can i ask a dumb question?

[anasazi]

I am still a little new at this but where do you all measure your draw length from? Some people have told me its from the back of the bow others say from the belly i have been thinking it would be from where the webbing between thumb and for finger are since that distance doesn't change from bow to  bow what's your thought.

[ionicmuffin]

somewhere on the hand would make sense now wouldn't it? so i guess the webbing or even the knuckle would work. GL

[Weylin]

My understanding is that you measure from the back of the bow to the inside of the arrow nock. I was taught to measure by putting a clothes pin on an arrow and drawing the bow so that the arrow bumps into the back of the bow and slides down the arrow as you draw. When you take the arrow off you can measure from the clothes pin to the arrow nock.

[1Brotherbill]

This may be a dumb answer to the dumb question.  But I would measure to the back of the bow.  If it is anything shorter and you might have a tough time shooting arrows with broadheads on them. 

[anasazi]

Thanks i was wondering where others  measured from. I never could find a answer any where

[M-P]

Howdy, My first thought was 'Yeah, silly question".   But, it would be nice to know we were all  talking about the same thing.  I believe the official AMO definition is from the center, or balance point, of the arrow shelf to the string, plus 1 3/4 inch for the arrow head.     I  find the whole 1 3/4" business a little confusing though.   I guess it makes sense if the draw length is referring more to the length of the arrow being drawn, than to the distance the string is drawn. 
Since I don't put risers or shelves on my bows I usually just measure from the back of the bow and forget about the 1 3/4'.  I figure that's pretty close to where the arrow rests on my knuckle.   Ron

[anasazi]

If you measure from the back of the bow doesn't that change your draw length a little with every bow. I have a composite recurve  that is quite a bit deeper in the handle than my flat bow and a short bow that is thinner in the handle still. Just asking

[driftingrz]

This has confused me. But i remember reading that it was from string to deepest part of handle plus the 1-3/4 or 1.5 similar to what m-p said. It made marking my tiller tree a little confusing

[Del the cat]

Back of bow.
Brace height is to belly, which is maybe where the confusion arrises.
Del

[blackhawk]

Yes from back of bow to throat of arrow nock.

And yes your draw length can vary an inch or two depending on handle style/thickness. With a thin bendy handle I pull 27",and at the other extreme with a deep narrow stiff handle I can get 29"+.

[anasazi]

So i take it you have a 28" draw blackhawk

[blackhawk]

So i take it you have a 28" draw blackhawk

On average yes,and that is pretty much my "true" draw with a selfbow in hunting n target shooting...but like I said it can vary depending on style and design of the bow. With a deep pistol grip glass bow(sorry for swearing guys) I pull 29"+. I have "short" draw short bows for up close n personal thick brush hunting situations that only draw 24". And I have a bow I made for distance shootin in a field that I pull 32",and a yew elb warbow that goes to 31". It all depends on the bow n what its intended for.

I see many people draw much shorter than what they really say. Either make some inch marks on an arrow and go out n shoot it with another person watching and just try to draw n shoot as you normally do at a target. Or you can do the clothes pin trick too. But I like makin marks n having someone watch me shoot cus this way your actually releasing the arrow.

[anasazi]

Hey thanks every one for your help that clarifys a lot thanks again

[Bryce]

your wingspan in inches then divide by 2.5

-Pinecone

[JW_Halverson]

your wingspan in inches then divide by 2.5

-Pinecone

Wow, I must have a messed up draw because I should have a 28.8" draw under that method, but only draw 26.   

It's all a rule of thumb until you start pulling back an arrow on a specific bow.  I shoot 24" arrows out of my little horsebows (partly because of their length and partly because once I hit about 60#'s of draw I can't horse it back any further), and then I shoot 31" arrows from the nearly 6 ft long longbow Ken75 sent me (I'm getting about 27" plus a little extra with that bow). 

If you can find a 6 ft sapling, make yourself a really light bow from it and find a draw style that feels "right" and measure that.  Good luck!