forgiving brace height?

[xiolo]

Hey guys,
I keep reading about things like "forgiving brace height" and "a smoother draw" and all that sort of stuff, and I don't know what it means. :confused:
I just bought my first bow, a 2001 Bowtech Black Knight 2, from a fellow forum member, which has a brace height of either 5.25" or 6.25" Now I have no idea what that means, or whether it is forgiving, or why forgiving even matters. ;)
I've shot a total of 5 bows in my lifetime, and maybe 20 arrows (4 bows and 15 arrows the other day at the store trying out bows). So I really don't know much.

Thanks.

[TexHunter]

xiolo there is a bunch of info to absorb here. The BK probably is a 6.25" BH. Brace height is the distance from the grip throat to the string and generally the greater the BH the more forgiving the bow.

[xiolo]

Thanks Tex. I've been loving all the info here, and been learning lots. Now that I understand that the brace height is, what do you mean by 'forgiving'?

[TexHunter]

Is more forgiving if your form is lacking or your grip is not quite right, etc. Is less affected by...........

[Tejas Raz]

The shorter the brace height, the more the bow can be misaligned from the sight alignment by the hand torquing the bow to each side by gripping it too hard, etc. In other words, the front sight and the rear sight can be aligned as desired, but the bow will be twisted in the hand causing missed shots. Think of a small triangle with a short braced bow and a large triangle with a long braced bow. The shorter distance magnifies the errors.

Hope that helped, but I'm not sure...

[xiolo]

The shorter the brace height, the more the bow can be misaligned from the sight alignment by the hand torquing the bow to each side by gripping it too hard, etc. In other words, the front sight and the rear sight can be aligned as desired, but the bow will be twisted in the hand causing missed shots. Think of a small triangle with a short braced bow and a large triangle with a long braced bow. The shorter distance magnifies the errors.

Hope that helped, but I'm not sure...
*lightbulb moment* Now i get it! The triangle analogy is perfect. Thanks. It'll just mean I have to pay more attention to my form. :)

[Tejas Raz]

*lightbulb moment* Now i get it! The triangle analogy is perfect. Thanks. It'll just mean I have to pay more attention to my form. :)

EXACTLY~! Cool!

Everything is a balance. You get more speed/power with a low braced bow, but you pay for it with the requirement of increased diligence with your form, which is not a bad thing.

Enjoy it!