What Size Recurve Bow Do You Need? Draw Length Decides
Match bow length to draw length — 66 inches for a 25-27 inch draw, 68 for 27-29, 70 for 29 and up — then buy a string by the same AMO marking and set brace height inside the standard range for your length.
By the Archery Care Editorial Team
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Reputable tutorials that demonstrate this, hand-picked by Archery Care. The walkthroughs are the creators’ own — we just point you to the good ones (and, where they added chapters, straight to the moment that matters).
Buy a 68-inch bow. For most adults, that's the answer — a 25-inch riser with medium limbs, the standard setup in every pro shop. But "most adults" isn't you, and the difference between a bow that fits and one that fights you shows up in your groups within a week.
Bow length follows draw length. Not height, not arm strength, not budget. An archer with a 26-inch draw on a 70-inch bow wastes the limbs' working range; a 30-inch draw on a 62-inch bow stacks hard and pinches the string against your fingers at anchor.
Get the draw length right and everything else — string length, brace height, even arrow spine — falls out of it.
The mechanics behind the chart are simple. Takedown target recurves pair a riser with a set of limbs, and nearly every manufacturer builds around a 25-inch riser — short limbs make it a 66, mediums a 68, longs a 70. Risers also come in 23 and 27 inch versions, which shift each combination down or up two inches. An ILF riser like the Hoyt Xceed 2 or WIAWIS ATF-DX accepts any maker's ILF limbs, so you can change the bow's length later without starting over; budget risers like the Sanlida Miracle X10 and SF Premium Plus use the same fitting.
Hunting-style takedowns run shorter. The Samick Sage and Galaxy Sage measure 62 inches and list a maximum draw of 29 — fine for woods distances, and easier to thread through brush than a 70-inch target rig.
Factory specs sit inside those windows. The 62-inch Sage, for instance, lists 7.5 to 8.25 inches.
Start in the middle of the range and tune from there: twisting the string raises brace height — two twists adds roughly a quarter inch — and untwisting lowers it. Too low and the string passes closer to your forearm at release; that's the bruise, and the bow usually gets louder too. The quietest point in the range wins. Note the number and recheck it every few sessions, because strings creep.
Measure your draw length first
Stand against a wall, arms out, palms forward. Have someone measure fingertip to fingertip, then divide by 2.5. A 70-inch wingspan works out to a 28-inch draw, which happens to be the industry's reference number — under the AMO standard, bows are weighed and marked at 28 inches of draw.
That's an estimate, not gospel. Settled form can shift it half an inch either way, and a coach with a clicker will pin it down better than any formula. A draw length calculator gets you close enough to buy the right limbs, though.
One warning. Don't size off height alone. Two people at 5'10" can carry wingspans a couple of inches apart, and it's the arms that draw the bow.
The sizing chart
Here's the mapping, with heights included for typical proportions — wingspan roughly equals height, so height divided by 2.5 lands near your draw:
- Draw under 25 inches (around 5'3" and under): 62-64 inch bow
- 25-27 inch draw (about 5'3" to 5'8"): 66 inch bow
- 27-29 inch draw (about 5'8" to 6'0"): 68 inch bow
- 29-31 inch draw (about 6'0" to 6'5"): 70 inch bow
- Over 31 inches: 72 inch bow
Torn between two sizes? Go longer
A longer bow draws smoother and expands more steadily through the clicker; the cost is a little arrow speed. A shorter bow is faster and handier in wind, but less forgiving of everything. The string angle at full draw gets sharper as bows get shorter, which pinches your tab fingers against the nock and magnifies small release errors.
Beginners feel that pinch most. Coaches steer new archers toward the longer option for exactly this reason, and most archers find the speed difference between a 66 and a 68 invisible on a target face.
Growing teenager? Definitely round up.
String length and the AMO rule
Recurve strings are sold by the bow's AMO length, not by their measured length — and the two numbers are never the same.
The official standard, published by the Archery Manufacturers and Merchants Organization (now the Archery Trade Association), designates bow length as three inches longer than the string that braces it correctly — with that string measured under 100 pounds of tension over steel pins. Off the pins and relaxed, the same string tapes shorter, which is why the shop rule says a recurve string runs roughly four inches under the bow's marked length. A 68-inch bow takes a string that actually measures around 64 inches.
You don't need to do the math at the counter. Buy by marking: a bow stamped AMO 68 braces properly with a string sold as AMO 68. The minus-four rule earns its keep when you're taping an unmarked string or checking that a used bow came with the right one. Longbow strings sit closer to three inches under bow length — the convention differs by bow type, so don't mix the two rules.
Brace height by bow length
Once the bow's strung, check the brace height — the perpendicular distance from the deepest part of the grip to the string, measured with a bow square. The standard ranges:
- 62 and 64 inch bows: 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 inches
- 66 and 68 inch bows: 8 to 9 inches
- 70 and 72 inch bows: 8 3/4 to 9 1/2 inches
Run the numbers
Say you're 5'10" with a 70-inch wingspan. Draw length: 28 inches. Bow: 68 inches, from a 25-inch riser with medium limbs. String: marked AMO 68, taping around 64 inches relaxed. Brace height: start near 8 1/2 and tune for quiet.
