

In my opinion, the bh one can handle depends on more than just the actual number of inches in bh itself...

First of all, what bow are you coming from? And what bows are you looking at?

If your currently shooting say a bowtech general which has an 8+" bh then you will likely not notice a whole lot of difference. On the other hand, if you are coming from a longer axle to axle bow with a more neutral, or deflexed riser, you will definately notice that the bow is harder to shoot.

A short brace height bow can absolutely be shot. They just make you work a bit harder to keep em in the bullseye. There are also other geometry factors that make a bow forgiving though, so dont put all of your eggs in the bh basket;)

If you think you are doing pretty well, I say go for it man... The worst thing that will happen is that you will realize its not for you, and you can go back to something with a bit more... The only way to learn and find out though is trial and error imho...

BTW, I've owned bows with anywhere from 5.5"bh(pse omen) to a 8 5/8"bh(hoyt pro-elite)

The omen certainly made me work harder, but I could shoot it well enough to do what I wanted with that particular bow, which was kill deer.

I'm coming from a Bear Light's Out... And I am looking into the Elite line and trying to figure out which bow would best suit my needs. I'm thinking the Z28 sounds pretty good but I'm not 100% sure yet.

The z28 is an awesome feeling bow!!!

I just switched from a 7" brace height to a 6" brace height bow and really don't see a difference. Just shoot the bow you choose a lot before you buy it if you are concerned. Elites are very nice and I nearly chose Elite myself.

For a hunting bow I try to keep a BH of at least 7"

While shorter BH (faster) bows can be shot...and shot well, it takes more work to make that shot happen consistently. That extra work or time lining up the shot is not always a luxury you have in a hunting situation.

If you shoot the bow enuff you get used to it . I just got a axe 6 and waas blown away with how it drew and held and shot , before i got the axe 6 i was shooting a Bowmadness that i still own wth 7 inch BH . Good Luck

so let me see if I am understanding this right, a larger brace height and a longer axel to axel the easier it is to shot and keep sighted in. as apposed to more perfect form due to a smaller brace and axel ?

yeah...the brace height really explains how long the arrow is on the string...the longer it's on the string the more time you have to mess it up and the more bad form will mess it up. The A to A distance just makes it more stable, think short stabilizer vs long stabilizer...or a tightrope walker using a long pole to keep their balance...the longer the a to a the more stabile it'll be and less prone to drifting or swinging....in theory! Some bows are naturally more forgiving or stabile though which is why test shooting many bows is so important.