How Do I Know My Correct Draw Length ?

[JohnnyThunder]

My Saber has a 30" draw. I suspect that I might benefit from a slightly shorter draw. How do I know for sure what the proper draw length for me would be ? Is there a way that I should measure it ?

[bfisher]

There are several ways to get close. One is to do what is referred to as the wingspan method. Standing with your back to a wall raise your arms oustretched to your side to shoulder height. Measure fingertip to finger tip and divide this by 2.5. (I like to start with one finger touching a corner). This should get you close. If you are somewhere between two numbers then go the short route.

Once you've done this you can check it out by drawing the bow and have someone take a pic of you at full draw and anchored. The nock of your arrow should be vertically below your eye, using an imaginary line.

Have the person taking pictures of you do so from the side facing your front and back (fullength). Then also from the rear. With weight distributed evenly on both feet the body should form a "T" from the shoulders down to the feet with no apparent leaning back. If leaning back then possibly the draw length is still too long or too much draw weight. Also, the drawing arm should be approximately parallel to the arrow. If the drawing arm is lower at the elbow then you are stretched out too far and may need to shorten the release and/or shorten the draw a bit. If the elbow is a little high then this is acceptable. If using a wrist strap release the joint where the index finger joins the hand should be no farther back than to the hollow right under the ear lobe.

If possible one from an elevated position (ladder) behind you. In this case the drawing should, again, be in a straight line with the arrow.

Play with these ideas and when you think you have it right go on Archery Talk and see what Nut&Bolts has to say about it. He's the real guru with this stuff.

Let us know what you find out.

[oldbutnewagain]

Best directions I've found.

I anchor with my middle finger in the corner of my mouth (per Fred Asbell). Does that affect the calculation?

[alex]

What bfisher wrote is the best method, but if you prefer something simple take an arrow put it on your chest with your hands holding it in front of you as far as you can-where the tip of middle fingers is is your DL. Other method is almost like this but the arrow isn't on the chest but on your neck under the Adam's apple (if this is the correct english name ) and you hold without streching too much.

[bfisher]

Best directions I've found.

I anchor with my middle finger in the corner of my mouth (per Fred Asbell). Does that affect the calculation?

Having shot fingers many years ago I can relate to this. Most often when shooting fingers you have to add about 3/4" to 1" to the above calculation. This is due to the larger radius the string makes wrapping around 3 fingers vs the sharp bend made by a release.

[bfisher]

I would add this to my first post. After a person becomes proficient and knows what he is doing if he is so inclined to find his optimum draw length here is how I know to do it:

When shoota target you draw and aim the bow at a bullseye. The sight pin or dot will tend to move around on a target. It's impossible to hold it dead still. If the draw length is too long the pin will tend to move around slow, but never settle down. If the draw length is too short the pin will move in the same pattern, but the movement will be faster (jerky). Soemwehere in between these two extremes the pin will settle down and aim much better with smaller movement. As little as 1/8" can often make a marked difference.

Again, this is something found out after a lot of shooting. Sometimes many years. A lot depends on just how accurate you want to become. It's a never ending process of tweaking.

[JohnnyThunder]

Once you've done this you can check it out by drawing the bow and have someone take a pic of you at full draw and anchored. The nock of your arrow should be vertically below your eye, using an imaginary line.

The nock of my arrow at full draw comes right to the corner of my mouth which is basically under my eye. So it sounds to me like 30" draw is correct then ?

[bfisher]

The nock of my arrow at full draw comes right to the corner of my mouth which is basically under my eye. So it sounds to me like 30" draw is correct then ?

Could be. Did you measure your wingspan? How tall are you?

[JohnnyThunder]

Could be. Did you measure your wingspan? How tall are you?

I didn't measure it, but I'm about 6'2"-6'3" something like that.

[EneseNox73]

There are other options if you want 911S-like performance 170-190 HP using an early engine as a starting point. But for 210-230 HP kind of numbers, see my post above.