Brace height..... just bought a bow square :(

[Junkers88]

I finally bought a bow square because for the life of me I can't figure out the tail high flight on my 60lb bow. I think I may have suddenly made more questions than answers.

Brace height varies by bow or by shooter or both? What I mean is the BH on my 45 and 60 going to be different even though I shoot them the same way?

Results from the bow square. Measured to the back of the shelf.

45lb, BH 6 7/8", nock 1/2" above shelf. Shoots fine, rather loud but bare shafts are nock centered on the target.

60lb , BH 6 1/2", nock 3/4" above shelf. Shoots better than the 45 accuracy wise but is louder and bare shafts are tail high.

What I need is advice on how to get rid of the tail high on the 60lb'r. Any advice would be great.

Richard.

[RickBarbee]

What are the bows?

[Junkers88]

Sorry. 1972 Bear Grizzly recurve in 45lbs and 1969 Bear Grizzly recurve in 60lbs.


Richard

[DRT]

Brace height for me has been the higher end of each bow's recommended range. You have to let how the bow shoots make the final determination. For example the sound and how consistent I can be (forgiveness) can be off if my BH gets out by more than an eighth inch or so.

Gary

[Phillip Fields]

Brace height is measured from the lowest point of the grip.

Bear Grizzly brace height

Bear Archery suggests a brace height from 7.5 - 8.5 as a starting range. Your bow may perform better at a lower or higher brace height; tuning is recommended. The Brace height is the measurement from the string to the belly (lowest point) of the handle. You can easily measure the brace height with a Bow Square.

[Junkers88]

Brace height is measured from the lowest point of the grip.

Bear Grizzly brace height

Bear Archery suggests a brace height from 7.5 - 8.5 as a starting range. Your bow may perform better at a lower or higher brace height; tuning is recommended. The Brace height is the measurement from the string to the belly (lowest point) of the handle. You can easily measure the brace height with a Bow Square.

With that said the 45lb masures out to 7 5/8 and the 60lb is 7 1/2 to the closest part of the grip where I put my hand.

[RickBarbee]

What are the length of the bows.

There may be those who will argue against this, but I can tell you with zero reservation, your brace heights are way to low' especially if those bows are 60" length, or more.

You would much better served with your brace height around 8".

The bows would be much easier to tune, much more forgiving to shoot, and much quieter on the shot. All that without giving up any performance.

Rick

[Junkers88]

What are the length of the bows.

There may be those who will argue against this, but I can tell you with zero reservation, your brace heights are way to low' especially if those bows are 60" length, or more.

You would much better served with your brace height around 8".

The bows would be much easier to tune, much more forgiving to shoot, and much quieter on the shot. All that without giving up any performance.

Rick

The 45lb'r is 58" the 60lb'r is 56". I unstrung the heavier one to twist it up some closer to 8" and just about died trying to get it restrung. I'll shoot some tomorrow when it's light and see if it does any better, same with the lighter one.

Thanks!

Richard

[RickBarbee]

The 45lb'r is 58" the 60lb'r is 56". I unstrung the heavier one to twist it up some closer to 8" and just about died trying to get it restrung. I'll shoot some tomorrow when it's light and see if it does any better, same with the lighter one.

Thanks!

Richard

Ok, that length makes some difference, but given the deflex profile of the Grizzly, I still think you will be better served with closer to 8", than to 7".

I'll give you an example:
My old buddy Shorty loves his Grizzly bow, but he couldn't get his groups smaller than a 5gal bucket at 20 yards, and the bow was "loud".
His is 56", and shooting right around 6.75" brace.

He swore & to be #$@!ed, that they were to slow with the brace set any higher. He had himself fooled, and it took me forever to convince him to try the higher brace height.

When we raised the brace heights to 8", everything fell right into place for him, AND he even picked up some speed.

Rick

[DRT]

I dunno about how it influences my speed but I know it sure makes a difference in accuracy and consistency. I e been playing with it on my new longbow. 7&3/4 is looking good.

Gary

[KenWood]

I normally set the initial brace on a new bow in the upper range of the manufacture spec. On almost every bow I own, I find my optimum brace a little higher than thier upper limit. When I find this I mark all my arrows right at the belly of riser. As far as nocking point height, I start at 1/2” higher than the shelf. Then I shoot a bare shaft while watching it in flight. My shafts always fly a little nock high because for getting the arrow weight where I want it, I use a stiffer shaft with more weight up front. My Bob Lee came with a recommendation of 8 1/4”, the works best for me at 8 1/2”. I think it also has to do with the shooter as well as the bow length and design. Hope that helps

[White Falcon]

These might help!

[DRT]

Don't forget, tomorrow is fistmele Wednesday.

Gary

[Junkers88]

Thanks folks! I'll back each one out to 8" and see what they do and then fiddle with adding/subtracting a 1/4 inch or so each way to see how it changes the arrow flight. I really regret not buying a bow square sooner.


Oh and Gary I have no idea what a fistmele is and am for sure not going to Google it.


Richard.

[spidermonkey]

Don’t let Gary yank your chain Junkers! “Fistmele” is just the fancy word for... brace height. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty