Question 'bout finger pressure when drawing bow

[ItzaKen]

I've shot stick bows and recurves for ~ 61 yrs, since I was a very, very young boy.
I'm having a bow built and was asked whether I shot split fingers, or three under....

Well, I shoot gloved, split fingers, BUT most of the pressure seems to be held on my ring finger, as is evidenced by the increased width of that one finger and the very heavy callusing.  SO, while I may be pulling with all three fingers, it would seem that most of the draw pressure is on that one finger.

Do others find this to be true for themselves, as well?

It would seem that the dynamics of the release may be different, based on where that draw pressure is on the string, in relation to bow hand pressure.

[Steelhead]

I shoot split.I try and put the most pressure in the middle finger.Its holding more poundage for me.My finger above the arrow is not holding much.A little probably.The finger below my middle finger is less engaged as well.The middle finger is strongest.I use a deep hook.Its strong and allows the back of the hand to be more relaxed.It gives good control as well.

The bows tillered a certain way and when your getting the string off well with the right grip pressure you can tell.The limbs recover in unison and the bows quieter,less limb vibration and a faster arrow that flies cleaner and more accurratly.You can feel and hear those well executed shots compared to less than perfect or downright nasty shots.

You can consult the Shooters Forum here as well where are some very knowledgable instructers who have certifications.Which I do not.I have just shot bows alot for a long time and have never had a lesson.Self taught with information gleaned from reading and trying to apply it.Moe's a good man over thier on the Shooters forum who has alot of experience and a certified instructor and he has videos that may help you out on a few details.

Sounds like your ring finger is doing to much of the work from your explanation friend.

Shoot Straight
>>>--------->

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Me too...split with most weight on ring finger. Been told it's the "wrong way", but I've been shooting like this for 40 years and trying to put more weight on the first 2 fingers feels bad to me. I guess I'll keep shooting the wrong way for another 40 years 😀

R

[STICKBENDER98]

I shoot my recurves 3 under, with more pressure on my middle and ring finger, putting my middle finger to the corner of my mouth.  My index finger sort of rests on my cheek,  When I'm shooting my longbows I shoot them split fingers.  When shooting split I have to make sure I'm getting a good hook with index finger still putting middle finger to the corner of my mouth.  If I get lazy with my index finger shooting split I tend to get a sloppy release for what ever reason and poor arrow flight, when I keep a good hook with my index my arrows have good flight and hit where I'm looking.  Not sure why it makes a difference or why I can shoot 3 under with a lazy finger, but it works for me and I'm not going to try to figure it out.


Jason

[Terry Green]

Check out the String Placement for Fingers thread I just bumped up.

Or, just click here....

https://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/index.php?topic=175231.msg2955797;topicseen#msg2955797

[Tom0728]

I always have a callous on my ring finger. No matter how hard I try the "right way". When I shoot my way I get good arrow flight and I'm accurate so I will probably just keep going that way.

[McDave]

The recommended way to hold the string is with the weight primarily on the index and middle fingers and only 10-15% of the weight on the ring finger.

It is important to establish a consistent finger pressure on the string, and heel pressure on the bow, because varying the pressure on either side can affect the tune of the bow.  I can shoot a bow that has 10-15* nock high on the bare shaft and make the nock high “go away” by shifting the string weight more to my ring finger.

[Orion]

A callous on the ring finger usually means a drawing elbow that's too high.  It just puts more pressure on the ring finger.  Lower the bow arm elbow and the callous will likely go away. A high drawing arm elbow may or may not be related to how much pressure you intentionally put on the ring finger.  I should add that a long draw and/or a short bow, which increases the string angle at full draw, will exacerbate the problem. 

Ryan, didn't your dad shoot with the ring finger barely touching the string, sort of just resting on it?

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Orion, yes, Dad didn't have much pressure on ring finger.  He also hooked the string about halfway between the 1st and 2nd joint on his fingers, which I was also never able to do comfortably.

 I don't have a high elbow, I do have a further back anchor point, I use the 2nd joint of thumb behind back corner of jaw, maybe that has something to do with it. I'm only 5'6", and with my anchor I draw a true 29 1/2 inches.

 Also a lazy ring finger can come from the string hand being slightly angled where the index finger is tighter to the face than the other 2.

I know my lazy ring finger makes me need a higher nocking point, for sure, but it just isn't worth fixing, for me.

R

[Mike Malvaini]

Yeah, ring finger can be from just forced, or from elbow high, or torquing the string.  Torquing being the worse as it may work well with the perfect back yard shot, but when in the field it can wreak havoc.

[STICKBENDER98]

I did some experimenting today shooting in my pole barn, I set my phone up and recorded slo-mo video of my self shooting.  It was very interesting, my video showed that I had more pressure with my middle finger and less on index and ring fingers.  Shot both recurve and long bow and my finger grip looked the same wether I shot 3 under or split.


Jason

[Tim Reese]

Split finger shooter. I too have most pressure on middle finger but been trying to distribute more across all 3 recently. I shoot better when I do. No idea what’s right just what feels right

[mgf]

Having a great deal of experience in archery shooting mistakes there is one (or one category) that cause me to develop a super callous on my ring finger. The string hand can end up at an angle torqueing the string. It beats up the ring finger, messes up the release and encourages more tension in the ring finger.

The answer or at least some of us is the get the string shoulder and string elbow around where it belongs and that puts the string hand in line with the string.

[Sojurn]

In my experience, better back tension helped clean my release up, and that eased some of the callous on my ring finger.
  To make it go fully go away, I needed to focus on when I was putting pressure.  Now I hook behind the knuckle, and the majority of my holding wieght is on my index finger (I shoot 3 under).
  My ring finger holds maybe 5 to 10% of the bows wieght. I've found this lowered my nocking point, and made it easier to manage string torque.

[Tim Hoeck]

My ring finger gets a lot of pressure and idon't want to change anything so I buy shooting gloves and cut the fingers off a sew oneof the fingers to my tab. Works like a charm.

[ItzaKen]

Thanks All!
I'll play with these suggestions.

I do know that all our bodies differ in form and function, so I'm "assuming" I've settled into what "feels" comfortable.

I've always had a huge, ring finger callus, even when I was a younger, weight lifter with plenty of back tension.

I'll try these diff ideas and see how they feel.
Thanks!