How does too much brace height affect the trajectory of the arrow?

Q

"Hey Charles,

Probably a dumb question.

How does having too much brace height on your bow affect the trajectory of your shots?"

- Gordon M.

A


Hey Gordon!

Too much or too little brace height hurts the arrow speed, and arrow speed consequently affects the length of the arc of the arrow, the power and accuracy of the shot. It really comes down to the speed of the bowstring and how quickly it stops on the ideal location. The arrow only leaves the bowstring when the bowstring reverses its forward momentum and goes backwards instead. So yes, it definitely affects the arc and trajectory.

To illustrate this in terms of physics, think of three cars accelerating in a drag race and then slamming on the breaks, with each of the three cars trying to stop at a specific line on the race track.

• The first car speeds up, but then stops too soon, not achieving its full potential speed. On a bow, this hurts arrow speed because it never reaches its full speed.
• The second car speeds up, but stops too late. It did go very fast, but on a bow that means the bowstring went too far forward because the bowstring was too slack, and that process causes it to slow down on the forward thrust and then bounce backwards in a sluggish manner.
• The third car speeds up, reaches optimal speed, and then stops at the ideal spot. On a bow, this means the arrow leaves the bowstring at an optimal time to maximize its speed.

There is also a sound difference. If you experiment with different brace heights you will discover that the three different brace heights will cause the bowstring to make noticeably different sounds. A good brace height should make more of a solid thrum sound, whereas incorrect brace heights will sound more twangy.

Notes

You should be able to find the precise brace height for your bow online and then measure it with a ruler or a Bow T-Square, but when a ruler is unavailable you can also use the "Rule of Thumb Method" I showed you previously.

Measuring Brace Height with a Bow T-Square

Rule of Thumb Brace Height

Some archers also file or use sandpaper on the nocks so that they leave the bowstring faster and more smoothly, in an effort to increase arrow speed by a few feet per second (fps).

If you have additional questions feel free to ask.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
CardioTrek.ca



UPDATE

"Wow, definitely made a huge difference now that it's at the recommended brace height."

 - Gordon M.

Arrow Length Question + Archery Testimonial

Q

Have a quick question regarding purchasing arrows.  How long should your arrows be with respect to your draw length?  Should they be the same length or should they be a little longer than your draw length?"

Kind regards,

Gordon M.

A

Hey Gordon!

One inch longer than the draw length is very common.

Some people have a habit (or like having the option) of overdrawing the bow and go for two inches past their normal draw length.

Some people also try to save weight (to increase speed slightly) by having only half an inch past their draw length.

Happy Shooting! Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
CardioTrek.ca

Note

Various cultures also historically used really long arrows for bowfishing or for hunting birds. The really long arrows would be easier to find / would float in the water, making their retrieval easier. In some cases the arrows would be almost as long as the bow or even longer than the bow itself.

Bowfishing from a Riverboat

Wai Wai Bowfisherman

Bird Hunting in the Amazon

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Archery Testimonial

Had an awesome time learning archery the past month, the lessons had a good balance between formal and chill atmosphere.  Learned a lot about how to safely and properly handle the bow, but more importantly also about the proper ettiquette shooting at a public range; because nobody wants to be 'that guy'.

- Gordon M.

A Six Month Plan to Lose 10 Pounds using 6 Minute Exercises

Lets pretend you currently weigh 200 lbs and you want to lose 10 lbs over a 6 month period (or 20 lbs over the course of a year). What would you need to do to accomplish that using purely exercise and no changes to your diet?

Well, first lets look at the math.

10 lbs is the equivalent of 35,000 calories.

Divided up into 6 months, that is a goal of losing 5833.33 calories per month. Or 194.44 calories per day.

If you go for a simple 6 minute walk during which you walk 0.5 km, a person who weighs 200 lbs will burn 37 calories. (Admittedly that is a fairly slow and leisurely walk.)

The person in question would need to do that same walk 157.65 times per month to burn the necessary calories to meet their monthly goal. That would be roughly 5.25 walks per day.

So a 6 minute leisurely walk just isn't going to cut it.

But a slightly faster pace and more time, 30 minutes walking 2.7 km, that would burn 200 calories.

A significantly faster pace, jogging for 15 minutes a distance of 2.0 km, that would burn 188 calories. Counting the Afterburn Effect, it would end up being over 200 calories.

However if the goal is to get the Afterburn Effect, then you would actually get the best results with the least amount of effort by using Interval Training.