That's the whole job. Five minutes with a tape measure beats an hour of forum threads — and if you'd rather skip the charts entirely, a draw length calculator or the Find My Bow quiz will do the arithmetic for you. Spend the saved time shooting.
Real questions archers ask about recurve bow size
Mined from public archery communities (June 2026); answered by Archery Care using our scored data. Source links go to the original discussions.
Does the riser length or the limb length matter more for matching my draw length?
Both add up to overall bow length, but they don't behave the same. Your draw length sets the total inches you need; how you get there changes the feel. A short riser with long limbs draws smoother and stacks less, while a long riser with short limbs is a touch faster and less stable, with more tendency to stack. That's why a 25-inch riser with medium limbs (a 68-inch bow) is the default for most adults: it balances both. One catch most beginners miss is that limbs are rated for poundage at a specific riser length, usually 25 inches. Drop to a shorter riser and the same limbs draw heavier, roughly a pound per inch.
I want one recurve for both target practice and hunting. What length should I get?
You're chasing two different sweet spots, so something has to give. Target shooters lean toward 68-70 inches for the smoother draw, shallower string angle, and steadier hold. Hunters often drop to 58-62 inches so the bow doesn't snag brush or clip a treestand rail. If you genuinely do both, split the difference and go 62-64 inches. Plenty of bowhunters point out that hunting shots rarely stretch past 20 yards, and a 60-inch bow is smooth enough at that range, so the maneuverability is worth the small accuracy trade. If most of your shooting is paper or 3D and hunting is occasional, size for target and live with the extra length in the woods.
Can I buy a riser from one brand and limbs from another?
Yes, as long as both are ILF (International Limb Fit). That standard exists precisely so you can mix a Hoyt riser with Win & Win limbs, or whatever combo you like. The gotcha is poundage marking. Most ILF limbs are rated on a 25-inch riser, but brands measure at different bolt positions. Korean makers like SF, Kaya, and Win & Win mark at the lowest setting (bolts all the way out), while Hoyt and Uukha mark at mid. So a set marked 34# can land a few pounds off what you expect depending on whose riser you bolt them to and where the limb bolts sit. Buy slightly under your target weight and tune up with the bolts.
Will a longer bow actually shoot slower than a shorter one at the same poundage?
A little, but not enough to lose sleep over. At equal draw weight, a shorter bow stores energy more aggressively and gives you marginally more arrow speed; a longer bow trades a few feet per second for a smoother, more forgiving shot. The far bigger speed lever is your draw length itself, where each extra inch is worth roughly 4-5 fps, sometimes more. So if you're tall with a long draw, going to a 70-inch bow doesn't really cost you speed because your long draw is feeding the arrow plenty of energy anyway. Picking a size for raw speed is the wrong priority for almost everyone. Comfort, a clean string angle, and not stacking will do more for your scores than a handful of fps.
I'm buying a first bow for a kid or a smaller adult. How do I size it without overdoing the weight?
Size the length the same way as anyone else, off draw length, but the bigger mistake parents make is poundage, not inches. Overbowing a young or new archer wrecks their form before it forms. Start light: 15-20# for many women and kids, 20-30# for an average adult who's never shot. You want them pulling the string back under control, not heaving it. The smart move is a takedown with replaceable limbs so the bow grows with them. Keep the riser, swap to heavier limbs once form is locked in. A 62-inch starter like a Sage works for a lot of smaller shooters; for a child with a short draw, a 23-inch riser with short limbs lands around 64 inches.
Community Pulse
What owners and shoppers actually say, quantified across 6 public discussions reviewed in June 2026.
When unsure, size up: a longer bow is the safer default
praiseThe dominant view is that a slightly-too-long bow forgives you, while a too-short one punishes form with finger pinch and stacking. Most threads steer adult beginners to 68 inches as the no-regrets pick. The pushback comes mainly from hunters, who argue the extra length is dead weight in the field and that a 60-inch bow is plenty smooth for sub-20-yard shots.
Shorter bows are better for hunting
mixedHunters split on this. One camp swears by 58-62 inches for maneuverability in brush and from treestands, calling longer bows a snag risk. The other camp counters that the accuracy and smoothness of a longer bow outweigh maneuverability, since real hunting shots are close and a steadier hold matters more than dodging branches. Both agree it comes down to where and how you actually hunt.
Match limb poundage to your actual riser, not just the number on the limbs
mixedExperienced ILF shooters stress that the poundage stamped on a set of limbs assumes a 25-inch riser and a specific bolt position, so the real draw weight shifts with riser length and brand. Newcomers often get burned ordering by the marked number alone. The friendlier voices note it's predictable once you learn it, roughly a pound per inch of riser, so it's a quirk to plan around, not a dealbreaker.
How we counted: we read 6 public discussions across archery forums and communities, grouped recurring topics, and counted distinct threads (not comments) where each theme appeared favorably or critically. Summaries are paraphrased in our own words; every count links to its sources. Note: Sizing discussion clusters on ArcheryTalk's beginner/sizing threads; the "shorter for hunting vs longer for target" debate lives mostly on TradTalk, and the riser-vs-limb mechanics surface in both TradTalk and Rokslide ILF threads.