I am considering a new bow with a shorter ATA of 30 inches for portability and tight spots. I have a 30 inch draw and have been given mixed feedback on this relationship... at a 30 inch draw is a 30 inch ATA too short?? Tom
Its going to be very difficult to get a proper anchor, across the corner of your mouth and tip of your nose, the string angle will be too extreme.... I am a 31" draw, and both my bows are 34.25". Ive never had any issues in "tight spots" whether it be climber, ground blind, ladder stand, spot and stalk... And a longer bow will be more stable, and i personally think they shoot better, than a shorter bow.
I didnt buy mine because it was short, I bought it cause I liked the way it shot, and again, I have NO problems with peep sight, anchor point or even stability. But this is the third "short" bow I've owned,..kind of gotten used to it I guess,..with a 7 inch brace height, I only draw back, what 21 or 22 inches, not that big of an angle difference. My peep sight is about 5 inches above my loop,...thats about normal isnt it,...I think,...below is a shot of mine when I got it,..again, I never noticed any issues,..
In general the shorter the ata the steeper the angle on the longer draws...yes it can cause a few issues some of them mentioned above. On thing is that ATA isn't the only factor effecting the angle...Cam design and size does also. Your best bet is to have someone draw the bow and take a look ...then work with it yourself and see how she works for you.
My pro shop owner told me "There are guys with long draw lengths that can shoot short bows, but you are not one of them." I was shooting a Conquest 2 with a 41" ATA and wanted something shorter for convenience and for use in a groundblind. I bought a Z9 and shot it for 2 seasons of 3D and shot it fairly well for my beginner status. Then I got greedy and thought I wanted the 20 fps that the Z9 was giving up because of the long brace height and traded the Z9 for a Creed and I have struggled with it. I wanted to offer another opinion other than the guys that say "no problem, works great". I'm not saying they can't, but there can be an issue there. I'm guessing you had already gotten some of that advice or you wouldn't have posted the question.
There are very few things in a mans life that a few inches shorter makes a difference and a bow in a stand or blind isn't on that list. I personally don't shoot anything less than 33" and I'm a 29" Draw. Just works best for me.
