[English Longbow] Longbow drawlength

TJT

Member
I am a relatively experienced recurve archer in the process of buying my first longbow. I have been told the first thing to do is work out what my longbow drawlength would be. To do this I need to draw a suitable longbow and determine where the arrow meets the bow at full draw. This is all ok except for the borrowing a suitable longbow part....

I have a 29.25 inch AMO drawlength and am a little reluctant to pull a borrowed bow marked ' max DL 28" ' to full draw in case I break it.

Is the longbow drawlength the AMO drawlength (nock groove to pivot point plus 1.75 inches) or just the distance between nock groove and the bow?

Also, would it be possible to give me an idea of the poundage required to hit 100 yards without an aiming point in the clouds? I pull 45 lbs on the fingers recurve - what would a reasonable longbow weight be?
 

ghound

Member
I am a relatively experienced recurve archer in the process of buying my first longbow. I have been told the first thing to do is work out what my longbow drawlength would be. To do this I need to draw a suitable longbow and determine where the arrow meets the bow at full draw. This is all ok except for the borrowing a suitable longbow part....

I have a 29.25 inch AMO drawlength and am a little reluctant to pull a borrowed bow marked ' max DL 28" ' to full draw in case I break it.

Is the longbow drawlength the AMO drawlength (nock groove to pivot point plus 1.75 inches) or just the distance between nock groove and the bow?

Also, would it be possible to give me an idea of the poundage required to hit 100 yards without an aiming point in the clouds? I pull 45 lbs on the fingers recurve - what would a reasonable longbow weight be?
If your buying a bow ready made off the shelf, then you could have one maybe with a draw length slightly more than you need, 29.25'' draw, buy a 30'' draw bow, least you then know your not over stressing the bow.
For 100yds, you will get varying replys but my view is you will need at least a 50lb fast bow that can throw a 450gn arrow on a flat-ish trajectory to get a reasonable aim point.
Some archers use less lb some use more, but coming from recurve where you hold your aim, you will have to tell your bowyer if you wish to shoot a similar way cos some longbow's don't like being held too long at aim.
 

BillM

Member
What I was told by an experienced longbow archer when I first got mine was that I will be likely to draw about 1" less than I do with my recurve. This is probably due to not getting the scapula as far back as I do with my recurve. As ghound said, longbows don't like being held at full draw as you could with a recurve as the limbs stack much more and being wood, will possibly end up being weakened -> quicker loose. I have found by having a club mate assess how much of my arrow is in front of my bow at full draw and it is about 1" less than I draw through the clicker on my recurve. My bow is about 47# and my arrow point is on the flag about 1/2 metre above the boss at 70m. At 90m/100yds I am well above the target and so long as there are trees at the end of the range I can normally get a poa. I would concur that 50# bow with suitable arrows should get you a decent aim.
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
My best advice is visit the bowyer, you can try different bows and have something made specifically for you.
A bowyer will be able to advise on what's suitable.
Del
 

TJT

Member
Many thanks for the responses.

I had also read that my longbow drawlength is likely to be shorter than a recurve so a 29 inch DL bow will probably be ok for me.

Unfortunately the bowyer I would like to use (Ady Hayes) is getting on for 200 miles from me so popping along for a visit is not really viable...

BillM - for reference, could you let me know the difference in poundage between your longbow and recurve? I pull 45 on the fingers recurve - would it be worthwhile / sensible to go for more than 50 lbs?
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
If you are pulling a 45lb recurve you should be able to get a 50/55 longbow. Because you don't have to hold it as long you can go heavier but don't try to go too heavy.
 

ghound

Member
Many thanks for the responses.

I had also read that my longbow drawlength is likely to be shorter than a recurve so a 29 inch DL bow will probably be ok for me.

Unfortunately the bowyer I would like to use (Ady Hayes) is getting on for 200 miles from me so popping along for a visit is not really viable...

