Death grip?

[huntnut]

Will I have been shooting tradtional on and off for  4 years. Mostly shoot compound. I cam up with something diffren today while shooting. Shooting compound I hold my bow hand open so I get no torq from it, I do that shooting my recurve to. Well today I got a good firm grip and my groups tighted way up. Now I cant shoot a 2-3" group at 20yrds I was shooting a 6" group from there. With a death grip on the bow maybe I'm getting the same grip and not torqing the bow. And it is makeing my lock up my bow arm more so I dont drop it after the shot.

WHo else shoots this way? I was always tought to shot with a relaxed hand but now I'm thinking not.

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

While I wouldn't call it a death grip I do "get ahold of it" and hang on.  I don't white knuckle it but I am firmly holding it.  I shoot a straight limbed longbow in the style or Howard Hill's Tembo and it does well with a firm grip.

[DaxE]

Same for me. When I shot compounds I use to feather the grip but with the longbow I get a good firm grip on it.

[cbCrow]

I use what I would call a firm but relaxed grip, likle Goldielocks, not too tight not to loose,just right is the best I can describe it. You may want to look at your release,if you are plucking the string, or short drawing, or any other bad thing it will cause you to be all over the place and your tight grip may be what you are using to compensate. Just a thought.  

[kbetts]

I now grip the bow tighter also.  Tom Parsons told me to stop holding it like a girl (sorry ladies).  Take control and hold on to the darn thing.  My groups tightened also.  Bad wheelie habits die hard.

[Ragnarok Forge]

My woman likes a man with a firm grip no need to apologize for her.  I hold the bow about as tightly as I would an egg. Firm but not hard enough to break it

[Sam McMichael]

I shoot Hill bows, and while I would not call it a death grip, I sure do take hold of it. I use firm and somewhat tight grip down on the heel of my hand. This works for me, but lighter grips send arrows all over the place.

[Raging Water]

If you shoot a Hill style bow, I feel a Moderate Death Grip is needed. Howard Hill used to hold pretty tight. He looked like he wasn't but he had some seriously strong hands.

Anyway, death grip on a Hill bow reduces the hand shock.

Yes, Hills have hand shock but they are still freaking cool!

[HUNT 24/7]

Originally posted by Raging Water:
If you shoot a Hill style bow, I feel a Moderate Death Grip is needed. Howard Hill used to hold pretty tight. He looked like he wasn't but he had some seriously strong hands.

Anyway, death grip on a Hill bow reduces the hand shock.

Yes, Hills have hand shock but they are still freaking cool!

Yup, I gotta agree with you, I had to loose a grip & the string was trying to dig a hole through my wrist, firmed up my grip a bit & problem solved. I don't have a problem with hand shock because my Hill bow is the only one I've ever had, just feels normal to me.

[Terry Green]

I don't 'death grip' it by any means, I hold just like Howard Hill said he did.....like holding a small bird...just firm enough to keep the bird from flying away, but not to dare hard enough harm the bird.

[Ssamac]

I notice you are listing recurves. Death grip on a longbow works (maybe not too tight) and is correct. On a recurve, however, you can actually change the tiller of the bow like that. You should not have your palm ppressing on the recurve handle. Of course if the recurve is sloshing around in your hand you're going to be all over the place. Try to get a good balanced grip with the thumb and forefinger and see how that does for you.

sam

[hvyhitter]

I grip both types pretty tight...have been for years..... always get tighter groups that way. I hate having a bow slime around in my hand.

[Gregg S]

I have just recently tried a tighter grip on my recurve. I've always had my arrows grouping about 3" to the right of where I was aiming. I got all the suggestions about shooting the wronge spined arrows and about plucking or collapsing but it seemed no mater what I tried I grouped to the right. At 20 yds. MOST arrows would be in a 3" circle. Very frustrating. I tried allot of different things that didn't move my group to the left. Awhile back I tried tightening my grip. Instant success. I'm not exactly sure why it works for me but I think that by having a firm grip on the bow my wrist is allot more solid. I think that with the light grip my wrist/hand would move at the release. Now its solid as a rock. I let the bow go where it wants to as I draw but then tighten down on it while I aim and pull through. Maybe I just have weak wrists and this helps. It's not the text book way to do it but it works for me so I figured I'd post it. Maybe it will help someone else too.

[zetabow]

I used to grip my Longbow quite firm, last year shooting Recurve i started to use a finger sling, when I went back to Longbow I changed to the lightest of grips and found I torqued the bow a lot less and was always pushing into the target, where when I held it tight I would sometimes not be pushing and Bowhand would have a lot of movement.

Recent video of my form under pressure, meaning its easy to grip bow under relaxed practice conditions and still make good shots but under pressure may tell a different story and could be a big miss, after watching this clip it confirmed that my light grip Bowhand is now much more consistent and stable for me.          

       

[amazonjim]

I also grip tight, sort of like the guy on the barebow video, like you choke a snake.

[TSP]

Setting the bow in the hand firmly can help reduce bow torque by providing better bow control.  Bow torque is unplanned 'twisting' of the riser during the shot, before the arrow leaves the bow.  Riser movement in the hand during the shot is bad for accuracy.  Riser or limb movement after the arrow clears the bow is irrelevant.  

When shooting at odd angles (up or down, bending, leaning out, etc.), a firm grip on the bow riser helps the shooter manage bow movement.