How short is too short?

[fletcherfor2]

What about something like this, a cool-looking "horse bow" sold at http://www.timelesstailors.com/p-463...w-sg-044.aspx?



I've never shot one of these, but I'd like to try one. The one above is supposedly 58" when strung, but it doesn't appear to have a shelf. So you'd have to shoot off the knuckle.

We watched a Korean movie (sub-titles) on Netflix the other night called "War of Arrows" or something like that. It was a Koreans Vs Mongols shoot-em-up.

They were all shooting these real short static-tip horse bows off their fingers, but they were all shooting right handed with the arrow on the right side of the riser (off their finger tips rather than off their back knuckles). It was pretty strange looking. I guess they were using thumb rings too, but I couldn't see them.

[caughtandhobble]

I have a 52" 45# old Pearson recurve that FIL gave me. I have played with it numerous times and I've found that shooting 2 under that the bow really performs well.

[CM Sackett]

Shorter bows, as stated well by the 'Ol Man', due to their shorter "working limb" area (some of the 12-13" riser'd modern T/Ds being an exception) tend to magnify ANY anomaly in form or release by the shooter.

Not a "bad" thing... just one of THOSE things to consider.


NOTE: I have a classic Swiss shortbow (the Mongols were not the only ones making short, powerful sweetstyks during those 'Middle' Ages...). It was crafted for me by a friend from Zurich. He is a dentist by trade, an archery historian, historic bowyer and inventor by Passion (he created the "Swiss Crossbow"... now being copied by several entities).

The horsebow he crafted for me is 46", end-to-end, and 60"@ 29" AMO.

Because of my friendship with Arvid, and this friend's respect and admiration for Arvid's innovative bend, this little whipperSnap is made from a single rod of Carbon... with the classic Birchbark 'skins' (just because that is the historically 'correct' skin for the bows he generally makes). And it has a very comfortable cork handle.

No finger pinch (yes, I do shoot 3-under. And yes, it DOES make a difference for most men on how the string 'feels' at full draw).

And if I do my job, it is an excellent partner on the hunt. A bit 'touchy', yes. But not at all 'unmanageable'.


As some know, I'm a big galute (6'6") with long arms and big hands. But I have several 56" recurves that I would not only trust, but enjoy.... anywhere. Any time. After having shot a few thousand different styks, and owning too many hundreds of 'em, it seems that HOW a bow is constructed is at least as vital to overall performance, feel AND 'shootability'... as its length.


-Sackett

[Mike Javi Cooper]

58" is the shortest you'll see me shoot..

[TxAg]

Two Tracks makes a short 50" recurve called the Ambush

http://www.twotracksbow.com/store/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=168

Dan Toelke makes a 52" recurve called the Kestral

http://montanabows.blogspot.com/p/one-and-two-piece-bow-designs.html

The Ambush has gotten some amazing reviews, though I've never shot it. The Kestral is very nice also. I've shot the Kestral....wish I'd never sold it.

It's nice to shoot a bow before you buy it, but if you buy used, you really don't lose any money. Try chcking out the tradgang.com classifieds. I've bought and sold many on there.