How long does a longbow need to be?

[froghunter]

restless you gona be in chester?

[TraditionalRJ]

68-70"...less finger pinch, less aggressive string angle, more forgiving all around both tuning and shot wise, etc.

anything less than 66" is a recurve :P

[equin]

I've seen pictures of indigenous hunters in the dense Amazon rain forest hunting with very long longbows and arrows. They seem to fare real well them, and their environment hasn't required them to make shorter bows even though I'm sure they could if they wanted.

[Greywolf in Hawaii]

a 62 inch will kill more game.... Gotta trust me on this one.

[Mike Javi Cooper]

68-70"...less finger pinch, less aggressive string angle, more forgiving all around both tuning and shot wise, etc.

anything less than 66" is a recurve :P

Not all of us have ape arms... and a good R/D longbow doesn't have to be that long.. the 58" Blackhills II is very easy to shoot at my 28" draw..

No it's not as easy for a beginner to learn to use a 58" but it can be done. Although a 60" or 62" would be a better choice for someone just starting out..

The old rule of thumb on finger pinch used to be at least twice your draw length...

[equin]

I've seen pictures of indigenous hunters in the dense Amazon rain forest hunting with very long longbows and arrows. They seem to fare real well them, and their environment hasn't required them to make shorter bows even though I'm sure they could if they wanted.

Here's one. Very long longbow and arrow in the Amazon jungle:

[RemMan700]

Here's one. Very long longbow and arrow in the Amazon jungle:

His form could use a little work.

[froghunter]

Talk about FOC!!!!
[/QUOTE]

[equin]

Yeah, if you do a google image search for bows and arrows used amongst the indigenous groups in the Amazon region, a whole lot of them use those really long arrows. I've also seen a few with shorter bows, but most of the images I've found have really long bows and really long arrows, regardless of bow length. I just thought it was telling that they seem to be able to move around and hunt successfully in a dense rainforest environment with such lengthy weapons.

[equin]

Here's another picture, this one being an aerial picture supposedly of a recently discovered tribe in the Amazon. Aside from the fact that they're actually shooting at the plane, check out how long their bows are:

[equin]

Oh, and it may be that since these groups grew up in the Amazon, to them it's no big deal moving around dense foliage. Whereas with us, who grew up in the open spaces of the suburbs, ranch or whatever, we're not used to maneuvering our bodies, much less our bodies and weapons, within the confines of thick wooded areas or tree stands. So that's something to consider for us who never learned to adapt under that kind of an environment.

[TraditionalRJ]

I like recommend the longer versions just because for most people it's easier to develop more anchor points in association with the string due to it's less aggressive angle.