Marginal benefits of added length beyond 60 inches?

[Eric Garza]

I have a really nice hard maple stave that's getting close to dry. I plan on making a straight bow from it, probably a paddle bow or something between a paddle bow and a mollegabet. The stave is 69 inches, and while that's a bit too long for my tastes I'm considering making it as long as I am tall, which would be 67 inches.

For those who gravitate towards longer bows, I'm curious if you see any benefit to added length beyond 60 inches. In other words, can you notice any benefits of a 67 inch straight bow over a 65 inch straight bow, and if so, what are those benefits? Or of a 65 inch bow compared to a 63 incher, or 63 over 60?

Most of the bows I've made have been on the shorter side, 60 inches or less, so a 67 incher would be a new adventure for me and I want to get a sense from others with more experience whether the added length would add value.

Thanks for your replies.

[jeffp51]

if you are looking to get 30" of draw or more plus an 8" handle/fade allowance, then 68"-69" is not too long at all. if the wood is not the highest quality, then you need the length for that too.

[Del the cat]

If you want to skewer armoured knights with 1/4# arrow at over 200 yards then 6'6" isn't unreasonable 
I find 70" is nice for a smooth ELB.
Del

[Morgan]

if you are looking to get 30" of draw or more plus an 8" handle/fade allowance, then 68"-69" is not too long at all. if the wood is not the highest quality, then you need the length for that too.

I like 62-64” for a flat bow with limbs in the 1 1/2” wide range. Without tweaking,  You can get a fd of 28” without stacking and without much added mass in the limbs. I’ve made two that were 70 and 72” respectively. Both were just over 1 1/2 in width and were sluggish. If I trusted the wood enough to narrow to 1 3/8 or 1 1/4 ti would’ve helped with cast. My opinion is that with a given width, draw length, and weight, the point where it doesn’t stack is the most efficient in terms of wasted mass.

[bushboy]

i thin it,s more of a longevity thing,but i seldom shoot them over 1000 times anymore because im building new ones,casing the dream.lol

[Pat B]

Eric, when done I think you'll find a smoother drawing bow with more stability and accuracy.

[bradsmith2010]

what Pat said,, I shoot and make shorter bows, but mainly for hunting,, but stability and smooth draw comes with the longer bow,, just harder to shoot it out of a brush blind,,
yes I can tell the difference,, 

[Eric Garza]

Thanks folks!

[Pat B]

Let us know what you think when you're done, Eric.

[bradsmith2010]

   ok I want to add to this,, when I first started making short bows bout 20 years ago, I wanted to belive there were just as accurate as longer bow, and I guess in a way they are, if you put them on a shooting machine they would probably do pretty good, but they seem to be a bit more sensative to the shooters form,, if you dont hold and release just right the arrow may be a bit off,,or more off than the longer bow,, just a bit more difficult to shoot every arrow consistantly,,,
    when I shot and hunted with them exclusively I could shoot a pretty tight group at 30 yards and felt they were accurate,,and still do feel they are accurate at close range hunting ,,,
     now I dont shoot them so much, when I take one to the mountain and shoot 40 or 50 yards I am just not as consistant as with a longer bow,,
     when I have been shooting a long bow ,, and take out a shorter bow it takes a while to get consistant with it,,I can do it,, but its a bit more work and takes more practice I think,,
     its not a huge difference at close range,, but the further you are shooting you start to see the difference and after shooting both types of bows for along time,, if you wanted me to shoot a target 50 yards I am gonna  shoot my longer bow that I can hit an anchor with,, I love shooting all bows,, I am not saying one is better,,, but there is a difference in how they shoot,,
 

[JW_Halverson]

Pappy has a yew longbow made by Del the Cat. I had the great honor of throwing three arrows through that bow at Pappy's place once upon a time.  I picked the big target at 30 yards and cast all three arrows lickety split.  First and only three arrows I ever shot through the bow and all were in a six inch group.  Blind hogs and acorns aside, I shoot far more consistently with a longer bow. 

[Eric Garza]

Fair enough. I think y'all have convinced me to turn this stave into a 67 inch bow. To be continued...

[PEARL DRUMS]

Bow length is based off your draw. A 67" bow wouldn't be the best for a 25" draw, but it would be sparkling for a 28" draw.

[Badger]

       Lots of advantages to a longer bow especially talking wood. FDC is always better and this makes the anchor point slightly less forgiving, they are also less prone to set when building them. I have always liked short bows but I can't shoot them nearly as well as I do longer bows.

[Eric Garza]

Steve, what do you mean when you say a longer bow makes the anchor point slightly less forgiving? I'm not sure what that means.