Why am I more accurate with a R/D than a Hill style?

[1Arrow1Kill]

 
Never, EVER, interrupt a feeding opossum.  Especially when eating any type of squash plant.  Those things are killers!
 

[pavan]

Sorry Went off on feeding dangerous animals, but stating that you shoot recurves more consistent explains a lot.  There is absolutely no reason to not like mild R/d bows, but bows like Robertsons do have the typical low grip dish available.  They can be shot just like an ASL for the most part.  I find that I shoot them better if I have more of a stall at anchor in my draw and release tempo from my normal form.  It is not much but it is there.  it could be that my one remaining Robertson is only 62" long and I may need to do the same with a shorter ASL.  If you went to full blown John Schulz stile form, you may find that the recurve will not be as comfortable as it was.  When shooting with low wrist grip, think little bird like Hill spoke of, you do not want to hurt it, but you don't want it to get away either.  If you are accustomed to wedging a pistol grip in the web off of your thumb base joint, dropping the bow into full palm contact will seem quite different for a time.  High recurve grips tend to require a straighter bow arm.  With a straighter grip it helps to allow the bow arm elbow to drop a bit down and away.  Care should be taken that the bow arm is not jammed straight and the bow shoulder is not jammed up into the neck.  Most of the loss in draw length when going from a recurve to a straighter low wrist grip is in the bow and the slight opening of the stance.  I see it stated over and over that one can shoot a longbow and a recurve with the same form.  Those that make that claim without fail shoot recurves better and never get to the level of free and fluid shooting with a straight gripped low wrist bow.  A stiff and static shooting method always works better with a higher wrist bow, like most recurves. 

[Ulysseys]

Pavan I think your last post pretty much nails it for me, especially the last sentence or two.  To take it one further when I switched from a compound I said a recurve can be shot the same way a compound can, as in an upright rigid stance, loose grip, and a dwell at anchor.  A lot of that holds true since I shoot a recurve quite well but it doesn’t translate as well to an ASL.  I think the hand position feels unnatural to me so I struggle with inconsistency, if I had to guess from reading these posts.  I guess ultimately it is about the grip.  Good info, and as a bonus I won’t be feeding any angry ‘possum 

[pavan]

When I saw the black and white pamphlet from Howard Hill archery, it set something off in me.  The pictures brought me back to when a man came to look at the chunk of ash that lightening blew off the tall ash tree. He made a calfskin backed longbow from it.  I killed lots of rabbits and my first pheasants with that bow.   I make it sound like it was years apart, it seemed like it.  I out grew 60" ash longbow when I was 14 or 15, it broke, and got a recurve then I got a target recurve and then another bow etc.  When I went from a target recurve to that first straight grip, the feeling of tens years prior came back, but the bow seemed extremely awkward.  Over time, it probably was a bit here and there that I shifted away from trying to shoot the longbow with pure target form to a point where could say I shoot the target recurves that way and the longbow this way.  Then i got a bunch of Hill real to real tapes from Jerry Hill. The pheasant killer that I was with my first longbow came roaring back to life.  I liked shooting target style with target bows and hunting recurves with bow sights, the problem was that method does not match the way I hunt and what i hunt.

[frassettor]

I to have a slight issue with this.  What I noticed most is my elbow hurting when I shoot the ASL’s due to me not “bending my elbow” with the ASL vs my hybrids. Not sure what I am going to do right now, I’m lost to say the least. I’ve be accustomed to shooting my “style” a couple decades now. I tried bending my elbow, I can’t hit ANYTHING, and it feels so awkward, especially in my back.

[pavan]

I have difficulties with recurves, they make me feel like I must keep my arm straight.  Straight arm shooters would maybe be better off with bows that have more shape to grip and should stay with what works for them.