BillM - for reference, could you let me know the difference in poundage between your longbow and recurve? I pull 45 on the fingers recurve - would it be worthwhile / sensible to go for more than 50 lbs?
I find that my Ady Hayes bow feel a lot less on the fingers compared to other bows i have tried of a similar weight, and mine defo doesn't stack. The only let down i found with my bow was the finish, you could see the swirl marks that the sander left and there were marks and dirt in the varnish, as well as some poor glue lines.
But that doesn't take away from how my bow shoots, and i have set one record and won every comp i have entered with it including my first major comp, so i don't mind giving it a rub down and another coat of varnish after the joy it has given me :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 

TJT

Member
Raven's_Eye - thanks for this. I was thinking of a 50 lb bow.

Ghound - At the moment I am not looking for anything exceptional in a bow. I am not to fussed about the finish and am basically testing the water to see if longbow is for me. If all goes well I would probably upgrade to something more serious (drooling over yew self bows but not really a starter bow option is it :eek:) in time for next years outdoor season.
 

BillM

Member
BillM - for reference, could you let me know the difference in poundage between your longbow and recurve? I pull 45 on the fingers recurve - would it be worthwhile / sensible to go for more than 50 lbs?
40# on my INNO + INNO Power limbs. These did give a little 'let off' when we did a draw force curve on a coaching day. I also shoot a 52# horsebow at the field course and the configuration of that with the recurve limb tips doesn't feel any heavier than the longbow. All my poundages are measured by a bowscale but so far as I know it hasn't been certified but seems to be about 1# different from someones digital scales that were - so in the ballpark.

One of my club has an Ady Hayes bow and while not as well finished or fast as my Alan Beatty bow it is smooth to pull. Another has recently bought a 54# longbow when he was back home to Wales for a visit (the name Evans springs to mind) and he has found the change from his old 40# one noticable but getting to grips with it now. His ground marker is noticibly closer than mine at distances shorter than 50m but I still put in a better score than him when we did a FITA 900 last weekend. I have always maintained that it is how accurate you shoot the arrow that counts and not how far. Food for thought. Try to 'try before you buy' as it could be a costly experience or opening to injury.

BillM
 

TJT

Member
Thanks for the info - it is greatly appreciated.

I have shot a 60 lb longbow and thought it was OK and shot a 46 lb and thought it was light. I know enough to understand that there is a whole world of difference between shooting a few ends with a bow, shooting a few hours with a bow and shooting a few months with a bow. I will happily err on the light side and go for the 45 - 50 lb range to start with.

I absolutely agree with the 'how accurate you shoot the arrow that counts and not how far' viewpoint. If only I could shoot more accurately ;-)
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
A warning: Its a common error that those that shoot recurve and move to longbow tend to hold the bow too long at full draw. You should only be holding for one or two seconds. Longer and effect the bows power, and may lead to more rapidly getting the bow to follow the string and/or break.
 

TJT

Member
A warning: Its a common error that those that shoot recurve and move to longbow tend to hold the bow too long at full draw. You should only be holding for one or two seconds. Longer and effect the bows power, and may lead to more rapidly getting the bow to follow the string and/or break.
I understand that.

I have been looking for video of perfect longbow form (obviously all the longbower archers at my clubs have perfect form :duck:) and found this chap:

Shooting Longbow - YouTube

Do you think his shooting rate is about right?
 

ghound

Member
A warning: Its a common error that those that shoot recurve and move to longbow tend to hold the bow too long at full draw. You should only be holding for one or two seconds. Longer and effect the bows power, and may lead to more rapidly getting the bow to follow the string and/or break.

I hold my aim far longer than any of the guys i shoot with easily 3 or 4 seconds, even though they don't hold aim, to a man they have all broken bows, so i don't think we should generalise the point that longbows just can't be held at aim, certainly some can.
A friend of mine who has been national indoor champion holds his aim as i do, and he still uses the same bow he bought donkey's years ago.
I think there's a big difference between some of the bows on offer from various bowyer's, i'm guessing that a ?100 ebay stick is not going to have the quality or longevity of one from a bowyer the likes of Boyton with 45+years experience to stand up to being held at full draw.
 

ghound

Member
I understand that.

I have been looking for video of perfect longbow form (obviously all the longbower archers at my clubs have perfect form :duck:) and found this chap:

Shooting Longbow - YouTube

Do you think his shooting rate is about right?
His form looks pretty good, maybe a bit rushed though he's only shooting what looks like a portsmouth target at about 15yds so he's getting away with it.
 
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