# Recurve Bow length--how crucial?



## thorwulfx (Sep 26, 2011)

Kodiak, 

First, welcome! Hope you enjoy it here on the Trad thread. 

Not rushing out to buy a bow before testing the waters...that's very smart. Nothing that can be said or conjectured will tell you as much as your first few dozen arrows sent down range.

At 6', your draw length estimate sounds like it's in the ball park. Great thing? Bows are designed around draw lengths in that range (27-29, 28 being average), so you'll be realizing very close to the stated draw weight for any given bow. That'll simplify things a little. Having a longish draw also allows whatever bow you select to perform well. More draw length allows a longer power stroke, which imparts more energy into the arrow.

As to weight, many will suggest that you start quite light, lighter even than you've self-selected. A prominent member of our community, who is the Yoda of traditional bows, has said that he won't take on a student of any gender, size, etc. who is pulling a bow above 30#. The primary concern is that you are totally comfortable and able to control your bow while you're learning. Straining and heaving the string back any way you can manage, as you might suppose, will not be conducive to getting your form down. Any good teacher will help you get to the bow weight that's appropriate.

To relate a personal anecdote or two: I am a very strong guy, and I started with a 22# recurve. I did it because the bow was cheap and I didn't know if I'd fall in love with traditional archery. Turned out to be a great decision I made for the wrong reason. I still keep the bow around because ANYONE can shoot it without hurting themselves. I got my cousin a bow this Christmas, a 30# Greatree Mohegan (66"), and he stated that it was as much weight as he could comfortably shoot over a long session. This is a guy who races ocean going kayaks and is in great shape. The weight of a bow's draw is an altogether different thing than the weight of an object which you might pick up. Picking a bow that's too heavy is very easy to do, and can really make it hard to learn.

That all said, I would look for a bow in the 20-30# range, and a bow of at least 62" as you are of a tall stature.

There are lots of reasonably inexpensive options in this category, of which I'll list a few.

Samick Sage (62", 30-60# limbs available, takedown)
Samick Polaris (54"-66", @20-40# limbs available, takedown)
Greatree Mohegan (as Polaris above, roughly)
OMP Adventure (as Polaris and Mohegan, roughly)
PSE Buckeye (54", 62", 15-35# or so, takedown)
PSE Summit (66", 18-36#, takedown, ILF)
PSE Optima (up to 66", up to 36#, takedown)

<takedown means that the limbs can be removed for storage or travel. These can also take new limbs of varying weights. ILF means International Limb Fit, which means you'll have a broad range of choices if you wish to get new limbs at some point. These bows also tend to be very tunable to a particular person's style and taste.>

...and on and on. I would say that the 66" will be the smoothest and most target-friendly, while the 62" may be more handy if you're going to run around the woods with it at some point. Upper weight range may also be a concern if you're interested in hunting large game at a later date.

What weight will you end up settling on eventually (after learning)? That's hard to say. Everyone has a different tolerance and enjoyment level. Some strong people prefer light bows, a few people on here draw well over half their body weight. There's no perfect answer.

Hope that helps,

Patrick


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## BOHO (Aug 7, 2004)

its always better to start out right to not get into any bad habits. Im 6'4" and pretty strong myself and I shoot low to mid 40#'s and have a 28 1/4" draw. If you cant find anyone for lessons I have watched Rick Welch's Accuracy Factor about 50 times and it has helped me a bunch. I would guess you'd draw around 27ish and 30#'s is plenty to start with. Whats as important is getting matched arrows. good luck and enjoy


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## Greysides (Jun 10, 2009)

Welcome to the forum.

If you are not interested in hunting then for your DL a 68" or 70" bow is what I'd suggest to start with. Shorter bows increase the finger pinch angle as you draw. You can buy cheap training bows (Samick Polaris type) and change limbs on those as you progress. I started with 28" limbs for a 29-30" DL. At the begining you're learning technique, easier to do that with a weight you can control and easier to shoot enough to make it automatic too. As time goes on you'll get an idea of what kind of bows you like and what distances are involved in the area of archery you're interested in. Short bows are used for hunting for convenience in transport, in hides, for walking through woods. Longer bows are easier to shoot. The world is your oyster, you can go towards hunting gear, olympic style, barebow style, horsebows, flat bows or English Longbows. You can hunt animals, foam animals, field targets or the olympic style multicoloured targets.
To start with I'd suggest aluminium arrows (Jazz from Easton, or equivalent). They are cheap, safe and reasonably tough. Also easy to make up yourself. Later, for longer distances some carbon arrows will give you the most distance for your poundage.
Anyway, once you master the basics you can go whichever route you choose.


