Left ,Left ,and Left again .

[BRITTMAN]

Guys I need some help . I have two Shrews ,longbow and recurve and I and having serious problems shooting to the left and a little string slap on my arm at times . I shot a Hummingbird recurve for several years and have shot a few other bows mostly takedown recurves and never had a problem with shooting left or string slap . I dont think its a spine problem as I am shooting 29in. arrows out of 55 and 56 lbs bows at 28 in. draw . I love the Shrews and want to shoot them as well as I have shot my other bows in the past but I can not get them to hit where Im looking so my shooting is not progressing at all . Are the Shrew cut to center or are they off center and could this be part of my problem ? Also would I have to change my shooting stance that much going from the Hummingbird to the Shrew bows ? The bows are a little to heavy for me and Im having a weight reduction done on the longbow to drop the weight down to 50 lbs @ 28in. and plan on sending the recurve unless I trade it for a Hummingbird or a lighter weight Shrew . Help me out if you can because it wont be long before thoese whitetails start calling and Im no where ready.
Thanks for your time ,
Mike

[Ryan Bahn]

I was having the exact same problem that you are. Make sure your bow is tuned with your arrows no matter what it takes. If your bow is tuned I would guess the problem lies with your release. I shoot 55lb at 28" and it was a little much for me, when I released my left arm wanted to jerk to the left and I was plucking the string. My arrows were consistently to the left and the string wrapped me in the arm every time. I moved closer to the target and focused 100% on my release. Cant the bow a little more and concentrate on what is happening at the moment of release (not the outcome of your shot). This worked wonders for me. Good Luck!

[jdupre]

Pay close attention to the pressure point on the grip. I have found some bows are very sensitive to hand placement. Sometimes putting a little more heel pressure lower on the grip will cause all kinds of problems with arrow flight.

[aromakr]

Mike:
You say you don't think its spine, however you don't mention what spine you are shooting, only arrow length! Right handers shooting left is usually spine (too stiff). You can check the amount of center shot your self, simple hold the strung bow like you were going to shoot it. Now look at the limb and center the string on the limb. Without moving the bow shift you sight to the shelf and see where the strike plate is in regard to the string. Again (right hand), if the strike plate is left of the string its less than center, if its to the right of the string its more than center, if it centers the string its center cut.
Having said all that, Ryan is also correct you might be plucking the string, or moving your bow arm, concentrate on pushing the bow to the target and when releasing the string coming straight back from your anchor.
Bob

[BRITTMAN]

Thanks for the reply guys. Im shooting 2016s cut to 29in with 125 points . I have been out shooting today and I think that my biggest problem is that Im a little over bowed . Ive have some medical problems lately ( bad tendionides )  and I cant control the bow like I could before the tendionides problems .

Mike

[Tim Fishell]

Mike, I am a big fan of Shrew bows and have a few.  They take a stiffer arrow than you would think.  I have 2 longbows that are 53#@28 and I have found that I need to shoot 2216 with 125 up front cut to 29" to get good arrow flight.  I have a Shrew recurve that is 57#@28 and I shoot a 2219 cut to 29" with 125 grains up front out of that one.  I would say your arrows are to light.  I had the same problem when I first started shooting them.  I cannot explain why if they are to light of spine you would be shooting left but I had the same thing.  Try some heavier arrow and see what you get.

[Molson]

I agree with Tim that your arrows are probably underspined. The string slapping the forearm suggests there's a problem with your alignment too.

[Pete W]

Try diferent point weights.
Add weight  and see if it gets better.

[longbowguy]

First, string slap on the forearm is normal. Archers, longbowmen, Olympic archers, and most all the rest have been using armguards for thousands of years.

Second, most of us do most of our missing to the left. There are many possible causes. Being overbowed, therefor tending to short draw, is probably the most common of them. This causes the arrow to be too stiff for the energy you are putting into it.

You are on track to the remedy. Reduce your draw weight. Then you can work on your draw and follow through.

Once those two main issues are resolved you can see if you need further work on the lesser issues. Probably you will not need too much else.

[NoCams]

Have you bareshaft tuned ? That would be my first step. Shrew bows are not cut to center, therefore sensitive to spine as any other bow not cut to center. I had shot mostly center shot recurves before getting my Shrew and found out real quick that you best check that brace height and make sure all is well or your bareshaft will not fly ! A non center shot bow like a Shrew will not tolerate even 1/8" to 1/4" change in brace height. Set your brace, bareshaft tune, and record brace height for reference. I agree with the posts above, your arrows are not spined correctly in my opinion. Also, as you suspected, you may be a little overbowed, exercise, get that form down and consistent, then find a bareshaft that will fly. You need to be a tad weak so when you add 30-40 grains of feathers on the rear it will be perfect !

Disclaimer...... I am ,<2 years at this trad stuff and no expert by any means, but I have been taught by the fine people on here how to diagnose a few problems, being that I have many, haha !!!

   

nocams

[Jeremy]

If the bow and arrow combo truly is tuned (fieldpoints grouping with broadheads or bareshafts) and you're used to center shot bows, the problem is just in your head     In "Split vision" aiming you may not consciously use the arrow point as a reference, but it's still there in your sight picture.  I have this problem when I switch back to my selfbows.  It takes a bit for my mind to fix the problem, and then again when I go back to my glass bows.

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

I have been struggling with lefties for 4 or 5 years. Always thought I was shooting with a loose grip. Finally realized and admitted I was grabbing the bow on release, and went to a grip where I put pressure on the back of the bow with the ends joints of my last three fingers. Not really what you would call a tight grip, rather a controlled loose grip.. Wow.. Lefties went away instantly.. Others use a sling, personally I hate them but may go to them.. anyway.. check your grip, if you are grabbing it on release, fix it.

[draco]

Could be draw arm elbow too low.Causes release hand to flick out from face. Back of arrow goes right,front of arrow goes left,slap arm,hit left.