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Texas deer hunt photos and thoughts on bow length,,,
bradsmith2010:
I was thinking bout you guys when I took my camera,, I normally just concentrate on shooting ,,, it was fun,, but it does add another level of challenge to the hunting,, when deer come by and you are holding the camera,, makes it difficult to make meat,,, :)
bradsmith2010:
ok, here are some of my thoughts on bow length,,
the longer I have made bows,, the more I realize for me there is not one bow that fits all,,,
hunting has been my main focus ,, even in bow making for the last 30 years,,
as I study the Native designs,, they become more and more my preference
the shorter the bow,, is easier hunt with,, there is a diminishing return in accuracy that forces me to stay a bit longer,, but I wonder if that would be the case if I had been shooting a shorter bow for the last 50 years,,,
the longer bows are more stable or forgiving,, but if you are hiding in a brush pile,, the longer bow can be more difficult to shoot,, tick the top limp on a twig when a deer is 10 yards to you and the game is over,,
what good is long range accuracy if you cant execute a 10 yard shot,,, and what good is getting off the shot if its not accurate out of the short bow,, so there has to be a middle ground each one of us woud have,,
so I say the shortest bow you can shoot accurately to 15 yards is gonna give you the most opportunity,, also i am taking into consideration ,, that long range accuracy is not effective on white tails any way,,, after 20 yards they can move so much that accuracy can be a mute point,,so the closer range shot is gonna have a higher percentage of success,, and the closer range shot allows for the shorter bow to be used,,,,
I had hunted elk this year with a 66 inch osage bow, and in the mountain terrain it seemed fine,, but when I took it to Texas, ,the brush there made it difficult to get to full draw,, so I went to a shorter bow and was more comfortable,,
I did get a 10 yard shot and got my 60 inch bow drawn but the buck I did not see behind me exploded and blew the shot for me,, but I did sit and think a long time on what kind of bow worked best,, and why so many Native bows were short,, even before the horse,,
my goal for next year is to shoot even a shorter bow and shorter arrow to reduce the amount of movenment and amount of time it takes to execute my shot,,,, maybe a 44 inch bow drawn to 22 or 23,,, if I can obtain accuracy to 15 yards I am confident with,,,, that is what I want to try,,,,
I will not stop practicing my regular hitting an anchor form,, as I enjoy stump shooting out to 60 yards and that seems to be most accurate for me at long range,,,,but for my deer hunting I am going to adopt more and more of the Native style shooting,, and eventually would like to use a pinch grip,, thanks for listneing''' all comments welcome,, B
StickMark:
Great topic. Recently, I read "Become the Arrow," by Ferguson. Using his suggestions on form, draw length for me is 28.25 or so, way longer than I have used in the past. But this necessitates bendy handle bows, for the reasons you shared, primarily brush blind use. I had a hickory bow that developed extreme set pulling to 28 plus. As I was in Missouri, on a hunt trip, I had only one other bow ready, a recurve. which was easier to use in the terrain of BK Leach Conservation Area. Ferguson's advice makes me more accurate; string hand arm goes over the arch of the foot, expanding my draw.
My friend got the possible shot on a buck at 16 yards, but the buck was not 4 pts on one side, so he could not harvest the deer in that county He shoots compound, way easier to hide in the brush. I was with him when that buck came in, and tried to imagine drawing a long bow, or the recurve, 58", even at an extreme cant. The photo shows another hasty blind, in shorter brush, and my recurve, and the need to cant. Two years ago, I could not draw a 68 inch bow without being seen in marsh grasses and in forest.
I am thinking the Native Americans were onto something. I am re-reading J. Hamm's edition on Eastern Tribe bows, and even if the Natives were some times shorter, those still are often shorter bows! I think the 60 inch bow you had is short, and I am hesitant to drop back down to shorter draw as I am not yet consistently accurate beyond 15 yds, and I live out west. This issue is the one I find most intriguing in primitive bow hunting.
bjrogg:
Brad I've been thinking along the same lines you've just laid out here. I have yet to make this type of bow, but could see advantages of hunting with a short draw and short physical length bow. At least in theory, seeing how I've never actually done it. I remember a different thread you started about draw to weight instead of anchor. It seems to me that getting to full draw length is even more difficult sometimes than dealing with a long bow. I do think the design and style of shooting you are describing would have advantages.
The shortest bow I have ever shot, was at Elm Hall this year. Paulsemp brought his 48" sinew backed osage bendy handle with a sinew string. He let me shoot it along with several other of his bows. I liked that bow a real lot. I only shoot very close range but it felt really good and seemed to have good speed and cast. It's definitely on my must build list now. Of course my normal anchor is quite short. Probably shorter than Clints so that could help, but my draw isn't going to get any longer. Might as well go with it.
Bjrogg
DC:
--- Quote from: StickMark on October 15, 2017, 10:55:49 pm ---
string hand arm goes over the arch of the foot, expanding my draw.
--- End quote ---
Can you expand on this a bit? Maybe a misprint?
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