Question on short reflex deflex bows

[Eric Garza]

I finished my first deflex-reflex self bow the other day. It was made of hickory and is 67 inches tip to tip. It draws 50 pounds at 25 inches (I use a floating anchor, so have no need for the bow to draw a full 28 inches), and does not feel that heavy at full draw. It turned out okay, though there are many things I will do differently when I tackle my second d-r bow.

With that in mind, I am curious if the d-r design adapts well to shorter self bows. I recall that Marc St Louis posted years ago about a short bamboo-backed yew d-r bow that he felt did not perform all that well. Any other data points out there? By short, I am thinking in the 50-60 inch range. My next project will probably be a 55 inch bow, and I might invest the time to make it a deflex-reflex if it seems like the performance benefits hold at that short length.

[bradsmith2010]

I enjoy just straight reflex,, maybe I am lazy and its a bit easier to make,, and shoots fine for me,,even in the shorter 50 inch versions,,sinew backed,, Im sure the reflex deflex would be great, I dont think there would be alot of difference in performance cast wise,, but others that make that design can chime in,,

[willie]

Brad,
is there a case to be made for deflex in the design to help get a decent brace height with a 55" reflexed hickory bow?

[bradsmith2010]

 im sure there is, and feel like I have read that, I just dont have experience with it,,or  have not tested that design,,the brace height has never been an issue for me,,and I love to shoot short bows
  I remember DC posted some graphs that showed string angle on rd  ,, and there was a good discussion on that thread,,

[DC]

I just finished a 52" RD that is about 35#@25". I think it was 187@10gpp. I used the same caul I use for the 66" bows, I just slid it out to the end. I think all the R cancelled out most of the D. Think the short ones need their own caul. I'm going to do some comparison testing with short drawing my 50#@28" bow this afternoon. I'll post the results.
Sorry for the blurry pic but you can see the shape.

[bradsmith2010]

that seems very effecient for the 25 inch draw,, I remember a full draw curve you did with the longer bow, and I think it was like 175 for 24 or 25 inch draw,,since the bow was not designed for that draw I thought it was great,, I think that bow went to 200 fps with the 28 inch draw

[DC]

I'm thinking that the little bow should be faster up to a point as it has a lot lighter limbs. We'll see.

[bradsmith2010]

I love the profile of the little bow, very graceful,,

[willie]

im sure there is, and feel like I have read that,

yes, I spoke a bit soon, sorry. Trying to do too many things at once today. and follow along. guessing my concern would matter if we knew a bit more.

Eric, what brace height and drawlength are you shooting for?

[DC]

Well so much for that. It was fine the other day and I did a little sanding(very little) and today one limb is way weak. Boy these things can be finicky. A weeks work and then one scrape too much and they're toast. I'll glue a splint on it just to see what could have been. Sorry no tests.

[willie]

 

[Eric Garza]

Eric, what brace height and drawlength are you shooting for?

I typically use a brace height of about 5 inches, and my draw length is 24-25 inches, depending on shooting position.

The bow DC showed looks sweet. I do not think I would try for that much reflex, but the idea of a 52-inch D-R bow intrigues me. That one looks like a laminate. Mine would be a self bow, probably made from either HHB or Osage.

[DC]

Yes it's Boo backed Yew. I've had difficulty getting selfbows to hold enough reflex for the speeds that I'm after.

[bradsmith2010]

yes they are tricky,,

[Eric Garza]

Yes it's Boo backed Yew. I've had difficulty getting selfbows to hold enough reflex for the speeds that I'm after.

That is good to know.