Sample Interval Training Routine

1 minute running or jogging, followed by 5 minutes of walking.
1 minute running or jogging, followed by 5 minutes of walking.
1 minute running or jogging, followed by 5 minutes of walking.
1 minute running or jogging, followed by 5 minutes of walking.
1 minute running or jogging, followed by 5 minutes of walking.

So the person is getting in 5 minutes of running/jogging, which gets the heart pounding hard, following by light exercise in the form of walking. By spacing it out into intervals it causes a combination of multiple hormonal releases and multiple triggers of the fat burning Afterburn Effect. Interval Training is also easier for people who lack stamina and endurance, and over time they can change the routine to add more time jogging and less time walking. As a result they are burning fat, and building endurance so that they will later be able to burn fat at a faster rate.

The above routine would burn over 250 calories, plus a bonus amount depending on the Afterburn Effect. In theory they could do less time, 25 minutes instead of 30, and still be burning the 200 calories per day.

So what about 6 Minute Cardio Routines?

Well, you are not going to burn 200 calories in six minutes. That is basically impossible. Even the most intense exercise won't be able to burn 200 calories in six minutes.

But a 200 lb person jumping rope (fast) for six minutes will burn 108 calories. That means that if a person did that twice per day (once in the morning, once in the afternoon/evening) they could burn 216 calories per day.

So it is possible to break the 200 calories per day mark by doing 6 minute cardio exercises, but you would need to choose a very intense exercise and most people will not be able to do an intense exercise for 6 minutes straight.

Other intense exercises and the calories burned for a 200 lb person:

• 6 minutes of Jumping Jacks, approx. 73 calories.
• 6 minutes of Sprinting/Running 8 mph, approx. 122 calories.
• 6 minutes of Kettlebell Training, varies on the weight of the kettlebell. Approx. 90 calories.
• 6 minutes of Kickboxing, approx. 90 calories.
• 6 minutes of Cycling, approx. 103 calories.
• 6 minutes of Rowing Machine, approx. 79 calories.
• 6 minutes of Stair Climbing, approx. 64 calories.

Notice something about all of the above exercises? They are all exercises that use both the legs and arms. Want to know what else burns lots of calories? Swimming.

Here are the same numbers but for different kinds of swimming exercises, again calculated for a person who weighs 200 lbs:

• 6 minutes of Leisure Swimming : 71 calories
• 6 minutes of Backstroke : 82.5 calories
• 6 minutes of Front Crawl (Slow) : 82.5 calories
• 6 minutes of Breaststroke : 118 calories
• 6 minutes of Front Crawl (Fast) : 131 calories
• 6 minutes of Butterfly : 131 calories

So if a person really loves swimming, this is certainly an option. Doing the 6-minute Butterfly exercise 300 times over 150 days (5 months) would burn 39,300 calories or 11.2 lbs. Doable? It really depends on how much you love swimming.

What about dieting?

After seeing the amount of exercising many people may be thinking "Hmm, maybe I should just diet instead."

In which case you will want to reduce your daily intake of calories to a more reasonable level. Your best bet is to be calorie counting, as that multiplies your chances of success. Aim to be consuming 200 calories less than the normal amount of calories you need per day, which means you will be burning fat stores instead. So if your body burns 1800 calories per day, aim to eat only 1600 per day.

So yes, dieting is certainly an option.

Or you could do both, diet and exercise. The combination of both is a surefire way of burning more calories than you are consuming. It really depends how much you want to lose and over what time period. Trying to burn 10 lbs in 1 month is possible, but would be extremely grueling. Doing the same amount, but spread over 6 months is much more reasonable.

Happy Exercising!

Archery, Aiming and Glasses Vs Contacts

Today one of my archery students was having a problem with the contact in the eye that he aims with. He used to wear glasses, but has made the switch to contacts. His contact was making his eye itchy and dry, and this was interfering with his ability to aim.

The quality of his aim today was thus suffering.

Logically, today would have been a good day for him to switch back to his glasses.

So does that make glasses better than contacts when it comes to aiming?

Not necessarily. The problem with glasses is that they will sometimes shift on your nose, thus shifting the magnification you are using to aim. Ideally, if the glasses were always perched on the same part of your nose then it would be okay, so the trick then is for glasses-wearers to adjust their glasses before a shot, and make a habit of doing it before shots.

