Length of selfbows?

[Bentstick81]

 I have a few boardbows that are 66-68" long. A friend of mine came over this evening with a 62" red oak boardbow, approx. mid 50's on pull weight. He brought a 60" the other day, and i could not believe how these shorter length bows shot. They didn't have much handshock at all . All my bows have quite a bit more handshock . My bows are longer. I think i'm going to shorten my bows some, and see if it helps. We have draw lengths of 26-27". We shot each others bows, and we both agree that the shorter bows have less handshock. Do you guys agree?

[Jesse]

I think 66" sounds good for red oak. The handshock could be from extra limb mass at the tips or uneven limb timing. Try making the tips thinner. Going short is ok but can mean trouble for some bow woods/ designs.

[Pat B]

Shorter bows can have less hand shock because they have less mass than a longer bow. More often it is a bow will over-sized tips and/or uneven tiller that is the culprit.

[adb]

Yes, Pat is correct. Shorter bows don't have less hand shock. It's mostly all about the tiller and tip mass.

[Del the cat]

The only other thing I'd add, is that matching arrow weight to bow poundage/speed can help reduce shock, a slightly heavier arrow will get more power into the arrow and leave less in the limbs.
Del