# draw length



## mountbkr (Nov 14, 2005)

sluggo21 said:


> I just recently purchased Mathews Helium ,the archery shop measured me at a 29 inch draw . I had my friend measure my wings span and divided it came out to 28.8 and then measured by putting my fist on the wall and measured to the corner of the lip little short of 29 . Is it gonna be bad if I'm a little bit over on my draw length about a quarter inch off or should I go down to a 28 inch draw length


Post pictures of yourself aiming at a target, shoulder level and someone can better answer that for you.


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## treetops (May 17, 2011)

I have the same issue and shoot much more consistently at 28.5. I can shoot at 29 but the groups aren't nearly as tight.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

You haven't tried it yet by your reply, so it might be worse than you think if using a loop.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

it's generally better to be slightly short than slightly long on draw length and as "sonny" posts, the 28 sounds about right when you add a loop. something to consider....it always makes me somewhat suspicious of a shop when someone says, " the shop said i'm a 29" draw length".........29 inch bows are the most common size stocked!!!! and most shops have piles of them, ......especially if the bows have module type cams and the shop doesn't have the modules in stock....... . you honestly have to be pretty darn tall, to actually have a 29 inch draw length. they love to sell you a 29 inch bow and the two months later sell you a set of 28 inch modules because you, "decided I want a little shorter draw length".


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## bponb (Jul 28, 2003)

Adding a D loop doesn't change your draw length, just your anchor point. If you put the bow on a draw board prior to adding the D loop it will draw 29 inches. 
Add a D loop and it still draws 29 inches. You don't measure to the end of the D loop.


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## bponb (Jul 28, 2003)

If you do indeed go lower I would go to a 28.5" draw instead.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

*draw lengthEdit Post.*



bponb said:


> Adding a D loop doesn't change your draw length, just your anchor point. If you put the bow on a draw board prior to adding the D loop it will draw 29 inches.
> Add a D loop and it still draws 29 inches. You don't measure to the end of the D loop.


No, a loop doesn't change one's draw length or the draw length of the bow. You can have a loop 5 inches long and it still won't effect one's draw length or the draw length of the bow, BUT it sure effects overall draw length. I call a BIG BS to changing one's anchor point. If your anchor point is the best you use it, not try anchor behind your head. So something has to change and the only available it to shorten the draw length of the bow.

Draw length is detrimined by the bow at full draw and measuring from the apex of the string to the deepest part of the rise. The apex of the string would be that used by finger shooters and those using a index release. Okay, it the hook point. Where's the hook up point when a loop is added? Damned plain and simple is the way I see it.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

when you add a loop to your string, your anchor point should not change......the bow's drawlength with the loop should be adjusted to fit between your anchorpoint and bow hand.....ie your drawlength.


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## Sneezy (Dec 4, 2012)

wife and i are both tall people (i was 6'4 before i had two back surgeries now i am just a smidge over 6' and my wife is 6'1) and we both are pulling at 29" but we both shot d-loops and wonder if going down either 1/2" or 1" in actual bow DL is a good idea? i have been shooting a 28" chill with d-loop at the local shop but i am not sure if its short or not because i dont have my chill for reference. so i guess what does everyone think?


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## 48archer (Mar 19, 2009)

The 28in cam will more than likely draw 28.5, if that feels a little short for you take off the wooden grip that comes with the bow and try a Focus grip, with it being a little bit thinner than the wooden one it will make your draw feel a bit longer.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

bponb,
I don't realy care about the " bow's" drawlength. what I do care about is whether the bow, at full draw with the loop attached, fits....."MY"....drawlength. with my anchor where it should be, not where the bow 's drawlength dictates it should be.....that is adjustable, and that is why all the bow manufacturers make it adjustable.....I don't see the bow manufacturers creating people to fit their bows, but I do see them making bows to fit the people that are being created. ......everything has to fit between your anchor point and your bow hand, not the other way around.


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## 454casull (Jan 7, 2005)

ron w said:


> bponb,
> I don't realy care about the " bow's" drawlength. what I do care about is whether the bow, at full draw with the loop attached, fits....."MY"....drawlength. with my anchor where it should be, not where the bow 's drawlength dictates it should be.....that is adjustable, and that is why all the *bow manufacturers make it adjustable*.....I don't see the bow manufacturers creating people to fit their bows, but I do see them making bows to fit the people that are being created. ......everything has to fit between your anchor point and your bow hand, not the other way around.


Some, Mathews for sure, make draw length specific cams soooo not real adjustable unless you want to pay. You can tweak up or down but anything more than .375-.25" is a stretch.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

Mathews makes all of their bows as adjustable as all the others, they just do it in a different way. unfortunately, their way requires that you spend a little more money if you have the wrong draw length cam on your bow. it is also their philosophy to present to the consumer the best performance possible in a bow that fits their draw length. never the less, it is adjustable because the cams come in either full inch or half inch increments (on some bows), and string twisting will do the smaller adjustment, just the same as putting a different module on any other cam and then twisting the string for fine adjustment.
there are huge advantages to the way Mathews does it.....
with the typical "modular" style cam, changing modules to adjust draw length is always a compromise that effects the efficiency of the profile. with Mathews system, each cam's profile can be optimized by re-arranging the profile to best suit the draw length the cam is designed for, I tip my hat to Mathews for maintaining this conviction to deliver the best performance possible for every draw length offered.
I have no association with Mathews, and don't, or never did, own a Mathews bow, I just realize what they're doing.


