# Bow ATA length question



## Frase (Jan 28, 2014)

Hi all,

I'm a beginner, been doing a little reading but apologies if this is a dumb question or has been covered before somewhere. It seems longer ATA bows are recommended for target shooting as they are easier to shoot more accurately (more forgiving?). Part of this seems to be to do with string angle at anchor, and I was therefore wondering if there is some correlation between draw length and ATA length. EG if my draw length is 29", is there a particular bow ATA length that would suit me for indoor target/outdoor target? Or is it purely (as I suspect) a case of get your hands on a few different length bows and try them out?

Thanks,

Fraser.


----------



## cbrunson (Oct 25, 2010)

Frase said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm a beginner, been doing a little reading but apologies if this is a dumb question or has been covered before somewhere. It seems longer ATA bows are recommended for target shooting as they are easier to shoot more accurately (more forgiving?). Part of this seems to be to do with string angle at anchor, and I was therefore wondering if there is some correlation between draw length and ATA length. EG if my draw length is 29", is there a particular bow ATA length that would suit me for indoor target/outdoor target? Or is it purely (as I suspect) a case of get your hands on a few different length bows and try them out?
> 
> ...


At 29" DL, most would suggest a longer ATA.


----------



## SARASR (Oct 30, 2009)

I shoot at 29" draw also, have shot bows 40+ inches many moons ago, still have a 42" Jennings, and a Browning I guess is in the 34" inch range give or take a couple, my current shooter is a 31.5" Diamond Iceman;

I hate the sting angle on the Iceman but love everything else about how the bow shoots, The Jennings on the other hand is very comfortable at full draw but kicks like a mule upon release due to being a bow of the 90's (upright limbs). 

My next bow will be in the 35 to 37" range, If I could only pick just one bow..lol 

of course I shoot 1 all purpose bow for everything, I get so tuning and tweaking obsessed more than one active bow and I'd be looking at divorce.


----------



## Khaslem (Mar 19, 2012)

What I have noticed about bows with longer ata's is the peep usually feels like a better fit to the archer at a draw length that is actually close to correct. Too often I see people with draws that are far too long in an attempt to move the peep closer to their eye which occurs naturally with a longer ata's string angle. If I was building a dream target bow it would be a dual cam with a ata of around 42-45 and have an 8 in brace height. Just a preference thing. In target archery there are no points awarded for having a "maneuverable" bow. I wouldn't ever shoot a bow under 38 ata, even for hunting. Just not how I like a bow to feel.


----------



## Robert43 (Aug 2, 2004)

I am 28" & I like bows to be 35" / 40" axle / axle


----------



## Bees (Jan 28, 2003)

Frase said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm a beginner, been doing a little reading but apologies if this is a dumb question or has been covered before somewhere. It seems longer ATA bows are recommended for target shooting as they are easier to shoot more accurately (more forgiving?). Part of this seems to be to do with string angle at anchor, and I was therefore wondering if there is some correlation between draw length and ATA length. EG if my draw length is 29", is there a particular bow ATA length that would suit me for indoor target/outdoor target? Or is it purely (as I suspect) a case of get your hands on a few different length bows and try them out?
> 
> ...


read this thread.
http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1681136&highlight=Brace+height+draw+length+ATA+ratio


----------



## Frase (Jan 28, 2014)

Thanks for the replies gents. Bees, thanks for the link that is exactly what I'm looking for. 

Fraser.


----------



## FS560 (May 22, 2002)

The optimum ATA for any shooter is the one that fits your face the best.


----------



## Kstigall (Feb 24, 2004)

Since this is the "target" section I'll assume you are looking for a bow for target shooting. A good all around a-to-a for many folks with a 29" draw would be around 37" a-to-a. Many really like 36" a-to-a while many prefer much longer but a lot of folks do quite well with something 37" - 40".


----------



## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

he he, the biggest problem now a days is finding a bow that can be considered long ATA!


