So you're looking at buying your first recurve bow.
You find a good-looking bow with a good price
and you're about to buy it, when suddenly
you see that mythical figure
the 28 inch draw length.
And your draw length isn't 28 inches.
You see this 28 inch figure everywhere.
Why is it so hard to find a bow that isn't meant for a 28 inch draw?
I'm about to tell you something that is going to make your search a lot easier.
Ready?
Recurve bows have no set draw lengths.
Same goes with longbows.
If you've been confused by this, you're either completely new to archery
which is fair
or you're a compound shooter.
Compound bows actually do have set draw lengths.
Due to the way the bow is designed and calibrated
it has to be set to that particular shooter's draw length.
Otherwise you see under-draws, the peep sight gets out of alignment
it can get uncomfortable to use.
So for a compound shooter, they need to know their draw length
and buy a bow which they can set to their draw length.
This isn't the same for recurves.
For other bow types, this limitation does not exist.
You can draw the bow as short or as long as you need to.
If your draw length is longer than 28 inches, then you can draw it beyond 28 inches.
If your draw length, like me, is shorter than 28 inches
then you can draw to whatever your length is and it's completely fine.
There are no adverse effects to drawing a bow to a different length than 28 inches.
The reason you see 28 inches on the product page
is because 28 inch is the industry standard measurement.
What happens is, when the bow has its draw weight rated
it's done so at the standard draw length of 28 inches.
That's the average draw length for most people.
If your draw length is different to 28 inches
the draw weight will not be the same as what's printed on the limbs or the page.
In this case, I shoot a 40 pound bow.
My draw length is actually closer to 26.5 inch.
I'm a pretty small guy.
When I pull it back to my full draw, the actual weight on my fingers
is closer to around 38 pounds.
Likewise, if I had a much longer draw length, if I draw it to 29 inches
It would be closer to 42 pounds.
Because all limbs and bows perform slightly differently
it's difficult to get an exact figure without using a bow scale.
Most people will use an estimate.
While having a non-28 inch draw isn't an indicator of whether or not you should buy this bow
it is important to consider when you choose your draw weight.
As I said before, all bows are rated at 28 inches.
If you're looking at getting a specific weight
let's say, you're looking at bowhunting and the requirement is a 40 pound bow
you may have to choose a different draw weight
because your actual draw weight is not the same as what is printed on the limbs.
If you have a short draw length, such as a 27 inch draw length
and you need that stopping power to get a clean ethical kill
you may have to go for a higher poundage
so instead of getting a 40 pound bow, you may have to get
a 42 or 45 pound bow to compensate for your short draw length.
This short draw length is also missing factor in why some people may sometimes feel
that their bow is underpowered.
It may be you're a small guy and you're just not drawing far enough.
If you're a tall person, this is actually even more important to consider.
Because you have naturally longer arms and a longer draw length
the bow you buy will actually be heavier than what it says on the limbs or page.
One of our club members had a problem where his bow was a 30 pound recurve.
That's a very reasonable starting point
except, because of his long arms he drew closer to around 34 pound
and he didn't have the upper body strength to handle that extra poundage
while he was still learning basic form.
He had a hard time anchoring and holding the bow.
What he had to do was go down and buy a 28 pound set of limbs.
If you have longer arms, you have to remember to compensate for that
if you need to, by getting lighter limbs.
To sum up, the 28 inch figure you see on the page is not a size limitation.
It's actually a measuring benchmark.
But if your draw length is not 28 inches, then the draw weight is going to be different.
Keep that in mind.
This is NUSensei.
Hope you found this helpful, and I'll see you next time.