draw lenght question

[TX_bowhunter37]

So i went down to Cabela's on 2 different times to show some bows. first time they measured my draw length 27.5 and my left hard was pretty straight. the bow i was shooting as a Diamond outlaw.

Second time they asked for my draw length i told them 27.5 so a different guy wanted to measure me and said 27.2 which told me that a shorter draw would help with it not hitting my forearm Said i had to bend my left arm a little.

Since i had owned one bow many years ago they set it up the first way. where i had my arm straigh out.

My question is which way is correct? i am guess the second one

[Larry L]

Depends on who you ask. Pete Schepley with PSE says you can't be consistent without keeping a straight bow arm. Says if you shoot with any bend you will always have a different anchor and draw length. I'm sure there are as many answers as the people you ask

[dustoffer]

I draw and anchor, then consciously make sure my bow arm is extended and locked and insure my draw elbow is "cocked" farther behind my head. That gets everything tightened up for me before a little finger pressure and back tension triggers the shot.

[lesson 101]

I would say left arm a little bent but my arm is maxed out cause I have the need for speed. That's just me and I learned to turn my arm at the wrist without torquing my bow. Works for me and get some fps

[JSAPP]

I shoot a slightly bent arm. A straight arm does not make consistency. Your shoulder position does. Lots of room to move in the shoulder if it's not in the correct position.

[super_dave]

The "right" way is the way that prevents you from slapping the poo poo out of your forearm.

My arm is slightly bent, but one people have weird elbows that can roll around all crazy like and get out of the way. I don't have time to think about that when trying to do the other 43 things right to make a good shot, so I bend my arm

[Bill]

You need to shoot the bow with a slight bend in your left elbow when the string is touching the tip of your nose at full draw. An archery pro shop can set you up- don't go when they're really busy and talk to the owner.

I've found with lots of tries that
measuring finger tip to finger tip distance with your arms fully extended while face to a wall divided by 2.5 always comes really close.

[TX_bowhunter37]

Thanks for the info Accuracy never been a problem with either setup just struck me as kinda odd

[muddyfuzzy]

slightly bent is the proper way. if your draw length is correct then everything else will fall into place. if you are shooting a bow with the draw length even 1/2" too long form, sight picture and among other things consistency will suffer. notice i say consistency not accuracy. no doubt we can all "hit the spot" with virtually any bow we pick up just fooling around but to ensure consistent accuracy over long period of time we really need to bow set-up properly. this starts with draw length, when draw length is proper then quality form is much more simple to obtain consistently. there's that word again. simply, manual adjustments to over come a long draw length require you to do more, deploy more muscles which in turn promotes repeatability issues in form and additional fatigue.
case in point, if you over extend your arm it makes it very difficult to set your shoulder. if the shoulder can't be set properly (bone on bone) then shoulder/back muscles are deployed in an attempt to stabilize aiming. eventually fatigue sets in and the sight picture breaks down now your pin is bouncing not floating...........then you start punching the trigger........you get the idea.

back to your original question, you're not a true 27.5" dl. the run out on that set-up is causing you to over extend your elbow to maintain your anchor point. the gains you will see over the long term will never be over-shadowed by the small loss in speed which will be about 5 fps.

get it right my man, good luck.

[TX_bowhunter37]

slightly bent is the proper way. if your draw length is correct then everything else will fall into place. if you are shooting a bow with the draw length even 1/2" too long form, sight picture and among other things consistency will suffer. notice i say consistency not accuracy. no doubt we can all "hit the spot" with virtually any bow we pick up just fooling around but to ensure consistent accuracy over long period of time we really need to bow set-up properly. this starts with draw length, when draw length is proper then quality form is much more simple to obtain consistently. there's that word again. simply, manual adjustments to over come a long draw length require you to do more, deploy more muscles which in turn promotes repeatability issues in form and additional fatigue.
case in point, if you over extend your arm it makes it very difficult to set your shoulder. if the shoulder can't be set properly (bone on bone) then shoulder/back muscles are deployed in an attempt to stabilize aiming. eventually fatigue sets in and the sight picture breaks down now your pin is bouncing not floating...........then you start punching the trigger........you get the idea.

back to your original question, you're not a true 27.5" dl. the run out on that set-up is causing you to over extend your elbow to maintain your anchor point. the gains you will see over the long term will never be over-shadowed by the small loss in speed which will be about 5 fps.

get it right my man, good luck.

Thank you muzzy