Why so short?

[Irontom]

Most of the selfbows I've read about on here seem to have draws 28" or less.  Is there a special reason other than not many people having draws over 28"?

Several threads on here state not to draw past what the bow is tillered for.  I understand that could be damaging.  Given that, wouldn't it be prudent to tiller a bow to around 31-32" as long as the desired draw weight can be met?  Is that already the common practice and everyone just states the poundage at the desired draw length, instead of what the bow has been tillered out to?

I could go on but already feel like I'm over-analyzing...help a newbie out! 

[walkabout]

the reason is because most people draw around 28", and it is a good standard at which to measure by. almost all production bows aside from kids bows are done in this manner too. for draw lengths over this, one would have to essentially build to that draw length, as draw weight changes when a bow is drawn past what it is tillered to. stacking also comes into play after a certain length, which is another reason to build to draw length rather than to build a bow that is universal.

[profsaffel]

Unless you are 6'6", why would you want a 31" draw? Just curious. Of course, the answer could very well be that you are 6'4" - 6'10" or whatever. 

I have the opposite problem. Most bows are about 28", while my full draw is only about 25".

[Irontom]

I didn't have a full understanding of the relationship between draw length and draw weight...

I'm still new to archery as a whole, let alone bow making.  Best as I can measure, it seems my draw length is around 30-31 and I'm 5'10".   Maybe I'm using bad form for shooting?  Working on a board bow, so hopefully I'll have all this figured out in another week or so 

[sailordad]

if your 5' 10" then your as tall ias i am
my draw is 26" for the most part
i do have a couple of bows idraw 28",they are lighter weight and for target
my hunting bows are 26" draw,a little heavier weight and i dont like the string sliding across my cheek when i am hunting
in a hunting situation i find i loose a little accuracy with that action of the string sliding across my cheek
my wheelie bow i draw 29",when i blow the dut off of it and shoot it 

[ken75]

iron im 5 10  and i have ape arms and only draw 28 inches, maybe your not sure of how to measure try the yard stick centered on your chest arms streched out measure to your finger tips should be around 26 to 28 .

[toomanyknots]

I'm about 5,5. 28 Inch for me is almost a warbow draw for me, lol. Although 28 inches ends up around my ear somewhere, it still feels natural as my shoulder locks and I can aim without struggling to hold my draw. You have to be drawing way past your ear.

[Irontom]

Sailordad; That sounds pretty close.  29" would just barely have my hand grazing my cheek.  26" would put the nock on the tip of my nose almost.  Do you use anchors at all while your hunting, or is that just a target shooting thing?

Like I said, still new to archery and hunting too for that matter.  All I have right now is the old kids bow from about 20 years ago, lol.  Got fed up after a few days of really bad shooting.  Things might of been different if I had been able to get some instruction some where... Thank goodness for the internet!  

Ken; Measuring from the center of my chest to the tip of my fingers open handed is 34-35" depending on which finger ya use  Thats with a measuring tape, don't have a yard stick right handy.  That shouldn't make any difference though.

Toomany; Holding the measuring tape in my hand like the bow and pulling back to the ear is 31" for me...

[ken75]

iron mine is too if measured out to the side i meant center of chest and striaght out in front of you place both hands together on the tape. the other thing is most of us pull to corner of the mouth or just under the eye for apache style (three fingers under the arrow). back to the ear or behind the head is more of a warbow thing.

[Pat B]

The farther you draw a wood bow the more you stress the wood. The stress limits of wood, compression and tension,are way less than man made materials. Ideally you only want to stress a wood bow as far as you draw or slightly less. I usually tiller to 28" for my 26" draw but my bows usually don't stay with me for too long. Someone else always ends up with them so I build them to accommodate a longer draw. There is no good reason to tiller a bow beyond it's ultimate draw length and enough bad ones not to do it. .

[profsaffel]

Iron, I draw to the corner of my mouth. If I was drawing to my ear, I'd add 2 or three inches to that, but that's just not 'normal' for self bow draws. In fact, half my bows are "short draw" native style bows that are pinch drawn, only 22 to 24 inches. Instead of anchoring as compound archers do, many self bow archers do 'instinctive shooting'. Read more about that if you are interested.

[Irontom]

Looks like were on the same page then Ken.  Corner of the mouth ought to put me around 27".  

I happened to have one 31" arrow tip to nock.  Just for fun I set it on an imaginary bow and drew it to my ear. It barely stays on the base of my thumb.

I've seen a little about the instinctive shooting and figured that is probably what would come into play hunting.  As fas as the short draw, without anchors my consistency makes me crazy!  I'm pretty sure my arrows are spined wrong for the kids bow I have which doesn't help matters any.  It's all I got for now though.

Thanks for all the help!

[4est Trekker]

I happened to have one 31" arrow tip to nock.  Just for fun I set it on an imaginary bow and drew it to my ear. It barely stays on the base of my thumb.

Don't trust that type of measurement.  It's not accurate because when you're not actually drawing a bow, your arms, shoulders, etc. aren't bearing any load.  That is, your form will be compressed when drawing a bow.  Stretch your hands out in front of you along a yardstick placed against your sternum as Ken says.  That's a fairly good indicator, although not perfect.

[sailordad]

irontom:when i hunt i know i am at 26" when he knuckle of my thumb hits my lip
thats my anchor,but i only hold my anchor for a fraction of a second when hunting
target shooting is differant for me,i pull 28",lighter weight bow and hold my anchor for aboot 2 seconds or so

[AZWoodsman]

Hi all I figured this topic was a good one for my first post here.

I myself am a freak of nature. I am 6'3" tall but have gorilla arms cause most of my height is in my torso and wearing 30" pants I walk on them. I used the yardstick method that ken75 stated and I come up with 34" to my fingers. Most of my family is around 6'7" or more I am the runt. I have found most normal people are between 27-29" draw.

I got tired of shooting bows with too short of draw so I am working on making my own bows and arrows. It's very hard to find a shaft around 35" so I use poplar or oak dowels from Lowe's. Once I get my camera hooked up to my pc I will post a pic of my long set. My bow is a red oak board 80"  and the arrows are a full yard long. Bad part was I took too much off it and it came out 20#@34" although at the weight it's at you can shoot all day and never get tired.