Contacts, assuming that the user's eyes are not dry / irritated, thus would normally be superior. There are certainly pros and cons to both.

GADGET NOTE

There are also "Archery Sport Glasses", which are designed to give the user a greater focus / magnification so they can more clearly see where they are aiming, without squinting or straining their eyes. The lenses can also be adjusted to full sun or low light conditions. Some people consider "Archery Sport Glasses" to be cheating, akin to using other kinds of archery gadgets, and thus they might not be allowed at some kinds of archery competitions. It is more common to see them at compound archery competitions, which are very "pro gadgets" in the first place.

Recurve Bows, Brands and Models

During a recent email conversation with a new archer who is shopping for archery equipment, I recommended the Samick Sage because of its reliability and the many excellent reviews it has received in recent years. But I also mentioned that I could "recommend a variety of other brands / models if you want to see a wider range of companies and styles."

To which he responded: "Good I asked you, it would be definitely interesting to see other brands / models, more importantly it would be nice to know the difference."

Hence why I am now writing the post you see below, to showcase some of the other brands and models that are available when it comes to recurve bows designed for beginners (adults). Note - If anyone wants to see a similar list of Youth / Children's bows, post a comment at the bottom and I shall make another list in the future just for you.

The Samick Sage is a bit like the Ford F-150. It is economical and has everything you expect to see in a recurve bow made for a beginner. All the normal bells and whistles for a sum of $150 CDN.

Samick Sage Recurve Bow

But Samick is not the only manufacturer out there. They are just one of many. A recurve bow is a recurve bow is a recurve bow. They are all more or less similar, with slight differences in materials, shapes, lengths, level of quality, and prices.

PRICES LISTED BELOW MAY VARY ON WHERE YOU ARE PURCHASING.

Since many manufacturers list equipment in USD prices, the

exchange rate can cause prices in CDN to vary dramatically.

The PSE Razorback and the Jandao Recuve

If these two bows look similar it is because they are both made in the same factory and look exactly the same. Just different brand names on them. Both cost about $100 USD. They are nothing special and are basically a very cheap introductory recurve bow. I am not even going to bother showing a photo of one. The Samick Polaris falls into the same category of cheap beginner bows, with very similar looks to the Razorback/Jandao.

The PSE Blackhawk, Ghost, Mustang, and Talon

Unlike the Razorback mentioned above, these bows are worth showing. They're all pretty bows and have histories of receiving excellent reviews, the Blackhawk ($260 USD) most of all. The Mustang is $220 USD, the Ghost is $250 USD, and the Talon is $235 USD. I think the Ghost is the prettiest of the bunch, but the Blackhawk has some impressive pedigree/reviews so it is difficult to ignore.

Above: PSE Blackhawk

Above: PSE Ghost

Above: PSE Mustang

Above: PSE Talon

The Martin Poplar, Martin Willow and Martin Cypress

The following are three takedown wooden recurve bows, all made by Martin Archery: Poplar, $130 USD; Willow, $200 USD, + the Martin Cypress, $250 USD. Of the three the Cypress is nicest and prettiest, shown below. Design and features wise, the Cypress is Similar to the Samick Red Stag (shown further below).

Above: Martin Cypress

The Samick Red Stag

If the Samick Sage doesn't interest you, there are also other bows made by Samick which might interest you instead. The Samick Red Stag is one such bow, or rather, three. There is the takedown recurve, the one-piece recurve, and a longbow version (prices for all three versions vary between $200 USD to $300 USD). There is a downside to the Red Stag however, it is not drilled for any kind of accessories. It is meant for traditional fur rests only. It is also a bit noisy, so you will want to consider getting dampeners / string silencers.

Samick also offers a variety of similar bows, like the Lightning Nighthawk, Squall, Phantom, Phoenix II, Leopard II, Volcano, Stingray, and similar models which are designed more for looks.

The Martin Jaguar, Martin Sabre and Martin Panther

The following are three non-traditional takedown bow models, all made by Martin, which some similar design features. The Martin Jaguar is the most basic model at $200 USD, the Martin Sabre is a more advanced model at $250 USD, and the Martin Panther is $300 USD. (There has also been sales in the past for $150, $200 and $250 respectively.) As recurve bows go they fill a niche market of people who are less attracted to wood and want something that is either camouflage or "Darth Vader Black".

In recent years they have also come out with Jaguar Elite (weighing 2.6 lbs) and the Jaguar BF (blue for bowfishing).