----------



## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

the thing to remember is that with a longer ATA, besides the inherent forgiveness that longer bows produce, the peep comes in a little closer to your eye . this allows you to use a smaller peep, that certainly improves concentric sight alignment consistency.
to me that is the crux of the biscuit as far as target accuracy is concerned. 
short bows, with high string angle keep the pep far enough away the you must use a considerable larger peep in order to focus through it, that larger size peep leaves considerable room for inconstancies in alignment, despite the natural concentric tendencies of out eye sight.


----------



## Frase (Jan 28, 2014)

ron w said:


> the thing to remember is that with a longer ATA, besides the inherent forgiveness that longer bows produce, the peep comes in a little closer to your eye . this allows you to use a smaller peep, that certainly improves concentric sight alignment consistency.
> to me that is the crux of the biscuit as far as target accuracy is concerned.
> short bows, with high string angle keep the pep far enough away the you must use a considerable larger peep in order to focus through it, that larger size peep leaves considerable room for inconstancies in alignment, despite the natural concentric tendencies of out eye sight.


Great info, thanks Ron. I'm finding that tiny differences getting my peep aligned on my current bow (30" ata) result in big POI changes, even at close range. Something to work on.

Kstigal, yes trying to create a shortlist of target bows to try out. I'd come to similar conclusions with ata and top of my list to try is the PSE Supra.

Thanks

Fraser.


----------



## Kstigall (Feb 24, 2004)

Frase said:


> Great info, thanks Ron. I'm finding that tiny differences getting my peep aligned on my current bow (30" ata) result in big POI changes, even at close range. Something to work on.
> 
> Kstigal, yes trying to create a shortlist of target bows to try out. I'd come to similar conclusions with ata and top of my list to try is the PSE Supra.
> 
> ...


I seriously doubt you'll find any knowledgeable archer that will say a Supra will not work for you or is fundamentally flawed. It is a very viable option. As are the Dominator and Freak. At 36" a-to-a PSE has the Phenom ($) and Dominator 3D ($$$). Being a beginner I can't see you _needing _ to spend the extra for a Dominator or Dominator 3D. The fact is there are some great archers that choose not to reach for the most expensive bows.

Now even some of the very best longer draw target archers don't shoot the longest a-to-a bows. The Freak SP is 38" a-to-a and is built for longer draws. Some old school target shooters will tell you that 37" a-to-a is too short for a spot bow. Well, there are a LOT of very skilled archers that will totally disagree and in fact even most old school spotties have now stopped spouting that a target bow must 39+ inches. My first 60 X game was shot BHFS with a 6" brace, 36" a-to-a "speed" bow. I even think the idea of not drawing a bow back beyond your eye is merely a left over of when bows were all real long a-to-a and you could NOT draw back any further. So you _may_ be able to draw a shorter a-to-a far enough back to where the peep is as close to your eye as on a long a-to-a bow. It mostly depends on your physical structure and not simply stopping your draw when the string touches the end of your nose.


----------



## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

The Greg Poole formula gives about the same results as you get from a post by JAVI a few years ago. On a bow that provides the best fit for you will have a string angle very close to 90 degrees when you are at full draw and you have the DL set optimally for you. 

The reason for this is that this bow fits YOU, you don't have to make adjustments to fit the bow. Of course, this assumes that your form is as good as it can be. This allows you to find an anchor that gives you good range of motion in both shoulders, it allows you to keep your head erect and centered over body mass and it allow you to use nose-on-string as another reference.

So what bow is best for a 29" DL? Greg's formula comes pretty close since it takes into account ATA and brace height. You might have to fudge it a bit for large cams or small cams, but you will come close enough.

Does this mean that you can't shoot a shorter or longer bow well? Of course not. Plenty of guys shoot shorter bows well. But why not give yourself every advantage?

JMHO,
Allen


----------



## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

dollar spent per shot quality....the Supra is probably one of the best deals going, right now. I am not in any way a "fan boy" of anything at all, with maybe the exception of Carter releases' superlative quality, across the board. I have owned several brands and bought what I thought was the best deal for my shooting.
recently while amongst a few more advanced shooter than me, I mentioned a bought a Supra, and every one of them gave me an approving acknowledgement for my choice.
I think PSE hit the nail on the head with this bow.


----------

