Short Vs. Long Axle to Axle; Myth, Fact and Opinion...

[clay4626]

lots of good information here. I have a question related to the distance the site is from the riser. I have a Haylon 6 30 ata My site is a fixed single pin hha.
It has three spots to attach to riser. Right now I have it in the middle spot
What do you all suggest I would think the further from the riser the easer to keep head level

[samson33]

I have owned and shot tons of bows. Length has never been much issue for me. For me, things such as riser reflex/deflex and grip have had much bigger roles in shoot-ability

[Rat]

lots of good information here. I have a question related to the distance the site is from the riser. I have a Haylon 6 30 ata My site is a fixed single pin hha.
It has three spots to attach to riser. Right now I have it in the middle spot
What do you all suggest I would think the further from the riser the easer to keep head level

The farther out from the riser the pin is located the more accurate it will be. This is due to something called a sight radius. For the same reason a rifle (with a longer sight radius) is more accurate than a pistol (with a shorter sight radius).

Farther away will also mean less pin gap, or closer sight marks on the tape for your single pin set up.

Farther away also means you will see more movement in the sight picture/pin.

The big benefit of having a sight with a dovetail or multiple mounting points is to be able to justify the scope housing with the peep sight. This means we can move the sight in or out to get a perfect eclipse with the peep sight. Many people also use an aperture peep for this so they can use the sight as far out as they want and then use the correct aperture to get the eclipse they want.

Most bowhunters want a sight closer to the riser due to the steadier sight picture and relatively short shooting distances. It also keep the sight from getting banged up due to sticking out much farther (climbing into stands, etc.).

It doesn't really make much difference for the head tilt as the peep is set for the eye, and that doesn't move. For a single pin shooter there is a degree of anchor point movement when shooting different distances, called a floating anchor, but the head should be in the same position while the anchor moves slightly. Now, some people keep the same anchor and use more or less nose into the string, but from a pure form perspective I neither teach nor advocate that approach; but many people do it this way successfully.

In real life order of importance for a bowhunter:

1. Use the mounting positions to get the peep aligned with the scope housing (eclipse). Most accurate at normal hunting distances.

2. Use the mounting positions to get it as far out as possible, for the most accuracy, and install a peep that will align with the scope housing. Most accurate at hunting and longer distances.

Links:
Specialty Archery Aperture peeps and apertures:
https://specialtyarch.com/specialty-peep-system-works/

[clay4626]

thanks rat for the information

[deerdynasty]

im an ok shot at best... I picked up 4 2018 bows last month and shot them side by side at a range... between 28 and 36 inches. at 30 yards I was a pro... todays bows shot bullets if TUNED right... I think pulling less weight and having the right bow for your needs is most important... I like short bows in tree stands... easier to manage...

[Whiskey Hunter]

Good advice

[canny]

Good post. I have always shot a 33-34" ATA bow as the string angle fit my face very well. Recently I picked up a Hoyt Defiant 30 from the classifieds (I have shot this model before buying) as the claims that the engineering of the cam and limb system allows for a wider string angle. The Hoyt fit me very well, but it wasn't until I was shooting it and my Drenalin side by side till I noticed that it had from what I could tell almost the exact string angle as the Drenalin which is longer ATA.

[deerdynasty]

I would shoot what your hunting situation calls for. tree stand hunting I use a very short bow. most of my shots are under 35 yards. spot and stalk and little longer heavier bow...

[Rat]

Good post. I have always shot a 33-34" ATA bow as the string angle fit my face very well. Recently I picked up a Hoyt Defiant 30 from the classifieds (I have shot this model before buying) as the claims that the engineering of the cam and limb system allows for a wider string angle. The Hoyt fit me very well, but it wasn't until I was shooting it and my Drenalin side by side till I noticed that it had from what I could tell almost the exact string angle as the Drenalin which is longer ATA.

I'm in the same boat. I just bought a new bow, I shot everything, from 35+ to 28 A2A, and I ended up with the Prime Logic, which is 31" A2A.

As I said before, I'm all about the fit, shoot what fits you. I don't put my nose on the string and I shoot upwards of 12,000 arrows a year; this works for me.

As others have said, other things contribute to the way a bow feels for an individual; axel to axel is only one of those factors.

I cam from shooting my Tribute, I loved that bow. I really wanted to love the Centergy Hybrid, which is 35" A2A, but I ended up with the Logic. It wasn't until after I got her home and was tuning her that I realized how similar the Tribute and the Logic are. No wonder I like it so much!

Anyway, the point of the post was really to point out the fact that you don't NEED a short A2A bow for hunting, this is just marketing hype. IOW, don't let the marketing specialists tell you what you need, find it for yourself.

[Robert58]

As mentioned before. String Angle is the most important thing to me. I would like to see a chart of ATA and string angle at full draw.

[billp141]

Great discussion.

[chris1911]

.
Ultimately, string angle is what we are looking for when we talk about how the string contacts our face in order to keep our posture correct.

i went with a longer ATA for this reason. i shot my 28" ATA with a 31" DL bow fine,but, in deep winter when i needed to have a thick face mask i couldnt find my knuckle to jaw bone anchor. after a ton of research i realized i dodnt need to anchor the way i have all my life IF i could get 3 points of contact with the string. well i couldnt get that with the current setup so i bought a 35" ATA, with huge cams landing me around 38" -39" overall. now i can get tip of the nose, corner of mouth and cradle the nock anchor....and clear peep. can shoot with a thick mask and glove too, and shoot a hinge for hunting....longer does make a difference.......so ive heard anyway

[express]

Its all in who is shooting the bow and their form. I've shot short bows and long ATA. The longer the bow the better you are able to stay on target but the lighter shorter bows can be accurate too but the discipline in the hold is harder to find due to lighter bows not being able to stay on target like a longer ata but like I said if you practice with them enough you can be just as accurate.

[BlackHogDown]

Good read, Rat. Thanks. As a longer, lanky dude, I've found the shorter ATAs don't fit me well.

[bloodstick]

My problem with using my nose on the string method is my face. Lol.
I have a big, round melon that if my nose touches the string, i cant look far enough to get a good sight picture. It doesn’t line up. So i adapted. I let the string rest on the corner of my cheek bone and my knuckle on my earlobe. Been shooting a Z2 for a while with 30” A2A at 29” draw.

Im about to go pickup a Triax tomorrow and not have any worries about string angle


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