CG

I' m notorious for shooting/owning/selling many bows and I' ve owned about 14 different bows over the last 5years. I' ve always noticed that the general belief on these and other boards is that BH is the key to forgiveness and accuracy....Well I' ve owned bows w/ BH as low as 5 3/4 " (PSE Baby G) and as high as 8" (High Country Brute Force and Hoyt Havoc) and about everthing in between. These aren' t factory spec BH (I don' t think) but what they were after I found the " sweet spot" . I can honestly say that I' ve noticed very little difference in accurracy between any of the bows I' ve owned...In fact, if I had to rank them, I' d rank the PSE Baby G and the Havoc as a tie for #1 in the accuracy dept. The Baby G had attributes that I did not like that may be related to BH, like recoil and vibration but IME it had no effect on accuracy. The most unpleasant bow I ever owned was the High Country Brute Force which probably had the highest BH of them all. How big a consideration should BH be in selecting a bow? I say it is pretty much a non-issue with todays modern bows. When you look at and compare bows, is BH a deciding factor?

Rack-attack

The biggest factor with brace height for me is arm clearance.

I shoot my best with just a slight bend in my bow arm - with my shoulders square or slightly pointing right of the target. This puts the most of the force into the large shoulder bones and I hold much steadier. This is also the best way for me to use back tension. A low brace always catches my clothing when I shoot like this.

Yes I can open up my shoulder alignment, and turn my elbow out more to accept a lower brace - but my shooting, like most who do this will suffer IMO.

Antler Eater

I too have owned plenty of bows with different brace heights. My lowest one was a Darton Maverick. I believe the listed BH is 6 1/4" but mine is closer to 6" . I have shot that bow in bitterly cold weather. I took a buck at 30 yards in minus 38 degree windchill one time. During the many cold hunts I have used the bow not once did I ever hit my arm or clothing and the bow is very accurate.

On another bow that has a BH of 7 1/4" when I first got it if I wasn' t careful it would clip my sleeve every now and then. I put a different grip on it and it took care of the problem so there is more to BH than just a measurement.

My feeling is this, I do believe if a person is starting out in archery it could cause them problems. Poor form of course throws everything out of wack. And too, it could be more of a challenge for longer draw archers to pull off shot after accurate shot with a shorter BH.

But I would have to agree that for ME brace height by itself has not been a problem. However it is something I look at when I am considering a bow.

CBM SC

I agree. I think brace height is one of the biggest misconceptions in archery. I have read articles , where on a shooting machine ......brace height makes absolutely no difference. And I believe it from my personal experiences.

However I do agree that they probably are not the smartest choice for a beginner or for someone that only pulls their bow out a few weeks before season each year.

Arthur P

Brace height is the second thing I look at when selecting a compound, right after axle to axle length. I won' t even look twice at a bow that' s less than 40" long or with less than 8" brace. Antler Eater is dead on the money when he says short brace bows cause problems for long draw shooters. Even an 8" brace gives me a 25.5" power stroke, and that' s a long way for an arrow to travel when attatched to the string. Lots of room for form bobbles to screw things up. The sooner I can get the arrow off the string, the better I like it. It simplifies tuning and it greatly improves my accuracy.

6" brace height is for smurfs. [>:]

Straightarrow

I too am a big proponent of high brace heights. It has nothing to do with accuracy, but everything to do with forgiveness. Accuracy problems are, in general, tuning issues. Any given bow will be more forgiving with a higher brace height. For me, it is too difficult to compare bows of different makes and styles. Too many factors affect forgiveness to easily compare the effects of brace heights on different brands. I do know that if I' m putting torque on a bow, the shorter time the arrow is on the string, the less torque imparted to the arrow.

My biggest reason for wanting high brace heights is also sleeve clearance. Sure, under good conditions with a normal stance, the string may not hit a sleeve on a heavy jacket, but what about the shot where you' re leaning far to the right, with your upper tors twisted counterclockwise to the back side of a tree? If you' re forced to shoot with an extremely closed stance, then brace height will always be a concern. Persoanlly, I consider 7" a short brace height and 8" barely adequate. I' m probably spoiled from the days when everything I shot was 9" or more.

It is my belief that lots of hunters miss deer from hitting their sleeves, but aren' t even aware of it, under the excitement of a shot at an animal. Heck I know guys who hit their arms when wearing no sleeves and taking their preferred stance when shooting at a target. Imagine what an extra inch or two of clothing would do.

btpatriot02

I had a Patriot last season with a 7-1/2 BH and now I have a Black knight with 6-3/4BH and before I bought the BLK I put my hunting clothes that I use thru out the season plus my cold weather ones and I did not hit my arm at all. The Pat was forgiving and Acc.IMO the black knight is just as forgiving and Acc. as my old Pat.IMO is that BH comes into play is if you are a beginner, esp. if your shooting form is not that great.

Arthur P

When is your shooting form most likely to be ' not that great' ? When you' re hunting! Animals coming in from unexpected angles, with you probably cold and maybe short of sleep (if not somewhat hungover), adrenaline pumping...

btpatriot02

What I meant is that from seeing alot of beginners myself included when I was just starting out I would anchor differently the holding arm would either be slightly bent then change to being straight. the more exp. hunters regardless of being surprised or sleepy or somewhat hungover still will anchor the same the holding arm will be either slightly bent or straight. I' ve been surprised before overly excited but I still (instinctly) got my anchor and everything else put in place.regardless if sitting or standing or having to stretch. the more you shoot you will,IMO instinctly get in your right anchor and holding form. did this make any sense[:-][X(]

Arthur P

It makes perfect sense. However, you' ve completely forgotten to factor in Murphy' s Law. I can' t remember a single hunt I' ve ever been on that didn' t carry Murphy along as an unwelcome guest. Even things that can' t possibly go wrong will find a way to go wrong, and there' s no need to invite them to happen with a low brace height bow.

For 3D or target, fine. You' ve got a gob of time to make sure each element of your form is right. But a low brace bow simply is not the best choice for a hunting bow. Just my humble opinion, of course.