It's been 10 years since I bought my last bow and I'm looking to get back into bow hunting in a serious manner. It's time for a new bow, but I've forgotten almost everything I knew. What difference is provided from a shorter say, 30 inch ATA, as opposed to a 38 ATA? Will I notice a difference between a half to one inch difference in brace height? I'd like to be super consistent and if memory serves me correctly a longer brace height helped, the question is how much? Thanks in advance.
A 30” ATA bow with a 6 1/2” brace will be more critical to shoot than a 38” with 7” brace. Used to shoot a 48” Hoyt for years. Ended up with a E35 that’s 35” ATA. Don’t remember the brace. Shot this bow for years and have never been hampered by the ATA in a stand, blind or humping the mountains. This length seems to be my sweet spot.
I shoot the 33” ATA and 7” brace PSE Response with Evolve Cam system. I am shooting 60 lbs at 90% let-off at 267 fps with 478 gr arrows with broadhead. I prefer KE over speed. Great for stand, stalk or blind. I am 49 yrs old and as you can see, you do not sacrifice much. Brace Height: 7" Axle To Axle: 33" ATA/IBO Speed: 330-322. Letoff: 80%-90% Mass Weight: 3.9 lbs. Draw Length Range: 26" - 31-1/2" Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
For the average archer who is shooting in their back yard, at the range a few times a year and going bowhunting for whitetails, most of this stuff doesn't matter a whole lot. Yes, a longer axle-to-axle bow tends to be slightly more stable at full draw. Hence the reason target bows are longer than hunting bows. They're designed to hit a quarter at 20 yards hundreds of shots in a row. Bowhunters don't need that level of accuracy, and most of us aren't good enough archers to notice a difference anyways. Longer bows tend to be heavier and more difficult to maneuver through the woods, in a stand or in a blind. Which is why most hunting bows are between 28" and 33" long. In my opinion, brace height is a little more important than axle-to-axle length. When it gets cold and you start layering on clothing, a shorter brace makes it more likely you're going to impact your arm when you shoot. A 6" brace height is about as low as I like to go with a hunting rig. Between 6 and 7 inches is pretty standard these days.
They're designed to hit a quarter at 20 yards hundreds of shots in a row. Bowhunters don't need that level of accuracy, and most of us aren't good enough archers to notice a difference anyways. Justin, I have to disagree with this statement. Every bowhunter should strive for this type of accuracy and every hunting bow should be tuned to hit a quarter every time.
Jstephens61, I, and I am assuming Justin too, would agree with you. You are 100% correct in that a bow should be tuned to perform exactly as a target archer and we should put in as much time as possible to be responsible. I think, and Justin can correct me, he and for sure I was agreeing to the fact that we as bowhunters have a lot more in our lives to contend with other than sponsored target archers. We should never go out without a bow that can achieve target archery capable numbers, but reality is our consistency is not going to be comparable at all times. The forgiving zone of a Whitetail affords us the ability to go lighter, smaller axle to axle without having the weight of the target archers bow and length. I will strive as a bowhunter to achieve your concerns, though. Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting.com Forums
These straight ass risers and big cams nowadays gives some great string angles and stable platforms, personally anything longer then 33 is overkill in my hunting bows at this point. 30 to 33 is perfect for me
