30” axle to axle length too short?

[coloradoan]

I’m new to archery and still figuring out what might work best for me. After visiting two shops, I was pushed towards the Mission Switch or the PSE Stinger. I know the advice to buy used, but where I live the used market doesn’t seem to offer that good of deals.

The Stinger and Switch both felt good and I enjoyed shooting them, but I am brand new. I liked the Stinger a little better. Much more solid back wall. Both seemed much l nicer than the Bear Cruzer that they tried to sell me at Cabelas.

The axle to axle length on the Stinger is 30 inches. My draw length is 28”. Although the bow felt fine to me, I’m not sure I’m the best judge and am curious if you guys think that 30” is too short a length for a bow for an adult with my draw length.

Am also open to other suggestions in the $500 price range. I know that is very low, but that is what I’m limited to for now.

 

[Zac]

No that will work fine for you. Rule of thumb is not to go shorter than your draw length.

 

[bsnedeker]

It's not too short. The thing to check is your anchor... can you comfortably come to anchor and have the string touching the tip of your nose. If you can get a comfortable, repeatable anchor and you like the way the bow shoots you're in good shape.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[BigCountry49]

Not too short at all for hunting. If your curious then shoot a longer ata and see how it feels. String angle may be better.

 

[Samdemarais]

I’m new to archery and still figuring out what might work best for me. After visiting two shops, I was pushed towards the Mission Switch or the PSE Stinger. I know the advice to buy used, but where I live the used market doesn’t seem to offer that good of deals.

The Stinger and Switch both felt good and I enjoyed shooting them, but I am brand new. I liked the Stinger a little better. Much more solid back wall. Both seemed much l nicer than the Bear Cruzer that they tried to sell me at Cabelas.

The axle to axle length on the Stinger is 30 inches. My draw length is 28”. Although the bow felt fine to me, I’m not sure I’m the best judge and am curious if you guys think that 30” is too short a length for a bow for an adult with my draw length.

Am also open to other suggestions in the $500 price range. I know that is very low, but that is what I’m limited to for now.

Check this out,

 

[KyleR1985]

A piece of advice slightly off topic - if budget is limiting your options, buy a used bow. Classifieds here and archerytalk are easy to navigate. I've bought and sold several bows with zero issues. This may let you try some more options until you find what you want - you can probably find 500 different bows within your budget that are less than 5 years old and in excellent condition right now.

On topic - Longer ATA the general consensus is folks shoot better with them over short ATA. And a big benefit of short ATA is just that, maneuverability while hunting, storing, packing, etc.

What I can tell you is that at 30" draw, going from a 30" ata to a 35" ata created a dramatic increase in consistency for me. Another reason is weight - I added about 1.5lbs total to the new bow setup. This is not anecdotal for me either, this is across tens of thousands of shots on the short bow, and about 5000 shots on the new long bow.

And I can also tell you, or rather, the scars on the bottom of riser and limb can tell you, that packing a long ATA bow is supremely annoying. As is storing it. I haven't noticed too big of a difference in a tree, but shooting sitting on the ground is now impossible - I've got to at least be up 4-6" now.

Tradeoffs. But if you're hunting open country, and will be kneeling or standing or elevated somehow for most shots, the length won't be too big of a problem. Plus you don't have much to compare it to.

If you're shooting less than 40 yards, I doubt you could ever shoot enough for it to make a difference.

 

[Hoot]

I’d second the idea of picking up a discontinued prime like the one above, you’re getting a flag ship bow at close out prices, a bit more than those starter packages you’re looking at, but you’ll be much happier.

prime has a free strings for life warranty that will apply to that bow, free strings every 2 years…

 

[gelton]

I have a 28.5 DL and the 30" ATA fits me just fine. I think that it boils down to body stature, I am not short but I am also definitely not lanky. I had an Elite with a 33" ATA that doesn't fit me as well as my V3
30" ATA does.

If you are the tall and lanky type (which normally means you have more than a 30" draw) then a longer ATA will probably fit you better.

 

[CApighunter]

Some of the newer bows have such big cams that a 30 inch bow may feel more like a 32 at full draw. Personally I’ve gravitated to 34-35 inch bows with my long draw but the last two I shot were 32-33 and I think I’ll be happy in that range.

 

[Bmoore]

I’m only a few years into archery so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt but I personally found longer than 30” to be much better for me. I have a 30” draw for reference. I always felt like the shorter axel to axel bows felt like toys in my hand. They just didn’t fill me with confidence. A 33-34 inch axel to axel bow just felt right. Anecdotal as it gets but I think the way you feel holding the bow is a big deal. If you like the way it feels you’ll shoot it better (I think).
As for it getting in the way, I only have used the longer bow so I can’t say it get caught on more or less brush than a shorter bow, but it seems to me that 4 inches shouldn’t make such a dramatic difference if you are paying attention to the bow. 30” or 34” as long as your aware of the bow and try not to smack it off trees or brush you should be fine.

 

[5MilesBack]

I have a 32.5+ inch draw length.......could I use a 30" or shorter bow? Sure. Would it be ideal? No. Could I use a bow with a 27" draw length? Sure, but again.......not ideal. Only you can decide whether you want to shoot a 30" bow or longer would be better. I would say that longer is most likely always better for "best shooting", but we make tradeoffs all the time in bowhunting. Just a matter of what you're willing to accept in those tradeoffs. I haul my 38" bow around for miles and miles every day of elk season up and down mountains. Would a smaller bow carry better? A little.......but that's not a tradeoff I want to make. For a shorter draw length guy......that may very well be an acceptable tradeoff.

 

[Zac]

Really with budget bows a 30 is all your going to get. Would it be better to buy a used older flagship? Of course, however it is difficult to do if you have no idea what you are looking at. Also it is nice to buy from the shop you intend to use. Personally I would save your money until you have a budget of at least 1000. Only reason I wouldn't wait is if you intend to hunt this season with it. Everyone I know that has bought a budget bow ditched it in less than a year and bought a flagship. I was no different. That being said. If you find a used or older rig on eBay, post it here and see what people think about it. I'm sure most people could steer you in the right direction.