Howard Hill Brace Height
The questions of what is the proper brace height for a Howard Hill bow seems to come up fairly often. As with everything on individually hand made bows, there is no absolutle answer. it is going to depend a bit on you (your form), the bow (its wood, construction and length) and the arrow (its weight and spine). However, there is some general consistency as regards bow length. Here is some amterial that came up on the Howard Hill email list discussing this topic:
From Dick:
I got a query re brace heights and it led to an interesting session in the bow room.
Yesterday, I stuck my fist and thumb under the string of the new Black Bear,
and there was quite a gap above my thumb. My reaction was that this was a
real high brace height. Well, there's a reason they make rulers! I took down
each of the 12 Hills presently on hand, strung them and measured them. Interesting
results that I thought might be of interest. I'm putting the list here, but
will also put up a new page on the site so they will be there for reference.
Remember, strings get twisted and untwisted, and personal preference and the
differences between individual bows become factors, too, so there is nothing
sacred here... just information.
Bows and Brace Heights By Length:
Cheetah 69" Brace 6 1/2"
Redman 68" Brace 6 7/8"
Cheetah 66" Brace 6 1/2"
Wesley 66" Brace 6 3/8"
Halfbreed 66" Brace 5 1/2" *
Wesley 64" Brace 6 1/8"
Black Bear 64" Brace 6"
Wesley 60" Brace 6 1/4"
Tembo 60" Brace 5 3/4" *
Cheetah 60" Brace 6"
Bear Cub 56" Brace 6 7/8" **
Bear Cub 56" Brace 5 7/8"
There you have actual current brace heights for a dozen Hills. I have asterisked
three that stand out as being "out of the curve".
The Halfbreed is the bow I have shot most this summer. The string has been
on and off of it several times and I suspect this is not the brace height
it was shipped at. Likewise the Tembo. Being a take down, it is easy to get
that string untwisted. I intend to try both of these bows at a higher brace
height. The one Bear Cub seems very high for such a short bow, at 6 7/8".
This was the first Hill I bought and I am shooting it quite overdrawn. It
is rated 40# @ 23". I pull it to 45# at it's present brace height. That
one I will try lowering.
Of the bows that aren't out of the apparent norm, it seems that 6 1/2" plus for longer bows and 6" to 6 1/2" for the shorter ones (excluding the super short Bear Cubs) puts you in the ball park. To me, the big surprise was that the Black Bear did not, in fact, have a high brace but rather a lower one than most. Guess I need to pay more attention to brace height.
Hope you all find this informative. As I said, I plan to put up a brace height
page for reference for folks.
Dick in Seattle
From Dave Thomas:
I go with 6 5/8th brace height and nock point 3/8th above on
my late 1980's 70" 56#@28" Big Five.
Dave Thomas
Goldboro, NC
From tom Ireland:
For Brace Height, quoting Craig Ekin, "The conventional model 70"
long bow should be braced at 6 1/2" fistmele (+/- 1/8").
For shorter bows the brace height should be reduced by 1/8" for every 2" of bow length (i.e., a 66" bow should have a brace height of 6 1/4"). This measurement is from the belly side of the handle to the string".
The nock point on the string, as Dick said, is best determine by shooting
with your method of gripping the
string....i.e. three under, or one above and two under the arrow. A good place
to start is with a nock about 1/2"
above center....then work from there......mine are just a bit under 1/2".
Tom I.
NOTE: For anyone who doesn't know, Craig Ekin is the person who runs Howard Hill Archery and makes the Howard Hill bows. That brace height info is from the material that comes with a new Hill bow.