Martin Jaguar

Martin Jaguar BF

The Bear Grizzly

The photo below doesn't just show any Bear Grizzly. That is my Bear Grizzly, which I got years ago and even named it "Seahawk". At $380 USD the Grizzly has decorated the shelves of many archers' homes for decades now. The basic design hasn't changed much since the 1950s and these days they are made with "FutureWood", a wood polymer blend that makes the wood tougher and protects from water damage.

Bear Archery also sells a variety of other recurve bows and longbows worth looking at, but the Grizzly is the model that I personally fell in love with.

The Martin Independence

It used to be that Martin had a wide range of recurve bows with a variety of different designs. They made very pretty bows like the Martin Dream Catcher, the Gail Martin, the X-150 / X-200, and so forth. Just Google "Martin Dream Catcher" and see how pretty that bow is and you will understand why some of the older models are arguably better when it came looks.

But all of those models have been discontinued, leaving only the more popular models like the Martin Hunter and Martin Mamba, for which they have jacked the prices up to $630 USD for the Hunter and $600 for the Mamba...

Now keeping in mind the Martin Mamba and Martin Hunter are widely regarded to be two very good bows for their price range, which might explain why Martin has been jacking up their prices in recent years. If they cannot meet the demand because it is so popular, it is time to raise prices.

The Martin Independence (shown on the right) however is basically one of the cheaper models now available, for $400 USD, and it is a very pretty bow.

Stylistically it is similar to a Martin Mamba, but without certain design features that make the Mamba more time consuming and expensive to make.

That was the whole principle behind the old X-200 and X-150 models. They were faster and cheaper to make because the designs were simpler.

However $400 seems like a steep price to pay for the bow, especially when you can go on eBay and buy an older X-150 or X-200 for considerably less. Remember my comments up above about the Ford F-150? Well the Martin X-150 / X-200 was basically Martin's answer to what archers needed: An inexpensive recurve bow that was well made and lasts a long time.

Yesterday I met up with two people who both had X-200s and I joked that I should buy one too and we could start a X-200 Owners Club. Ha!

Browsing eBay can be an excellent way to get a nice quality bow for significantly less than what you would pay for a brand new one. However there are downsides. Finding the poundage you want will be much trickier, the bow may not be in mint condition and have problems, and lastly other people be bidding against you - which can inflate the price and you could end up in a bidding war. So buyer beware.



Note - Now this is not a complete list of manufacturers available. Bear, Martin, PSE, Samick are just a handful of the more popular companies available out there. They are the Fords, GMCs, and Chryslers of the archery world. I haven't even touched on European manufacturers like Ragim, Border Archery, etc. I also limited myself mostly to the so-called traditional style recurves, the ones that are more ideal for beginners due to their price range. I ignored the proverbial Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini type companies, because frankly those are out of the price range of most people (see the brief mention of Blacktail Bows below).



CONCLUSIONS: A recurve bow is a recurve bow is a recurve bow...

There are obvious huge price differences mentioned above, from the $150 CDN Samick Sage, to the $630 USD Martin Hunter. The sky is the limit when it comes to how much a person is willing to spend on a bow.

A quick tour of blacktailbows.com for example will make your jaw drop at the artistry of some truly exquisite and beautifully decorated bows. Their bows don't sell for mere hundreds, they are thousands of dollars each. See the image on the right to see what I mean.

And then there are antique bows or rare bows that belong in a museum, in which case they can become well nigh priceless.

But if the sky is the limit, how do you know which bow is right for you?

Honestly, you don't. It is like going to the dog pound and trying to pick out a puppy. You don't know which puppy is the right puppy for you, you just pick one based on its size, shape and demeanor and hope it falls in love with you just as much as you fall with it.

Having a really beautiful bow like a Blacktail doesn't mean you are going to be more accurate with it. It is just as likely that the bow will end up decorating a wall and collecting dust, because your favourite bow will end up being the one you are most comfortable shooting with and you get the most enjoyment out of shooting.

Thus you won't necessarily know you've fallen in love with a particular bow until after you've shot it many times, perhaps even given it a name, and gotten very used to shooting it. If someone sees the bow, likes the looks of it and offers to buy it off you would you sell the bow that you love so much? Probably not.

It would be like selling man's best friend. You love that little guy. You take him everywhere with you. And when you find that bow you will never want to let it go. You may buy and collect other bows over time (I am up to 27 bows currently...), but the bows you love you will never sell.