# Draw Length



## cgray (Sep 21, 2012)

So i measure my wing span and divide by 2.5 and get 28.8.

My old bow was 29", but i used fingers with it back in the olden days.

Now that i use a back tension release and d-loop 29" feels a touch long. The string also hits my arm a lot. When i was shooting the same bow with a finger release i never hit my arm for some reason. As soon as i switched to back tension release i started hitting my arm a lot.

I am thinking about going to 28.5" draw length to try it.

My Question is, is it better to go a touch long or a touch sort on the draw length?

Thanks!
Chad


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

The wingspan method is just a general place to start. Several factors can throw it off by as much as an inch.

To get closer, there are a number of ways to fine tune your draw length:

From George Ryals (GRIV) - watch the float of your pin while aiming. Make very small adjustments until you find optimum. You won't ever stop your pin, but you should be able to reduce it significantly. Of course overall form makes a difference with this technique (and all of the others too)

From Tom Dorigati (field14) - draw, aim, close your eyes and execute the shot - if your arrows are not centered on the target either change your stance or change your DL. If your DL and stance are perfect, you should be able to shoot a 25 on the NFAA 5 spot with your eyes closed. From personal experience, this actually works.

From Larry Wise - shoot the longest distance that you can hold reasonable groups. Micro adjust DL to center the groups on the X

From Nuts & Bolts - hang a string on your target. Shoot a fletched arrow at the string from close range (5 to 10 feet). Adjust your sights until you are splitting the string. Then step back 15 to 20 feet, and shoot a bare shaft at the string. If the bare shaft hits the string, you are good. If not adjust your DL. The complication with this one is that tuning can affect your results, so you should go through his bare shaft tuning proceedures before you try this.

From Mike Cooper (JAVI) Adjust your DL so that the nock of your arrow at full draw is directly below your aiming eye. He also recommends that your DL be adjusted so that the string angle at full draw is about 44 to 45 degrees from the vertical. This part can be a problem since most (all?) of us don't have bows with adjustable ATA. And obviously, this won't work with short ATA bows.

The great tournement archer from a few years back, Terry Ragsdale is quoted as saying that he spent more time on getting the DL of a bow right than he did on all other tuning combined. I don't know what process he used, but it seemed to work for him.

There is more to it than just getting your bow adjusted to XX". Peep height, holding weight, stabilization, and a few other things play a part in optimal bow set up. And of course the most difficult thing to get adjusted right, is your form and your head. Absolutely perfect bow setup won't help you much if you aren't doing it right. But it is a good start.

Hope this helps,
Allen


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## cgray (Sep 21, 2012)

Thanks Allen! I am currently reading Tom Dorigati's book and i will try the closed eyes method when i get a chance.

I picked up a 28.5 cam so i can try it if 29 still feels too long.

Chad


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## da white shoe (Mar 10, 2009)

Wow! It never ceases to amaze me... Allen is about as thorough and complete with his answers as he could be! :thumbs_up


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## subconsciously (Aug 22, 2009)

Good job Allen...

I usually start with the draw a little long and shorten until I get a stable sight picture along with proper alignment. Start with your feet. Your stance also changes your draw. Find what you need to shoot - open-closed-even. It is only a small amount, but thats what we are discussing, getting it on the gnats a**. 

Personally I would like to see an archer shoot a little short than a little long, but more over you should be looking for alignment.


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## cgray (Sep 21, 2012)

My brother took these cool shots and shared them with me today. This is my 25year old Bear Whitetail II that i got when i was a in High School. It is 29" draw length.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/116167170049307664551/albums/5811053052961224577

I am building a Mathews Apex 7 right now so it's 29" will probably not be the same as this bow, but how does the draw length look on my old 25 year old bow?

Comments on form? Some of the shots I was shooting 40 and 50 yards for the first time so I was not concentrating on form as much as i should have.

Thanks!
Chad


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

I recommend that you find a good coach to work with. You've got a lot going for you, but some of the basics are missing. Not every archer can shoot their absolute best with "classic form", but every archer can benefit from learning it and then finding what is optimal for them. 

Often the DL that works on one bow doesn't work as well on another. In my experience Mathews tend to be longer than you would expect from the cam charts. On my old Icon, I have to use a cam that's a full inch shorter than the DL that it actually measures.

Have you actually measured the DL on the Whitetail? In every case where I've measured the DL on a bow, it's different than what's marked on the limbs. Some a little, some as much as 1 1/2" off.

Don't base the draw length that you set your bow on what feels comfortable. Comfort comes from repetition. Look for alignment and back muscle engagement. You want a straight line from the target through both hands to your draw side elbow. at full draw, you also want to be able to relax your shoulder top & bicep muscles and hold the weight of the draw with your back muscles. 

There is a lot to this and it's impossible to do a good job of coaching over the internet. A lot of it depends on what you want out of archery. Do you just plan to hunt a couple of times a year or do you want to become a champion tournement archer? Or something in between? In any case a good coach will help you achieve your goals and get a lot more enjoyment out of it. 

JMHO,
Allen


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## cgray (Sep 21, 2012)

Good point on the comfort Allen. I will measure the Whitetail and start the Apex 7 at that draw length or a little shorter.

My long term goal is to enter tournaments and be competitive.

My daughter got me back into this hobby and when i started shooting again i forgot how much i enjoyed it.

Thanks for all the wisdom! 
Chad


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## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

:shade: i see this a lot here the local bow shops use the wingspan method here. 90 % of the bows i see that come from them do NOT fit most are too long. they dont take the extra time to get it right. most say it leads to a shooting lesson wich takes up to much time.... so they get it close...ONE MUST REMEMBER NO 2 PEOPLE ARE BUILT THE SAME HAND SIZE NECK, FINGERS ARMS ETC ..the things i hear are they told me my DL. was 30 inches, i tell them they are sales men not coaches. the other issue are like allen touched on are bows are not the same. a 30 incher from one co. will be different from another bow maker I THINK IS VERY MISS LEADING,[ THEY CHEAT THE IBO] JUST LIKE THE STRING AND CABLE LG .AND.THAT LITTLE STICKER THAT ARE PUT ON SOME BOWS .I HAVE TAKEN NEW BOWS APART NEVER SHOT MEASURED THE STRING. AND COMPARED IT TO THE STICKER AND HOLY COW.......so you wear out a string you order a string and you have PROBLEMS...... I THINK THE DL. AND PEEP MUST BE PERFECT............FIT TO THE SHOOTER


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## da white shoe (Mar 10, 2009)

Mike is right on all points. ^^^
It takes a lot of trial and error to get the draw length perfect, but it is worth the effort.
The problem is, it could be pretty tough for a starting archer to know what "perfect" should feel like. 
I could see it taking months for a new shooter to to find the correct draw length.
When your sight pins are the most steady at full draw... you're there.


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