I notice the mention of the Brace or Riser "Height" in the Specs for all the Compounds I've looked at. Is there a particular reason that they mention what this distance is?

The shorter the brace the longer the power stroke. The old saying (20 years ago) was the shorter brace bows won't shoot as accurate as the more forgiving long brace bows...not these days.

Ted,

more speed to boot!

I have seen a tendency for the shorter brace heights to be a bit "harsher" (hand shock)in the hand, and a bit less forgiving of form.

Rich

The guys are right. Shorter brace height equals faster arrow speed. Shot from a bow machine, short brace height bows are just as accurate as their longer brace height brothers.

But short brace height does make the bow more difficult to shoot for inexperienced archers. You have to be real consistant on your form and release in order to get good groups with your arrows.

That's why I prefer to get a bow with more brace height than the real speedster bows. I'd rather hit slow than miss fast!

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Ted,

more speed to boot!

I have seen a tendency for the shorter brace heights to be a bit "harsher" (hand shock)in the hand, and a bit less forgiving of form.

Rich

Rich,

My thoughts as well on a bit more harsh...but I have to say we are in an age of great bows.

quote:

Originally posted by Shof:

That's why I prefer to get a bow with more brace height than the real speedster bows. I'd rather hit slow than miss fast!

+1

This year, 2010, has seen the most innovation and refinement I can remember. Imagine a bow with an 8" brace height shooting over 300fps IBO...?
Prices are getting a bit scary though.
$1600 for a Hoyt Carbon Matrix, and the new 2011 Mathews "Honeycomb" is supposed to be two-grand.

My Monster 7 has been the hardest bow to get a consistent grip and release on.

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
This year, 2010, has seen the most innovation and refinement I can remember. Imagine a bow with an 8" brace height shooting over 300fps IBO...?
Prices are getting a bit scary though.
$1600 for a Hoyt Carbon Matrix, and the new 2011 Mathews "Honeycomb" is supposed to be two-grand.

My Monster 7 has been the hardest bow to get a consistent grip and release on.

Rich

That's one of the reasons why I don't look at the "Name" brand bows too much. There's no way I can afford to spend $1,000 - $2,000 on just the bow!

I like speed, don't get me wrong. But I can put up with shooting a bow that "only" shoots 300 feet per second, IF I can put the arrow where I want it. And for that reason, I shoot a Forge Bow Company bow.

Forge is quite possibly the best bow no one has ever heard of. I shoot the Woodsman and Woodsman XL bows. They both shoot 305 fps (and 296 fps chrono'd with my hunting setup), they're lightweight, and I can shoot them well. And they work well on game. With my Forge bows, I have taken several whitetail, a black bear, a Corsican Ram, a Jacob's Ram, a wild boar, an American Bison, and an Asian Water Buffalo. All animals were pass-through shots, with the exception of the 1,400 lb. water buffalo. And even then, the broadhead was sticking out the other side!

Not bad for a "cheap" bow that no one has heard of...

They have a bow called "The Ventilator" that retails for $699, shoots an arrow at 330 fps and sports an unbelieveable 8.25 inch brace height! While I don't own one, I have shot one, and it's a dream. With just a rest and sight on the bow, it came back smooth, there is a well defined wall to the draw cycle and when the arrow is released, there's no violent kick! It makes for an incredibly shootable hunting bow. I only wish I owned one of them...

Thanks for the input. I think I understand. Similar to a Heavy Rifle being steadier to hold because it is less effected by small muscle movements.

The Physics associated with, Objects at Rest want to remain at Rest, and it takes more Energy(muscle movement, twitching) to get a Larger mass moving.

The longer Brace/Riser typically increases the overall Length of the Bow away from the hand holding it, and that makes it steadier.

Thanks again.

brace height is measured from the center of the hole in your riser where your rest screws in to the bowstring, when the bow is at rest.

the shorter the brace height, the closer the string is the the riser/grip/etc...

this means that the string will be in contact with the arrow longer before the arrow leaves the string. this makes it more critical for proper form and release. this is also why the bow has a longer power stroke getting you more speed.

with similar bows varying basically only the brace height, the shorter will be faster. for example, the bowtech destroyer 350 has a 6" brace height, and the destroyer 340 has a 7" brace height. i went with the 340 because its plenty fast, and still has 7" brace making it a little more forgiving for me to shoot. and its still smoking fast, though i only shoot 285fps compared to its IBO rating of 340 (i like heavy arrows)

What bow did you buy? or are you still shopping?

Hey Cooper, I ended up with a Mission Craze.

After reading on this Board a bit I saw where people recommended looking at as many Bows as possible before making a final decision. So, I made the rounds of local Bow Shops and checked some out.

I ended up with the Craze which is so much smoooooother than the bow I had in the late `70s that there is simply no comparison. And that was also true for all the Bows I tried. A lot of excellent Design work, in those 30+ years, has resulted in some amazing bows.

I've also been looking at Recurves and Take-Downs. When I see their $$$price$$$ though, it makes me wonder. I suppose it is just Supply and Demand that causes them to be so expensive. From a Manufacturing view though, I think someone is making $$$HUGE$$$ Profit on the ones they do sell.

Even tried to find a Recurve in a couple of Pawn Shops, but the obummer depression has nearly wiped out everything the Pawn Shops have. I've been to a few now and have yet to see a single Recurve in any of them.

The Recurve prices on eBay surprise me too. eBay even has "broken" old Bows selling at premium prices.