it just depends for me, brace height is important but i dont want no 40'' ata bow either. im currently shooting a mission blaze and love it. its 33'' ata and has a 6 1/8 brace height
For me, I look at brace and the amount of reflex. This usually equates to a better hold. A-A isn't as important to me anynore with the parallel limb designs and beyond. Longer risers put the limb pivot point further out and helps with hold. As long as I can get a comfortable anchor, the a-a doesn't factor in much. Bigger cams help with string angle so that is negated to a degree. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
Definitely Brace height. I can shoot any length axle-to-axle bow just fine, as long as the brace height is 7" or longer. I had a Mathews Drenalin, (7" brace) and absolutely loved it. Extremely comfortable to shoot, and forgiving. Unfortunately I bought into the whole "speed is everything" lie, and I sold my Drenalin and bought a Reezen 6.5 (6.5" brace). I never could get very comfortable with the Reezen, I always had to wear a armguard to avoid string slap, and of course it was a lot less forgiving. Therefore I am extremely picky about any bow I consider having at least 7" brace height. After all, shootablily and comfortablility are the most important things in any bow setup. As far as axle-to-axle, I have shot bows from 28" ata to 40"+ ata and while I prefer a bow in the 32"ish range, I can comfortably shoot any axle-to-axle length.
I'd be curious to see the ages of the guys who like longer bows. I bet most of them are older guys. I'm 49, and back when I started bowhunting in the 80's bows were longer, and that is what I got used to. I can handle a 6" brace height if I had to, but can't shoot anything under at least 35". Bows that small just don't feel right.
I guess I don't really go into looking for a bow by specifically looking at those two parameters. If it feels good in my hand and shoots well for me, I like it. Having said that, if a bow shoots well and feels well but is super long ata, I may be hesitant.
I'm going with Brace height as well, I prefer at least a 7" BH as well though I am shooting a bow shorter than that now. I also agree with the opinions about the really short AA bows, after a certain point they start to feel toy'ish.
ATA makes no difference to me until I shoot over 30 yds. For some reason I am much more accurate @ longer distances with a longer ATA. Brace height is important when I'm hunting as longer brace height equals less motion with drawing IMO. I'm not an archery expert like many of you though.
ATA makes no difference to me until I shoot over 30 yds. For some reason I am much more accurate @ longer distances with a longer ATA. Brace height is important when I'm hunting as longer brace height equals less motion with drawing IMO. I'm not an archery expert like many of you though so I am probably wrong!!!
I like a Fast Bow lending itself to the shorter brace height, the ATA is sufficient as engineered from most mfg.
For me it's both. I guess I would say I like smaller bows. I shoot with a mediterranean draw using a finger tab and because I have a wide wingspan my draw length is a bit long so the brace height can't be too much more than 7" or else I need tons of extra space between me and the shooting lane/cover. And the ata I like around 30" because I don't like banging my bow when taking it off the bow arm or while following a deer and I hate having shooting lanes bigger than necessary.
I'm learning all about brace height as we speak. I recently bought a pse DNA and the short brace height is NOT for me.....
