Gripping Longbows

[1Canvas]

I have recently been looking into longbows (I have a cheaper one I shoot from time to time) and I am fascinated with the simplicity of them.
I had had the thought of buying a better quality longbow and getting into them a bit more seriously. The one thing I see that often comes up is how sensitive they are gripping them,
the other thing is hand shock. Being older I sure don’t want to develop anymore issues in my joints.
My current longbow is only 35# and I shot full length 700s with 150 up front and got a bit of hand shock, one reason I didn’t shoot it much. I switched to 600s with 225 up front and that has made the bow a joy to shoot now. I do shoot the longbow pretty good and that makes it fun. I have been shooting recurves.

[Rob Emerson]

I have both straight grip and locator grip longbows, and I prefer a little bit of a locator.  Helps me with the repeatability of gripping, and will tends to reduce torquing the bow.  I started shooting a straight grip ASL when I was 6-7 years old and then a 57’ bear Kodiak replica that my old man was building at the time.  I guess that little locator is what feels most comfortable to me.  I would try straight, dished and locator grips from a competent bowyer to see what works best for you.  Shooting a heavier arrow helps some with hand shock too.

[Pine]

As far as hand shock and joint pain, you shoot a longbow with your bow arm slightly bent.
That will avoid elbow pain.
Old saying, you can shoot a recurve like a longbow but you can't shoot a longbow like a recurve.

[mgf]

I grip a longbow the same as I grip any other bow. I just let the bow push into my hand on the thumb side of the lifeline. I have several longbows with grips ranging from locator, slight locator and dished (my Maddog string follow). I've never had a problem with hand shock. The shape of the grip will determine where the "pressure point" on the grip is.

Nothing special with the bow arm either...pretty straight but not locked.

That's what works for me anyway.

[McDave]

There is a wide range of bows that are considered to be longbows these days.  On one end of the range are straight limbed, straight handled longbows that are not cut to center, if the shelf is cut in at all.  On the other end are bows that have the same risers and grips as recurves, and are so reflex/deflexed that they are only longbows because of the technical definition that says that a bow is a longbow if the string only touches the limb at the nock.  And everything in between.

If you are concerned about sensitive grips and handshock, I would recommend staying toward the r/d end of the spectrum.

[1Canvas]

I seen and looked at some of the unconventional “longbows” but I am looking for a more traditional longbow.

[M60gunner]

In John Schultz’s video “hitting them like Howard Hill” he mentions gripping the bow, “get ahold of it” is what Howard said. That means torquing the bow but it works. A bent elbow helps, a heavy riser, hunting weight arrows will help keep the shock to a minimum. I got a book around here by a bow maker and he shows laminated riser with lead weights glued in. That may be an extreme but it’s a thought

[1Canvas]

Interesting. The longbow I have now is extremely lightweight.

[Even]

I pretty much only shoot "classic" longbows, mostly American Semi-Longbows, and "D" type English longbows.  I have one slightly R/D longbow, and love it, but its still very much on the "Classic" end of the scale. 

I love them because they are light in the hand, very quiet, feel natural to shoot, and with a good heavy arrow, penetrate like nobody's business. 

I have several spanning a weight range from 35# up to 82#, but these days, I usually am shooting 60-70# bows.  I hold them all the same way.  Most are classic straight grips, a couple are slight locator grips.  I really have no current preference, and the grip I use is pretty much the same on either.   I've no experience with dished grips... need to try one. 

I hold them like holding a suitcase.  As you draw your bow, this seems to naturally pull the grip into the heel of your hand, if your elbow is very SLIGHTLY bent, and rotated outward, NOT locked. 

I think a lot of the hand shock complaints stem from a few things.  One: people trying to bring locked-elbow, modern, V-of-the-hand, lightly held, modern archery form over to a heavy longbow.  Two: People trying to shoot arrows that are too light for a given longbow.  Three: brace height not set up correctly.

The heavier the longbow is, the more these things are going to bite you in the ass, as poundage increases.

I've found that if you follow Hill/Schulz grip technique, Shoot a heavy enough arrow, and get your brace height right, hand shock becomes negligable.  Provided you have a bow that is designed properly in the first place.

Regarding longbow design, I have one bow, a cheap 50# laminated "longbow" that is designed like a flatbow in the limbs (means limb lay-up is easy and cheap).  No matter what I have done with it, handshock is foul.  It is poorly designed, and that is hard to fight.    One of the bowyers on here could tell you the why of it better than I, but I think it comes down to taper and mass in the wrong places. 

Best advice: do good research and find a bowyer who knows their stuff, and specializes in the kind of longbow you want to shoot.  Pay a little more for quality build, and design.  You won't regret it, when it comes to shooting time.

[Phil Magistro]

Howard Hill defined a method that works fine for shooting ASLs. It’s a fluid style that does include a bent elbow and a broken wrist. True ASLs are designed with the pivot point near the middle of the grip. On a well designed ASL if you grip the bow with your heel down, your lifeline following the grip, the pressure on the pad at the base of your thumb and a lightly firm grip using primarily the ting and pinky fingers, you should not feel any hand shock.

If you try to grip it like a recurve with a medium or high wrist it changes the timing of the limbs and will likely rattle your teeth.

And it isn’t a requirement to shoot heavy arrows. The design of the bow lends itself to shooting heavy arrows efficiently but Hill shot arrows that were between 9 and 10 grains per pound of draw weight.