Man-height longbows? (Pics Added)

[organic_archer]

Was hoping the wise panel of bowyers could share thoughts on man-height longbows. I’ve been building and hunting with two designs exclusively for the last 10 years or so :

The “classic” 64-68 inch flat-limbed selfbow…
and 48” bendy handle shorties.

I was in the woods last week daydreaming about carrying a longbow as tall as I am. (6’1 - 27” draw). It was inspired by an old article I saw on here called “Longbows were given their name for a reason”. I know 72-73” is quite overbuilt for a 27” draw by modern selfbow standards, but can’t help trying it out. 
I’ve built 70+ inch bows for customers and they shoot like a dream.

What do you think? Anyone hunt with one fairly regularly?

Edit : Not sure what happened to my original post. Got on to check responses today and it was gone!

[Badger]

      Nothing wrong with a 72" bow for a 27" draw. It will keep the stresses and set down to a minimum if you take advantage of the length. Some of my favorite target bows have been 72" long for my 26" draw.

[bradsmith2010]

I have hunted with bows 70 plus,, they shoot very nice,,,
I find a shorter bow a bit more managable in hunting situations,, but one of my favorite hunts I killed a nice buck with a 70 inch black locust bow,, heart shot,, so I cant say anything negative about the longer bows,, won a belt buckle at Texas Longbow shoot with same bow,, ok sorry you got me bragging,,

[Del the cat]

LOL !
being a Brit we are used to longbows... real longbows, English longbows (ELB).
Some of the Warbows I've made are over 80", admittedly they were for warfare not hunting, but the classic ELB design is very smooth shooting. Probably a bit inconvenient when shooting from a blind.
I did notice that over the pond you guys tend to shoot with a shorter draw, so a man height bow probably isn't necessary.
Del

[Morgan]

I think it depends on your hunting scenarios. If you are used to hunting with a 68” bow, a 72” wouldn’t be too much of a change. If you are hunting from the ground, I think it would be prudent to practice in multiple positions, so that you can know where your limbs are by instinct. It would be terrible to have a good shot and misjudge limb tip position due to the added couple inches you aren’t used to having out there. Clay Hayes has a video where that exact thing happened and his limb tip smacked a rock or tree on release because of an awkward shooting position, I can see this amplified if you are using a much longer bow than you are used to. Everyone has their own preferences, and preferences evolve and change. I have never liked a very long bow, I prefer to tiller short bows 58/60” long , and prefer to shoot 64-66” long bows.
 You are very good at making bows, so you should make a couple and spend a fair amount of time stump shooting with them in your normal hunting conditions and that will tell you if the added length is ok for your needs or a handicap.

[StickMark]

Even though I agree with the statements about smoothness, I find myself with shorter bows in hunting.  I think my use of 55"-63" bows arises partially from the lack of tall trees where I hunt. Like Africa, Arizona is broken up trees, grass, thorns, etc... A longer limb just hangs up more. Took one like that, about 68", to Missouri, and could not make it work. I carried a 65" during a rifle tag hunt, and it wasn't bad. But I cut it down to 63", as the limbs were too slow for my draw, and it is now more maneuverable. However, my brother made a man tall hickory bow, pulling 60#, and it is a dream to shoot. Smooth.

Organic, how long was your bow you took on Alone?

[GlisGlis]

Otzi the iceman was 1,6 m high
his bow was 1,8 m
the only drawback i see is to move it in thick brush

[organic_archer]

Thanks for the insights so far gentlemen!

Del - I’d go real long if it was gonna be 100+ pounds like you guys over there like ‘em! 

Morgan - had a 68” bow smack a tip on a rock once as well, but a guy pays extra attention after it happens once.

Mark - my bow on Alone was a 68” hackberry.

Glis - the Otzi bow was another inspiration for making one!

[Gimlis Ghost]

Seems like longer bows used by primitive people are more intended for war or against large bodied game that could be very dangerous if wounded.
Ishi recounted the use of long range volley fire against western grizzley that threatened a camp or village. He didn't say the arrows were deadly on such a monster but it did drive them off.

A find of stone age all fire hardened wood spears in the UK revealed them to look much like a very roughly cut bow stave , tapered on each limb. I suspect the idea of whittling these spear/staves down into bowstaves was a natural progression.
In making the spears they would have noticed which trees had springy tough wood and could bend rather than break.

Probably the most interesting of ancient war bows  , of unknown origin, is the spike tipped bow found in a pit filled with Norse war trophies . A very long bow with a long slim tapered socketed iron spike at one end.
There was a method of holding the string close to the stave out of the way when unbraced.
Such a hefty contraption could have served multiple purposes, a walking staff good for icy conditions, a spear for fishing or useful as a javelin when the owner ran out of arrows or broke a string, a secondary defensive weapon if rushed before he could reach for a fresh arrow, etc.
The Spartans and others used spikes like this on the butt of a thrusting spear to quickly dispatch a wounded enemy by driving it into his skull.
I suppose one might even  use such a spiked long bow as impromptu tent pole for an emergency shelter if caught in a blizzard.

[Hamish]

Nice work. Bow looks great.

[bownarra]

Tiller your 'too long' bow elliptically. It will then perform very similar to an 'optimal length' bow.

[Stixnstones]

Great lookin bow

[George Tsoukalas]

Very nice tiller! Jawge

[Pappy]

Looks very good to me and bet it is a sweet shooter.
 Pappy

[BowEd]

That's about as perfect of an arch on a bow as you can get.Nice work.