hand height

[msoulier]

One thing I've never been able to find good information on is, if I'm shooting off the hand without any kind of shelf or arrow rest, how high do I want my hand?

Should the arrow shoot off of the very middle of the bow, and so my hand should be below the middle? Should my hand by on the middle so the arrow is then slightly higher?

Any rules on this?

Thanks,
Mike

[McDave]

I think that the answer to where you put your hand is the same as where you would put the shelf.  You put the shelf where you can get good arrow flight, and good fletch clearance. This will vary from bow to bow, depending on the bow's tiller.

You would like your nocking point to be about 1/2 - 5/8" above your "shelf" which is your knuckle.  So try various locations and see where the arrow flies best.  This assumes those locations are repeatable, and you can hold a bow square on your knuckles to find a nock point.

If you have no way of repeating your grip location from shot to shot, and don't plan to use a nock point, then I think, like Luke Skywalker, you just have to trust the force.

[RecurveRookie]

Wow, you shoot primitive.  I agree with McDave, your knuckle should be close to the middle of the bow.