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## Sneezy (Dec 4, 2012)

48archer said:


> The 28in cam will more than likely draw 28.5, if that feels a little short for you take off the wooden grip that comes with the bow and try a Focus grip, with it being a little bit thinner than the wooden one it will make your draw feel a bit longer.


i have a focus grip coming on my chill i was just saying i dont have a comparison on the chill at the shop since it is setup at 28" and im a 29" draw but i will have a chance to play around with it some. id hate to have to buy a new set of cams


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## Bow Me (Sep 30, 2010)

ron w said:


> Mathews makes all of their bows as adjustable as all the others, they just do it in a different way. unfortunately, their way requires that you spend a little more money if you have the wrong draw length cam on your bow. it is also their philosophy to present to the consumer the best performance possible in a bow that fits their draw length. never the less, it is adjustable because the cams come in either full inch or half inch increments (on some bows), and string twisting will do the smaller adjustment, just the same as putting a different module on any other cam and then twisting the string for fine adjustment.
> there are huge advantages to the way Mathews does it.....
> with the typical "modular" style cam, changing modules to adjust draw length is always a compromise that effects the efficiency of the profile. with Mathews system, each cam's profile can be optimized by re-arranging the profile to best suit the draw length the cam is designed for, I tip my hat to Mathews for maintaining this conviction to deliver the best performance possible for every draw length offered.
> I have no association with Mathews, and don't, or never did, own a Mathews bow, I just realize what they're doing.


But yet the bows are the same speed or slower than the "others", at all draw lengths. And they draw longer than most.


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## wrkdvr (Dec 12, 2012)

You might be amazed by just how much a half inch shorter feels. To me it made a world of difference holding it at full draw. .5" longer made it feel like I was reaching and fatigue sets in faster. Not to mention your accuracy will also suffer. When in doubt, go shorter.


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## Bowman87 (Dec 15, 2012)

My local mathews dealer sucks they sold me my z7 with a 291/2 cam an I kept having a lot of trouble with arrow flight an accuracy so after going there five times for help an them telling me it was all user error I went to an other pro shop that sold Hoyt an they measured my draw length at 28 inch an they seen the arrows my mathews shop sold me an said they where way over spined so they ordered me a cam an sold me the right spine arrows for my set up an now I'm shooting group that I would've never though possible my bow fills so much better at the right draw length I'd never though it would've made that much of a deference


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## bfisher (Nov 30, 2002)

Never, in my 40 years of shooting, have I seen another term such as "draw length" misused or misunderstood. Many guys come on a forum and and ask what they should shoot after making a statement such as "I have a 29" draw length". The truth is people do not have a draw length. They can be measured to suggest ABOUT what draw length would fit them, but it's not always a finite answer. Only through developing decent form and paying attention to body alignment and how steady a bow aims can one determine what their optimum draw length should be. A person that measures for say 29" might shoot best with a 28" or 28.5" setting on their bow, but rarely will they shoot their best with a bow that draws longer.

Add to this that few bows measure to what their cam or module setting (usually long). This is why it's important to have a bow physically measured to see if it in fact is what it's marked and if it's off adjust it accordingly.

Now we come to the addition of a string loop. While adding a loop to the string does not change the draw length of the bow it does change the alignment of the arms and shoulders, which is what is the most important thing to achieving the best accuracy. Most guys say it just changes your anchor point, which is true, but if the bow luckily happens to be spot-on or slightly long then the addition of the loop can stretch a person out too much. That's why a person who intends to shoot a loop should start with a bow set 1/2" to 1" shorter than he would while not shooting a loop.

Let me reiterate. Bows can be adjusted and set for a determined draw length. People do not have a draw length per se. Only a measurement that suggests what their draw length may be. Only through trial and error (shooting) can they determine what their optimum draw length should be. Once this is done then measure the draw length of the bow to see what it is for future reference while realizing this can change from bow to bow.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

well said. people ask me what's my draw length?.... I hold my bow hand out and put my draw hand to my face at MY anchor point, as if i'm shooting a bow and say, " I don't know, but the bow has to fit between here and there". the only importance to draw length "numbers", as far as the bow is concerned, is that the bow has a "number" that will fit the shooter's draw length. that is not adjustable, the bow is. the bow does exactly the same thing, regardless of it's draw length, a person does not and small differences in a person's draw length makes huge differences in how they shoot. you have to think in terms the bow fitting the shooter, not the shooter fitting the bow.....one is adjustable, one is not.


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## BTM (Dec 31, 2002)

Plus you need to consider the release you're using. Some have the jaws/hooks hanging way out in front of the trigger. Others (like the Winn glove) have a hook close to the trigger, which gives you a longer power stroke.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

I consider the release,..."part of the shooter"..., for these purposes, but yes, the length of the release does matter and should be considered in setting the bow's draw length. 
unless you have a draw board and a known recorded length you have to have between grip and string at full draw, it really has to be tried physically, because as stated previously, every bow has a different realization of any given mechanical draw length measurement.
and yes, people do not have a " draw length" per say, but it assumed that when some says they have a " 29 inch draw length", it is that suggested number you speak of, they are referring to. I think the confusion lies in the fact that not everyone understands or is aware of the fact that all bows realize a different distance between string and grip for any given bow's stated draw length numeration, despite there being a supposed " industry standard". that standard exists, just to give the bows some basis for preferential fit.


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