brace height question

[bradsmith2010]

I normally shoot 5 1/2 or 6 inches on my brace,, measured from handle to string,,
my favorite hunting bow,, is Ishi inspired osage,,,55 1/2 inches
I started out shooting it at 27 inches,, left the limbs wide to compensate for the long draw,,
the handle is a little wider than a stiff handle bow and it bends into the handle,,,
I was thinking if I made the bow a bit longer I could brace it a bit higher,,,and it might help with arrow flight and also hitting my arm guard so hard,,
am I over thinking this,, is shoots really well as is,, but with a heavy jacket i was thinking it would give me a bit more clearance with a higher brace,,,??? would there be any disadvantage of making the bow a bit longer and bracing higher,,?
I forgot to add,, I now shoot it at about 25 inches of draw,,

[DC]

What happens if you just raise the BH. You have shot it at 27".

[bradsmith2010]

well,, I dont know, I was thinking it might be more stress on the limbs,,? you are thinking it would be about the same as shooting it at 27,,?  which I am kind of thinking I was pushing it a bit,, but I could for sure try it,,

[PEARL DRUMS]

Brad, the last year or so I have increased my BHs up to 7" plus on nearly all my bows. I'm amazed at how well they behave now, maybe a fuzz slower, but I could care the less about that. I was always a short BH guy, but have since changed my tune. Get it? Tune?

[PatM]

How do you intend to make it longer?

[bradsmith2010]

 Pat,,I was gonna just make another bow same design but longer,,,just over build it a bit to allow for higher brace,,
Pearl I get it, , did you compensate any in the design to allow for higher brace,,

[Woodely]

Different strokes for different folks as they say.   I prefer the lowest brace possible as I had a couple bows break after increasing the BH.  Probably bad tiller is what caused it.  And I like the way the bow performs with a lower BH.  Mine is normally no higher than 6 1/4" -  6 1/2" .

[bradsmith2010]

I dont usually go more than 6 , ,but was thinking 6 1/2 or 7 maybe,,but was gonna run it buy you guys and see what you thought

[SLIMBOB]

I tend toward a lower BH.  5 1/2 -6 inches.  If it shoots well, that's where I leave it.  I have a few at 7 inches, as at 6 inches it slaps your wrist and clangs arrows off the handle.  At 7 inches it's well behaved. I guess the point is I start out shooting them around 5+ inches, just enough to clear the feathers, and start increasing it until I like the results.

[bradsmith2010]

with some bows shooting through the chrono,, I noticed a difference in speed if the string hitting my arm guard too hard,, sometimes I would take it off and leave a low brace,, so I was thinking it might be a wash as far as speed is concerned,, if I did loose some speed at higher brace, ,but reduced friction on the string hitting my arm,,,that being said,, I think you are right about finding the sweet spot where the bow behaves and not worry about the few fps,,

[DC]

Chasing speed is fun but once you've made the bow and run it through the chrono and either cussed or patted yourself on the back what do you need the speed for? If you're not headed for Bonneville make it shoot nice

[Badger]

None of my favorite bows are especially fast. Nice job on that one.

[George Tsoukalas]

Brad, shoot it with your hunting jacket and then decide.

I usually keep the brace the lowest possible and still get good flight. That's 7-7.5 in. from string to the back of the handle.

That is a beautiful bow.

Jawge

[rps3]

I thought I was doing something wrong at one point because my 7 inch plus brace heights seemed so high compared to what many people say they use, but it suits me well and I have come to accept it. I dont feel like I'm loosing any performance or durability as a result.

[ohma2]

Chasing speed is fun but once you've made the bow and run it through the chrono and either cussed or patted yourself on the back what do you need the speed for? If you're not headed for Bonneville make it shoot nice

agree