While working as a bow tech, I sold hundreds of bows. The most common question that I was asked is why are there different length bows? Well, I would like to give you a little knowledge on the subject in case you are wondering the same thing. And no….longer bows are not for tall people and short bows for short people, I was asked this too much.
Short compound bows are normally for people that shoot out of a tree stand and want to be able to shoot sitting down. They are also popular for spot and stalk hunters as they are easy to get through the woods. They can be faster and designed to be shot with a release aid rather than shooting fingers. A lot of hunters say that they are less accurate and far less consistent for shooting a group. I am sure I can find a group of people that would argue this point including myself. But either way, it is personal preference and how you plan to shoot and what type of hunting you will be doing that will help you determine if a short bow is for you. An example of a short bow is the Martin Archery Prowler Pro Compound Bow Package pictured below.
Longer compound bows are more of the traditional style, a lot of the older compound bows were very long, in some cases 40 – 50”, crazy right? Well maybe not, they were used for a lot of years and were deadly accurate and very reliable for those shooting fingers. Well, to this day the longer compound bows are best suited for those planning to either target shoot or hunt solely from a tree stand do not mind a few extra inches. As far as being more accurate, shooting fingers, yes they are more accurate than a shorter compound bow. When you introduce the release aid however, I think the playing field evens out some. That being said, longer bows are easier to learn on and for the novice archer that can mean getting a nice group versus being all over the place when shooting. So, they too have a place in the archery world, as I said above, it depends what you are looking for in a bow, what type of hunting you intend to do, and if you want to shoot a release aid or fingers. An example of a long bow is the
PSE Archery Bow Madness XS RTS Compound Bow Packages pictured below.
Hope this helps answers some basic questions about the difference between shorter and longer compound bows. Feel free to leave your questions or comments we will happy to answer them!
0 Responses