Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: anasazi on September 15, 2012, 02:36:02 am

Title: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: anasazi on September 15, 2012, 02:36:02 am
I am still a little new at this but where do you all measure your draw length from? Some people have told me its from the back of the bow others say from the belly i have been thinking it would be from where the webbing between thumb and for finger are since that distance doesn't change from bow to  bow what's your thought.
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: ionicmuffin on September 15, 2012, 02:40:43 am
somewhere on the hand would make sense now wouldn't it? so i guess the webbing or even the knuckle would work. GL
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: Weylin on September 15, 2012, 03:11:02 am
My understanding is that you measure from the back of the bow to the inside of the arrow nock. I was taught to measure by putting a clothes pin on an arrow and drawing the bow so that the arrow bumps into the back of the bow and slides down the arrow as you draw. When you take the arrow off you can measure from the clothes pin to the arrow nock.
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: 1Brotherbill on September 15, 2012, 03:13:20 am
This may be a dumb answer to the dumb question.  But I would measure to the back of the bow.  If it is anything shorter and you might have a tough time shooting arrows with broadheads on them. 
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: anasazi on September 15, 2012, 03:25:25 am
Thanks i was wondering where others  measured from. I never could find a answer any where
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: M-P on September 15, 2012, 03:27:33 am
Howdy, My first thought was 'Yeah, silly question".   But, it would be nice to know we were all  talking about the same thing.  I believe the official AMO definition is from the center, or balance point, of the arrow shelf to the string, plus 1 3/4 inch for the arrow head.     I  find the whole 1 3/4" business a little confusing though.   I guess it makes sense if the draw length is referring more to the length of the arrow being drawn, than to the distance the string is drawn. 
Since I don't put risers or shelves on my bows I usually just measure from the back of the bow and forget about the 1 3/4'.  I figure that's pretty close to where the arrow rests on my knuckle.   Ron
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: anasazi on September 15, 2012, 03:41:26 am
If you measure from the back of the bow doesn't that change your draw length a little with every bow. I have a composite recurve  that is quite a bit deeper in the handle than my flat bow and a short bow that is thinner in the handle still. Just asking
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: driftingrz on September 15, 2012, 04:04:27 am
This has confused me. But i remember reading that it was from string to deepest part of handle plus the 1-3/4 or 1.5 similar to what m-p said. It made marking my tiller tree a little confusing
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: Del the cat on September 15, 2012, 06:14:34 am
Back of bow.
Brace height is to belly, which is maybe where the confusion arrises.
Del
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: blackhawk on September 15, 2012, 09:18:19 am
Yes from back of bow to throat of arrow nock.

And yes your draw length can vary an inch or two depending on handle style/thickness. With a thin bendy handle I pull 27",and at the other extreme with a deep narrow stiff handle I can get 29"+.
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: anasazi on September 15, 2012, 11:26:05 am
So i take it you have a 28" draw blackhawk
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: blackhawk on September 15, 2012, 12:40:41 pm
So i take it you have a 28" draw blackhawk

On average yes,and that is pretty much my "true" draw with a selfbow in hunting n target shooting...but like I said it can vary depending on style and design of the bow. With a deep pistol grip glass bow(sorry for swearing guys) I pull 29"+. I have "short" draw short bows for up close n personal thick brush hunting situations that only draw 24". And I have a bow I made for distance shootin in a field that I pull 32",and a yew elb warbow that goes to 31". It all depends on the bow n what its intended for.

I see many people draw much shorter than what they really say. Either make some inch marks on an arrow and go out n shoot it with another person watching and just try to draw n shoot as you normally do at a target. Or you can do the clothes pin trick too. But I like makin marks n having someone watch me shoot cus this way your actually releasing the arrow.
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: anasazi on September 15, 2012, 03:07:43 pm
Hey thanks every one for your help that clarifys a lot thanks again
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: Bryce on September 15, 2012, 04:58:46 pm
your wingspan in inches then divide by 2.5

-Pinecone
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: JW_Halverson on September 15, 2012, 05:16:20 pm
your wingspan in inches then divide by 2.5

-Pinecone

Wow, I must have a messed up draw because I should have a 28.8" draw under that method, but only draw 26.   ;D

It's all a rule of thumb until you start pulling back an arrow on a specific bow.  I shoot 24" arrows out of my little horsebows (partly because of their length and partly because once I hit about 60#'s of draw I can't horse it back any further), and then I shoot 31" arrows from the nearly 6 ft long longbow Ken75 sent me (I'm getting about 27" plus a little extra with that bow). 

