i shoot stuff

what is brace height and is it important

Dairy King

Brace hieght is the distance from the string to the deepest part of the grip. The higher the brace height, the more forgiving it is, the lower the bace height, the faster the bow will be. If the brace height is high, the arrow is on the string longer, which means more of a chance of you messing up the shot after you hit the trigger, but it will slow the arrow down though, since the power stroke is shorter.

nodog

I think your off. If the brace height is high the arrow will be on the string a shorter not longer time.This is from Huntersfriend web site.
Brace Height - Speed vs. Forgiveness

If you’ve been shopping for a new compound bow, you’ve certainly noticed that some bows have dramatically different brace heights. If shorter brace heights result in faster bows, then why aren’t all bows designed with short brace heights? It’s because brace height has a profound effect on the bow’s forgiveness and shootability. Short brace height bows are generally less forgiving and require more skill to shoot accurately. Since the arrow is in contact with the string for a longer distance and period, there is more opportunity for any glitches in your shooting form (hand-torque, trigger punching, etc.) to have a detrimental effect on the arrow’s flight. Longer brace heights have the opposite effect, limiting the effects of form glitches. If you shoot with absolutely perfect form, a short brace height bow will be just as accurate as it’s longer brace height cousins. But if you have average skills and are prone to occasional goof-ups, a bow with a little longer brace height will yield better accuracy in most shooting situations. The average new compound bow has a brace height of approximately 7". Bows with shorter brace heights (5"-6.5") will be faster but less forgiving to shoot. Bows with longer brace heights (7.5"-9") will generally shoot slower but will be more forgiving to your errors. Consider this carefully when choosing your new hunting or 3D bow. Unless you have a specific need for a blazing fast bow, you may find that a more moderate brace height will increase your enjoyment of archery and your success in the field. SPECIAL NOTE: Tall guys with draw lengths 30" and above should be especially conscious of brace height - as a long draw length and a short brace height are normally a bad combination, particularly for new shooters.

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Short-Draw Archers - Built in Forgiveness

However, if you are a short-draw archer (27" draw length or less), you'll be pleased to know you have a nice advantage regarding forgiveness and shootability on your compound bow. A bow which has a 6" brace height and is set for long 30" draw length will have roughly a 24" powerstroke. This means the during the shot, the arrow will remain in-contact with the string for approximately 24" - until the arrow finally releases. This would generally make for a rather unforgiving setup. But that same bow in the hands of the short-draw archer will be considerably MORE forgiving to shoot. Why? If a short-draw archer shoots the same bow at - say - 26" draw length, his/her powerstroke will only be 20" long, rather than 24". So the short-draw archer's arrow gets off the string in a shorter distance - thus the short-draw archer has some "built-in" benefits of forgiveness. If you are a short-draw archer, don't spend too much time fretting over brace height. Instead, consider shooting a bow that's a little more aggressive. The same bow that might give your 6'4" hunting buddy fits, will be quite manageable when set for your short draw length. And choosing a more aggressive bow will help you to recover some of the speed and power lost in a short-draw setup.

buckeye

Edit* I posted bascially the same as nodog. No reason for a duplicate post.

Dairy King

I meant if the brace height is shorter. I said shorter in my head, but typed higher. Whoops. I knew what I meant, whether or not you did!

Sylvan

This assumes draw length minus brace height = power stroke which is not correct. Brace height is the distance from the string to the deepest part of the handle. Draw length, that is traditional draw length, is the distance from the string at full draw to the front of the riser which is accepted to be a point 1 3/4" from the deepest part of the handle. Therefore the power stroke for the example used is 30-1.75-6=22.25 not 24.

nodog

You are right Sylvan. I contacted the web site mentioned and they were very quick to reply. This is what they said as I was kind of thinking was the case.
>>Officially, you are right. I think the concept was simplified for the
purposes of illustration........that's why the "roughly" term was inserted.

However, the official AMO draw length would be measured to a point 1.75"
beyond the pivot point of the grip (with the bow at full draw). This
happens to be the same position from which brace height is measured (when
the bow is at rest).

So technically, a bow's powerstroke length would be draw length minus the
brace height AND minus the 1.75"...
Thanks,
Mike<<

Nice people there. The site did state that not all bows are the same and the differences would be roughly the same. Mine is only a 1" difference. Thanks for pointing that out.