# Draw Length Questions



## rossing6

Bob, this is one that you really need a knowledgable person to do with you in person. You could post pics or email them to me or a video and I can try to help you that way. First of all, your stance, shoulder position, how open or closed your body is with relation to the bow arm angle to the shoulder socket and such will all affect the DL. Now depending on how you want to anchor, if you are tucking in tight to the jaw bone corner or just locking in behind it, or whatever, remember that a long axle bow will have the string more vertical than a short axle bow, so the long axle bow the string will touch your nose where the short axle with the same anchor will not, unless you make some adjustments, either raise the anchor point, or do a combination of slightly increasing the draw length but taking up the difference with the release length (if shooting a wrist strap style) or shortening the D-loop if using a back tension style...if you even can with the setup you are using...I haven't seen pics so can't get specific with you...just some ideas to think about. My Mathews DXT is 28.5" DL measured (not a spec number) that is measured from the point where the arrow nocks (do not add the D-loop) and my Hoyt and Mathews target bows which are both over 40" ATA are 27.27" measured, but these have been fitted and tweaked so I get the proper body form for back tension combined with an anchor and a nose reference. I only barely anchor to my face with my release hand as I pull through the shot with back tension so don't want my face taking up holding weight by setting in behind the jaw like I do with my hunting bow and wrist strap/trigger release. Holding weight is important, as if you have 55% versus 65% with target that is quite a difference, but hunting I prefer 80% letoff as I'm shooting a trigger, not back tension so don't need the weight to help steady the heavier target bow and such...try that for starters, and follow up if you like via posts or pm to make sure I know you are back on. My email is [email protected] if you need to go that route to send pics and such. One thing though, if we get you sorted out, be sure and share what you learned with others on here and your friends and those you run across shooting at the club. Pay if forward bro. Ryan


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## rossing6

Oops, my target DL was supposed to be 27.75"...Ryan


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## mike 66

rember guys just because it says it a certain length dosent meanit is... some bows # run long where others run short....check it out...


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## aread

bbrummon said:


> ...With my old bow ( the 30” one) I would find myself creeping forward until the bow would pull me. This leads me to my first question. Is there a archery term for that? ...


That's called collapsing. It's due to loss of back tension. 

The first thing to look for when deciding on a draw length is alignment. You want a straight line from the point of your arrow through your release hand to your release elbow. It should be a straight line looking at it both from the side and above.

Generally, if your draw length is optimum, the nock will be directly below your aiming eye at full draw. There is a lot more to it than this, so Ryan is right about needing to work with a coach on a one to one basis.

Draw length that is too short can also result in shoulder pain, but there are other things that can cause this. It's one of those things that needs to be addressed as soon as it shows up.

You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a good coach in New York. 

Good luck,
Allen


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## bbrummon

Thanks for all the feedback,

I went back to the archer store and worked with the owner. With a 29" draw my bow are was straight but my head was starting to tilt back. With a 28.5" I have a very sight bend in my bow arm. We settled on 28.5" as I will be hunting from tree stands and prefer to error on the short side. Since it been set to 28.5" I have experienced very little collapsing, maybe twice in 200 shots but I am still a nube and attribute both times to not focusing on my back tension and relaxing too much.

Thanks again,

Bob


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## xecutioner

collapsing could also be caused by slight form of target panic.


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## aread

bbrummon said:


> Thanks for all the feedback,
> 
> ..... I have experienced very little collapsing, maybe twice in 200 shots but I am still a nube and attribute both times to not focusing on my back tension and relaxing too much.
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> Bob


The classic solution to this is shooting at a blank bale. The bale is just there to catch arrows. Don't even think about where the arrow is landing. Just concentrate your mind on maintaining back tension. Imagine drawing your bow as blowing up a balloon. When you get to full draw, don't let any air out of the balloon. 

My coach used to tell me "no softening, no softening". 

You want the "no softening" to be done on the subconscious level. You want to get to the point where your conscious mind focuses only on aiming. This usually takes quite a few repetitions to achieve. Bernie's Idiot Proof Archery lays out a pretty good program on the bale & bridge to accomplish this. It may be worth your time to read it.

Hope this helps,
Allen


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