I had a BW longbow and now have two Shrews, all forward-riser designs. Indeed, in my case they all shortened my draw to about 27.5″ while it is an inch longer with a straight longbow and longer yet with a recurve. But I don’t see any real difference in arrow performance. But if you’re starting with a short draw, it could matter. With the short Shrews it really makes a positive difference. With longer bows, I don’t know. I defer to someone else out there with more direct experience. dp

You guys are probably saying the same thing in a different way, but a forward riser, also known as a deflex riser, doesn’t shorten your draw length. It lengthens the bows brace height. The string doesn’t travel forward as far as it does with a reflex risered bow (all else being equal), which decreases the time duration the string is in contact with the arrow, which decreases the amount of stored energy in the bow from transferring to the arrow. All else being equal, a deflex risered bow will be more forgiving. A reflex risered bow will provide more speed. I would imagine the deflex riser on the shrew is PART of the reason it can be shot well, despite it being a relatively short longbow.