Brace Height Reference

What brace height is

With the bow strung and undrawn, brace height is the straight-line distance from the string to the pivot point of the grip — the deepest point of the throat where the bow sits in your hand. It is sometimes described loosely as “string to the deepest part of the grip,” and on a recurve it is closely related to how far the string sits in front of the riser at rest.

Brace height is a property of how the bow is set up and built, not something you read off a generic chart. Two bows of the same length can have different recommended brace heights, so the only authoritative source is the spec for your exact bow.

How to measure it with a bow square

A bow square is a small T-shaped tool that clips onto the string and lays a ruler across to the riser. To measure brace height:

1. String the bow correctly and let it sit at rest (undrawn).
2. Clip the bow square onto the string so its arm lies flat across to the grip.
3. Read the distance from the string to the pivot point (deepest part) of the grip on the ruler. That measurement is your brace height.
4. Compare it to the value in your bow’s manual or on the manufacturer’s spec sheet.

If you don’t have a bow square, that measurement is exactly the kind of thing a pro shop or coach can take for you in a minute, and confirm it is within your bow’s recommended range.

Recurve vs compound: who sets the number

On a recurve bow, brace height can be tuned within a small range by twisting or untwisting the string. Adding twists shortens the string and raises brace height; removing twists lengthens it and lowers brace height. The manufacturer gives a recommended range, and you adjust within it to suit the bow and your shot:

• Higher brace height (within range) tends to be quieter and more forgiving — the string leaves the fingers sooner — at a small cost in speed.
• Lower brace height (within range) keeps the string on the arrow slightly longer, which can add a little speed but is usually less forgiving and louder.

On a compound bow, brace height is fixed by the bow’s design and cam geometry — you do not tune it by twisting the string. It is a published spec of the bow, and changing it is not part of normal setup. As a general design trade-off, a shorter brace height can make a compound a touch faster but less forgiving of form errors, while a longer brace height is more forgiving; that balance is decided by the bow’s designer, not adjusted by the shooter.

How brace height affects the shot

Brace height sets how long the string stays in contact with the arrow during the shot — the power stroke. A lower brace height means the string pushes the arrow over a slightly longer distance, which can add a small amount of speed but leaves more time for form errors and hand torque to influence the arrow, so it is generally less forgiving and often louder. A higher brace height shortens that contact, which tends to be quieter and more forgiving but slightly slower.

These are small, trade-off effects, not dramatic ones, and the right balance depends on your bow and your form. The correct approach is to start at the manufacturer’s recommended value, then — on a recurve — fine-tune within their range as part of tuning, ideally with a coach watching your shot.

For the plain-English definition and related terms, see brace height in the archery terms glossary.