Lip Abrasion??

[MIBIGHNTR]

Strange topic, but I wanted to get some thoughts.  I have never experienced this before today.  I was shooting and have something contact my bottom lip on release??  Only thing I can think of is the string??  I shoot three-under with two nocks.  After shooting for an hour or so, my lip isn't bleeding, but is pretty scuffed.  Anyone have thoughts or have experienced anything like this before??

Thank you!!

You are not, by chance, using a new/different tab, are you????? I have seen folks who use tabs that are too big/need to be trimmed, get hit in the face.

The only other thing I could think of would be if you tied on a new nock locator, and it might have a sharp edge that just happens to hit your lip just right??? If that is the case, you might try rotating each about  1/4 to 1/2 turn and see if that corrects the problem.

Bisch

[Old Chief]

I agree with Bisch. A too long tab can be hard on your face.

[longbow fanatic 1]

I've battled the same thing for a long time. Sometimes, my lip even bleeds. In my case, I believe the culprit is the bow string. In the past, I've cut down my tab and trimmed my fingernails in an effort to determine what might be causing it to no avail.  It seems like it comes and goes in streaks for me. To solve this, try turning your head more inline with your string hand shoulder (square up your stance). Also, try pursing your lips to minimize contact. Hope this helps.

[oops sorry]

I shoot three under with my Olympic recurve. Every now and again I get contact with the lower lip and a high right shot. I am getting old and forget to rotate my head... I have even given myself a fat lip. Could it be a shift in head position? I am really bad after a long drive....I think it is old man with a stiff neck syndrome.

[MIBIGHNTR]

THANKS for all the suggestions!!

[MnFn]

I have to force my head to rotate a little more, and slightly cant the bow. Does not happen ever with my glove.

[McDave]

Beware of too tight contact of your string hand with your face.  It feels good, like you've got a more solid anchor, but that's about all that's good about it.  It can lead to more abrasion of your face, lip, etc., by the string, nock, tab, etc.  It can also cause inaccuracies on release, as the relief of the pressure of your hand on your face can deflect the course of the arrow.  I think it can also lead to creeping, as you may be more aware of the comforting pressure of your hand on your face and less aware of maintaining back tension that should be holding the bow.

That said, I have seen videos of some really good shooters where the pressure of the string hand against the face, and particularly a finger against the lip, is strong enough to distort their faces until they look like a Halloween mask.  So clearly my comment above is not meant to apply to everyone, although it has helped me.

[Carpdaddy]

Hum; never done that until I switched to a tab. Guess some trimming is in order. Any pictures or suggestions on how they should fit in hand? Don't mean to hijack this thread but I had the same issue and hadn't considered the tab as the culprit.

[McDave]

Originally posted by Carpdaddy:
Hum; never done that until I switched to a tab. Guess some trimming is in order. Any pictures or suggestions on how they should fit in hand? Don't mean to hijack this thread but I had the same issue and hadn't considered the tab as the culprit.

Read    this  thread.  It doesn't have a picture, but I think Arne's explanation is self explanatory.  I always liked using a tab, but began having face abrasion problems, so switched to a glove.  After reading Arne's post, I switched back to a tab, trimming it as he suggested.  It is kind of scary at first seeing the tips of your fingers exposed, but he is correct, if you relax your hand rather than try to open it, you won't hit your fingertips with the string, which is a good, though sometimes painful, reminder to relax rather than open your hand!  I haven't hit my face with the tab since switching back to the properly trimmed tab.

[Zradix]

maybe turn your head a little more towards the target.
Every now and then I forget and get a "scuff"

[JMR]

I've had this problem before and I figured out (after lots of pain) that I'm turning my head into the string. It happens every so often and I focus on bringing my hand to my face instead of my face to my string hand and the problem goes away.

[NBK]

Happens to me when one of two things are happening.
1:  I'm getting tired= sloppy release and turning my head towards the string too much.
2:  I'm creeping.  Fingers move forward deflecting the string into my face.

[Biathlonman]

I'd think you'd know if it was a tab issue.  To me a to big tab makes it feel like you are getting slapped in the face.

[Kevin Dill]

I experienced a lip abrasion several years ago. What worked for me was to get the honey-do list completed before shooting the bow. No more abrasions.

[Zradix]

Originally posted by Kevin Dill:
I experienced a lip abrasion several years ago. What worked for me was to get the honey-do list completed before shooting the bow. No more abrasions.

[JR Belk]

I had this problem. For me it was the second nocking point tearing into my lip.

[Pointer]

Happened to me all the time when I was experimenting with 3 under...Burned my lip something awful. Got it mostly worked out by opening my stance and rotating my head further left but I eventually went back to split

[bucknut]

Same as Belk for me. Also had sharp indexed nocks cut me before.