Make this make sense for me

[JakeD]

I have a longbow that is 58".  I took the string off last night to measure it before ordering a new string.  I expected it to be around 55-55.5". Instead, it measured 57.5".  That seems awfully long for a 58" bow.  Now I'm not sure on what I should order for length.  Could my bow be longer than what it is marked?  I'm not really sure what to make of it. 

[Friend]

Measure the bow length...

[Terry Green]

If that's the length that you were happy with while on the bow, that's what you need to order.

[McDave]

Before you order a new string, measure the brace height with the old string on.  As Terry said, if you're happy with the way it shoots, probably no reason to change anything.  However, the old string may have stretched, and you could be even more happy if you're shooting at the correct brace height.

If it's not at the correct brace height, twist it up until it is and then measure the string after twisting it up.  If the old string is still shootable, shoot it at the correct brace height, and see if you like it better or worse than it was before you twisted it up.

[Smguinnip]

if the string is b-50 or b-55, it will stretch when put on your bow and shrink back up when taken off and if you measured it right after unstringing, it may have still had some stretch into in. if that's the case, remeasure today and see if it has shortened up any. but it still seems long for a 58" bow.

[JakeD]

Thank you all for the responses. 

I'm pretty leery of putting the string back on the bow and stringing it up.  It has a nick in the string and I was very hesitant to keep it under any pressure once it happened.  I'm also not sure of what type of material the string is.  I'll take some pics of the string when I go home and post them here.  Maybe somebody will be able to tell me what type of string it is.  I hate to change much with it since the bow shoots so well with that string. 

I will re-measure when I get home today and make sure it's at the same length that I measured it at yesterday. 

[Smguinnip]

having a nick in it might explain the extra length. personally, i would measure the bow and go with the proper length string. if your shooting the wrong length string well, just imagine how well you will be shooting the right length string.

[black velvet]

Measure the bow to make sure it's marked properly. 57 1/2" is way to long for a 58 inch bow.

[JakeD]

As long as I am measuring the bow correctly, it appears that it was marked incorrectly from the factory. I measured it from very upper and lower edge of the string grooves and came up with 60". That would make more sense as to why the string measures what it does.

[Pine]

 

[Orion]

Yep.  A 60-inch bow. 

[Wudstix]

My first choice was longer bow.