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## kodiak14 (Feb 2, 2012)

Thank you very much for the replies! I don't intend to hunt, just target shooting, although the field ranges that some of the clubs have sound like fun. I'll keep looking, i've found a few that are longer & 30#, so they are out there. One is actually only about 10 minutes from where i live, so i may see if the seller would let me try it.


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## Jeb-D. (Sep 21, 2011)

I'm 6ft with a 28.25" actual/ 30" AMO draw length. IMO a 66" feels like the perfect length for a recurve. It's a good balance between minimal finger pinch and a good brace height/power stroke. But I have shot a few bows in the 62"-70" range and it really doesn't seem too critical. Any in that length range should work out fine. Patrick's beginner bow list is a good one.


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## trapperDave (Mar 12, 2005)

im not into long bows myself. im 6 ft draw 28 and shoot bows as short as 48 AMO (43 ntn strung) Ive found anything 52 and over to be quite pleasant and accurate over the long haul. Heck , my longbows are sub 60


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

Greysides said:


> Welcome to the forum.
> 
> If you are not interested in hunting then for your DL a 68" or 70" bow is what I'd suggest to start with. Shorter bows increase the finger pinch angle as you draw. You can buy cheap training bows (Samick Polaris type) and change limbs on those as you progress. I started with 28" limbs for a 29-30" DL. At the begining you're learning technique, easier to do that with a weight you can control and easier to shoot enough to make it automatic too. As time goes on you'll get an idea of what kind of bows you like and what distances are involved in the area of archery you're interested in. Short bows are used for hunting for convenience in transport, in hides, for walking through woods. Longer bows are easier to shoot. The world is your oyster, you can go towards hunting gear, olympic style, barebow style, horsebows, flat bows or English Longbows. You can hunt animals, foam animals, field targets or the olympic style multicoloured targets.
> To start with I'd suggest aluminium arrows (Jazz from Easton, or equivalent). They are cheap, safe and reasonably tough. Also easy to make up yourself. Later, for longer distances some carbon arrows will give you the most distance for your poundage.
> Anyway, once you master the basics you can go whichever route you choose.


Nailed it. Good advice.


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## Destroyer (Sep 11, 2009)

Bow length isn't a big concern unless you plan to get serious in target archery or you have a very long draw length. A 60" bow will do fine at 28", a 58" bow use to be the standard so its not too short. There are lots to choose from, the take down Samick Sage (like thorwulfx mentioned) is a bow I always recommend, cheap to buy, cheap extra limbs and decent quality.

And if you shoot 3 finger under you won't have any problem with pinch at almost any length.


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## kodiak14 (Feb 2, 2012)

Thanks again! As far as which bow, I'm looking on ebay because I've seen people here give the advice to look at vintage bows & sometimes can find one for a good price. I think if I buy new the Samick Sage sounds good. I am trying to start out really inexpensive, as i just want to do it for fun, & don't think I'll get real immersed in this sport (i already have that with another sport, ha!)


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## Night Wing (Feb 4, 2009)

The way I look at it, a person's height has nothing to do with their draw length. 

I'm a small framed guy, stand 5'9" tall and weigh 159 pounds. But, I have orangutan length arms. I anchor in the corner of my mouth with my middle finger and measure the arrow distance to the front of the shelf (farthest from me) at full draw and my draw length is 30".

The first real hunting bow I owned was a one piece 60" Bear Super Kodiak. This bow gave me a severe case of finger pinch when I anchored at full draw if I shot the bow continuously for 30 straight minutes. Later on, I bought a 64" Bob Lee Signature Hunter TD. After shooting this bow 60 minutes straight, I started to notice the issue of finger pinch cropping up.

After buying my first 66" Blacktail TD recurve, I could shoot this bow for two continuous hours and no finger pinch. This is why when I bought my second Blacktail TD, I ordered it in another 66" length.


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