If you can find a 6 ft sapling, make yourself a really light bow from it and find a draw style that feels "right" and measure that.  Good luck!
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: Del the cat on September 15, 2012, 05:20:32 pm
I'm forever meeting people who claim to draw 29 or 30 but in reality draw about 26.
I'm so macho I draw 48 myself.... O:)
But seriously. I draw 27 when I'm cold, 28" when I'm warmed up, then 27 when I'm tired, which is about 3 shots after I've warmed up  ;)
Del
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: JW_Halverson on September 15, 2012, 05:36:35 pm
Del happens to be taking a shot at being funny, but in reality he does have a 48 inch draw on 140 lb ELB warbows.  He is also insanely accurate due to his training techniques. 

He is so fast that he puts the bow down after the shot and runs beside the arrow observing it's flight closely in order to critique his release.  It's this level of committment that is necessary to acheive his results.  Yup, he even wears a cape when no one is looking. 
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: Bryce on September 15, 2012, 06:11:56 pm
your wingspan in inches then divide by 2.5

-Pinecone

Wow, I must have a messed up draw because I should have a 28.8" draw under that method, but only draw 26.   ;D

It's all a rule of thumb until you start pulling back an arrow on a specific bow.  I shoot 24" arrows out of my little horsebows (partly because of their length and partly because once I hit about 60#'s of draw I can't horse it back any further), and then I shoot 31" arrows from the nearly 6 ft long longbow Ken75 sent me (I'm getting about 27" plus a little extra with that bow). 

If you can find a 6 ft sapling, make yourself a really light bow from it and find a draw style that feels "right" and measure that.  Good luck!

well then fiix your draw technique  >:D hahaha jk

my wingspan is 70'' and when i divide by 2.5 it gives me a 28". so i checked using an arrow and a marker.... spot on.
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: Bryce on September 15, 2012, 06:13:36 pm
Del happens to be taking a shot at being funny, but in reality he does have a 48 inch draw on 140 lb ELB warbows.  He is also insanely accurate due to his training techniques. 

He is so fast that he puts the bow down after the shot and runs beside the arrow observing it's flight closely in order to critique his release.  It's this level of committment that is necessary to acheive his results.  Yup, he even wears a cape when no one is looking.

my favorite is when he shoots with his pinky is out, like when he drinks his tea while running next to the arrow.
very fancy stuff.

-Pinecone
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: anasazi on September 16, 2012, 12:50:46 am
Hey guys i flunked out of math back in kindergarten. My draw is 28 i was just thinking about it the other day and wasn't entirely sure where you measured from and it seemed odd to me to measure from a variable point instead of a fixed one but if that's standard no big deal my arrow still goes where its pointed i just need to figure out how to point it where i am looking or look where i am pointing.
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: loefflerchuck on September 16, 2012, 01:04:30 am
Not such a dumb question after all. Just realized I tiller with a stick on the belly but draw measuring from the back. Thanks for the topic
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: Del the cat on September 16, 2012, 06:49:42 am
@JW.
C'mon, you're teasin' now.
You know full well that was in my younger days O:)
Del
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: crooketarrow on September 16, 2012, 10:51:08 am
  BACK OF THE BOW
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: JW_Halverson on September 16, 2012, 04:31:32 pm
@JW.
C'mon, you're teasin' now.
You know full well that was in my younger days O:)
Del

He had to quit when he had trouble getting the bifocals to focus on the arrow.   

Chuck, my first tillering stick got put on a benchsander a few years ago when I realized that I was measuring to the belly of the handle, too!  Had to write new measurements on it while shaking my head at such a simple mistake. 

And Del, I guess I always measured my braceheights from the back of the bow.  Guess it's about time I learned something.   >:D
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: anasazi on September 16, 2012, 04:50:44 pm
I probably should change the measurements on my tillering stick to. I didn't even think about that thanks
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: fishfinder401 on September 16, 2012, 07:03:56 pm
tat equation is surprisingly accurate, it said my draw is 29.2, and what i have noticed for target bows is 29.5...pretty close for warbows on the other hand its 33.5 ;D
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: George Tsoukalas on September 16, 2012, 11:46:44 pm
Draw length for selfbowyer purposes is measured  to the back of the bow. But your actual draw is best measured while shooting. Have someone watch you shoot. Jawge
Title: Re: can i ask a dumb question?
Post by: M-P on September 18, 2012, 04:13:20 am
Howdy,  I like Jawg's answer.   It is simple and straight-forward, and it matches my practice.   Handle depth will affect the measurement somewhat and the arrow will have to be longer than the measured draw, but I can live with that.      Ron