Bow ATA length to draw length

[OTH]

I'm looking at bow for hunting and like the idea of smaller compact bows. I was looking at mathews triax but stopped because with a 30 inch draw it seemed like the string angle would be really hard to get used to. Does anyone have any insight on kinda where my minimum Ata should fall with a 30 inch draw? Looking at a mathews vertical right now with ata of 30 inches.

 

[Legend]

Don't forget to look at the size of the cams. Some short ata bows have huge cames which change the string angle a bunch. Also string angle is more of a personal preference so shoot what you like.

 

[Dylan Sluis]

A general rule of thumb is to get a bow with an axle to axle longer than your draw length. Cam size will affect the string angle, but isn't as noticeable as a change in Axle to Axle. The vertix wouldn't be a horrible option, but you will most likely lose a little performance because you are almost at the max draw length for that bow. And with all bow manufacturers performance gets worse when you are at or very close to the maximum draw length for a bow. If you could afford the extra little price bump up to the VXR 31.5, that would fit you much better and you would get a little better performance. I personally have a 30 3/4" axle to axle bow(Hoyt Torrex) and I have a 29" DL. I hunt out of tree stands and ground blinds for whitetails and so far I haven't had any issues with my bow not being compact enough. Personally if I was in your situation and could afford the VXR 31.5, I would get that. It will fit you much better and you will gain a little performance. And the extra 1.5" Axle to axle difference from the Vertix to the VXR 31.5 will be almost not noticeable. At the end of the day you need a bow that fits you well and something you can be accurate with because no matter how compact a bow is, it does you no good if you can't hit an animal.

 

[rideold]

Don't forget to look at the size of the cams. Some short ata bows have huge cames which change the string angle a bunch. Also string angle is more of a personal preference so shoot what you like.

Good point. I shoot a Triax and love it. The measurement from the top of the top cam to the bottom of the bottom cam is about 33 1/2 inches. Go shoot one and see if you like it.

 

[406unltd]

It’s really hard to tell someone what’s going to be comfortable for them. I am a 30.5” draw and own a 31 and 33” mathews. I prefer the 33. But part of that is because that’s a length I look for when buying a bow. With that said I’ve owned smaller bows and currently do. The 31 is for sure a lot more acute on the string but I don’t hate it, and it’s not so much to overcome that I find it a hinderance. Except at longer distances. I can and will hunt with both bows without hesitation. Shoot a triax if possible, or a facsimile to give yourself an idea of what to expect. I personally won’t go below my 31 but you may not be bothered.

 

[nphunter]

The steeper the string angle the longer it needs to be to hit your face in multiple spots. I went from shooting a 33" ATA bow to a 29" ATA bow and my draw length needed to be lengthened 1/2" to have the same contact points on my face. I still had to add a nose button to keep from having to tilt my head forward to touch the string with the shorter bow. I really haven't noticed any accuracy changes going from one bow to the other but I liked my anchor better with the longer ATA and it was more comfortable and natural for me. My next bow will be a longer ATA bow again for sure, I am currently shooting a 28" draw length.

 

[5MilesBack]

My bow is 38" ATA with an almost 33" draw.........and I still have to lean my head into the string a little to get it on my nose.

 

[BullsDeep]

Went from a triax to 34 ata bows and I'll never look back.

 

[bigW]

And with all bow manufacturers performance gets worse when you are at or very close to the maximum draw length for a bow.

???...

 

[EKyhookr]

And with all bow manufacturers performance gets worse when you are at or very close to the maximum draw length for a bow. .

Don’t listen to this. You will max the cam out therefore MAXIMIZING the performance


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[406unltd]

My bow is 38" ATA with an almost 33" draw.........and I still have to lean my head into the string a little to get it on my nose.

What bow?

 

[5MilesBack]

What bow?

PSE Freak SP.

 

[jmez]

Don't forget to look at the size of the cams. Some short ata bows have huge cames which change the string angle a bunch. Also string angle is more of a personal preference so shoot what you like.

