Longest Bow You've Hunted With?

[SLIMBOB]

That's certainly part of it.  Small differences in my form that make little difference on the longer bows wreak havoc on my consistency with my shorties.  Again it's my consistency from shot to shot.  Some of my longer bows I can pick up and shoot well first rattle out of the box.  With my shorter ones I will have to get settled in on them first.  I'm just much more confident with my shot placement with my longer bows.

That looks sweet btw.

[bradsmith2010]

in a real life hunting situation, the difference in performance in a long bow or a well made short bow,, would probably not be noticed by the well hit game animal,, both long and short fair well in the hands of a good archer,, I thinks its a matter of personal preference,, I have shot and enjoyed both in hunting situations,, which ever one I practice with the most is most likely the best bow to take,,

[LittleBen]

I've shot up to 64" or so from a blind, and maybe 62" from a tree stand ... Not that I think those are limits, that's just what I happened to have on those days. I am only 62" tall ... So I don't think a longer bow is a problem. I wouldn't go much taller than your own height just because it starts to get cumbersome, but anything up to your own height or a bit more should be no problem.

Last few years I've been hunting with a 62" longbow and a 58" recurve. Don't notice a ton of difference from a tree stand. When I build a new bow for hunting I will probably go 54-56" just because it's a lot easier from a pop-up blind. 64" is the absolute max that fits my particular blind, and every inch shorter is a half inch more clearance from the ground and the roof ....

The main thing is find is I have to take the bow into the stand before hunting and make sure I have no clearance issues with branches etc.

[loon]

I think I read Howard Hill said he couldn't do snap shooting as well with recurves... and shorter bows, maybe? But there are archers who are deadly accurate (for me) with 44" Turkish bows. Whatever works.

[SLIMBOB]

Your right about Howard Hill.  He, if memory serves, drug a 6 foot bow with him across the continent as he felt he was not accurate enough with a shorter bow.  I'm with HH on that.  Also realize that the Olympic shooters carry a 45 inch or longer bow with a 3 pound weight as the shorter bows are more finicky to shoot.  Yes, with practice you can shoot any well made bow accurately I recon, and it does come down to preference.  I'm just more confident about my ability with the longish ones.  I envy those that can snap shoot the little shorties so accurately.

[Pappy]

I usually make my Hunting bows in the 62/64 range but have hunted with longer. Del the Cat gifted me one of his Long Bows and I think it is in the 70 inch range and I hunted with it, successfully by the way  with no issues, as PatB said just a little care in the stand area to be sure what you can and can't do and they will work fine. 
 Pappy

[Dictionary]

Yeah I also wish I had the skill to shoot a shorty well. But they are harder to make and harder to shoot. I think I'll stick to what most of the rest of the world did aside from the Natives and make a bow that is man tall or taller. The Andaman, New Guinean, Amazonian, and some African Tribes all made bows close to a foot taller than the shooter. Many of them hunt in the densest tropics/jungles in the world and they made meat.

I made a thread like 4 years ago asking why the Natives decided to make such short bows when longer ones are easier to design, more durable, and more accurate. It's a difficult topic to understand. Many thought it was because of geographical location, but I think that doesn't make much sense when thinking about tropical tribes and their long bows in dense forests. I guess the shorter bows just worked so they stuck with it. I'd rather not though.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Its ALL relative to height and draw length of each archer. A 50" bow is short for some and just right for the next. Short bows relative to the archer do not shoot as well as a longer bow relative to the archer. As usual, accuracy is also relative to the archer and his or her expectations. I've witnessed it too many times over the years to think otherwise.

[bradsmith2010]

if you are shooting close range for game,, the short bow takes less  wood to make,, is not harder to design,, and is just as durable as any bow,, and just as accurate at close range hunting shots,, and easier to carry and easier to move in tight brush or off a horse,, those are just some of the reasons the short bow came into favor,,  if you have ever shot a shorter bow exclusively,, you will see how accurate you can become,, you are not at a disadvantage in any way,, I will agree,, the longer short bows are easier for me to shoot,, something I can draw 24 to 27 inches,,, lots of Ishi's bows were 50 ish,,, there is  a reason for that,, long enough to have a smooth draw and power stroke,,,, short enough to have some of the advantages of the shorter bow,,,, yes if you are target shooting then the longer bows can put  you at an advantage,, the shorter bows can be an advantage for the close hunting shots,, but thats not a hard fast rule, like most things in archery,,, one of the key advantages I have experienced,is there is less game spooking movement in a short draw bow,, and a little easier for me to get the shot off,, when a split second can make the difference in getting  a shot at all,, when you are at 10 yards to a whitetail, you need all the advantage you can get to make the shot,,

[Stick Bender]

Honestly I realy don't notice the diference in accurase between my 62 in bows & my 66 in bow I think it boils down to what I feel confident with ,if my form is off with a short bow it's off with a long bow , I don't have any exsperience with short draw bows but once I can make one with out breaking it I would like to find out , as far as shortish native bows I always wondered if part of the reason was the bow was not always strung and was a lot easer to carry a short bow in a quiver while on horse back or hiking in thick brush sorry about the long winded reply but this is very interesting topic to me.

[Dictionary]

Brad,

Anyone who says a short bow is as easy to design as a longbow either hasn't made a longer bow or hasn't made a shorter one. Or they are a very gifted bowmaker. It takes much more patience, skill, and better wood selection to get 28 inches of draw out of a 50 something inch bow. The fact that short bows take less wood to make is only half true. Shorter bows typically need wider flatter limbs and should have a lower crown so a larger diameter tree needs to be cut and split out for it. A longbow can be made from a narrow stave or sapling and made quite quickly. And I need all the help I can get to put the arrow on target, and longer limbs definitely do that.

[cantshoot]

Our ancestors were quite a bit shorter than us though. Childhood nutrition has made us giants by comparison... Not hard to imagine that the people living in a fairly hard climate without modern technology were a bit shorter and carried shorter bows...

[PEARL DRUMS]

Brad your Ishi comment kind of falls in line with my last comment. Is a 50" bow considered short for a guy as short as Ishi was? I'm assuming he was a fuzz over 5' tall by looking at pics.

[Stick Bender]

Pearl The only problem I have with body size theory is that some american native groups used both short 50 ish bows & long bows 70 in  like in Jim Hamms book  not trying to be argumentive just curious  makes me wonder because not all of the 70 in bows were war bows .

[DC]

My theory.  The accuracy of a longer bow has to do with the stability of the longer limbs(I believe). I don't think it has anything to do with the height of the archer. Other than draw length the bow doesn't know how tall the archer is.