Not true. Short ATA bows have acute sting angles compared to longer bows, cam size doesn't change that.. Guy on AT measured and posted the string angles on about every bow made last year. The shorties from Mathews all had significantly smaller angles.

 

[Dylan Sluis]

Don’t listen to this. You will max the cam out therefore MAXIMIZING the performance


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Sorry for the confusion, I should have worded it differently. You will always gain speed when you have a long draw length whether the bow is maxed out or not. What I meant is the feel of the bow changes when you max out a cam on draw length. The draw cycles don't feel quite as good when you max out the cam. The draw cycle will still feel ok, but not as good as for say a draw cycle that is under the max DL for the bow. Again, sorry for the confusion.

 

[Dylan Sluis]

The steeper the string angle the longer it needs to be to hit your face in multiple spots. I went from shooting a 33" ATA bow to a 29" ATA bow and my draw length needed to be lengthened 1/2" to have the same contact points on my face. I still had to add a nose button to keep from having to tilt my head forward to touch the string with the shorter bow. I really haven't noticed any accuracy changes going from one bow to the other but I liked my anchor better with the longer ATA and it was more comfortable and natural for me. My next bow will be a longer ATA bow again for sure, I am currently shooting a 28" draw length.

The same thing happened to me. I was shooting a 34" axle to axle bow and a 28.5" DL was right for me. I switched bows to a 30 3/4" ATA bow and I had to go to a 29" DL so I could keep my head in a more upright position.

 

[406unltd]

PSE Freak SP.

So when you go to build new arrows how much of a pain is that? Can you even cut them short enough to get ideal spinning arrows? Curious because I am going to be building some for a friend but I’ve never assembled arrows that are this long. It will be a new challenge to build an arrow that flies good, that is also super long and all the inherent issues that go along with it.

 

[AaronMColeman]

Not true. Short ATA bows have acute sting angles compared to longer bows, cam size doesn't change that.. Guy on AT measured and posted the string angles on about every bow made last year. The shorties from Mathews all had significantly smaller angles.

I'm interested in this. Simple trigonometry would seem that larger cams makes a longer string which makes a less acute angle at the d-loop. Let's get ridiculous, what if you had a 12" diameter cam, wouldn't that make the string angle less acute vs a 6" diameter cam on the same bow? I'm not a bow expert or a math expert...I'm just remembering 9th grade circa 1994 now and Mrs. Belterra's Geometry class.

 

[Dylan Sluis]

O

I'm interested in this. Simple trigonometry would seem that larger cams makes a longer string which makes a less acute angle at the d-loop. Let's get ridiculous, what if you had a 12" diameter cam, wouldn't that make the string angle less acute vs a 6" diameter cam on the same bow? I'm not a bow expert or a math expert...I'm just remembering 9th grade circa 1994 now and Mrs. Belterra's Geometry class.

If cams were that different in size, it would make a difference in string angle. Obviously cams are different sizes, but not anywhere near that different in size, so string angle from cam size is minimal. Another thing that will affect string angle is how much your limbs bend at full draw. Some bows limbs bend more then others. This will also be minimal but is another thing that contributes to string angle.

 

[jmez]

https://www.archerytalk.com/threads...ng-angle-comparisons.5965300/#post-1113208603

 

[bigW]

Sorry for the confusion, I should have worded it differently. You will always gain speed when you have a long draw length whether the bow is maxed out or not. What I meant is the feel of the bow changes when you max out a cam on draw length. The draw cycles don't feel quite as good when you max out the cam. The draw cycle will still feel ok, but not as good as for say a draw cycle that is under the max DL for the bow. Again, sorry for the confusion.

that might be the case for some bows, especially for ones with a less sophisticated cam system that takes the additional inches for the longer DL just from the valley, however for most of the modern bows a potentially less "comfortable" draw cycle at longer DLs / higher poundage is just based on the fact that "a bigger bang" usually always comes with a trade off. Don't forget: a longer DL can also allow you to shoot less poundage for the same speed, plus allows yo to shoot e.g. a Bowtech in comfort mode instead of performance mode, thus making the draw cycle even easier.