Arm Gard Slapping

[ChristopherO]

My armgard is made of suede and after a while it wears out the serving on the string.  I got the bright idea to cover it with a slicker leather to save the string.  Now the string slap is much louder and I'm concerned that the noise will alert the animals much more.  This is a problem whether I'm using the longbow or recurve.  
Any suggestions?

[Scott J. Williams]

To a point, some slap is acceptable. Having said that, there is some modification that should be done in your form.  More times than not, it is caused by torque by gripping the bow so tight, that you are twisting it at the shot.  That kind of thing occurs before the arrow is released, a more closed stance would help. By that I mean turning both feet fast quatering toward the target, creates more room between the forearm and the bow string.

For hunting, I often just tape my bowarm sleeve down, just to keep the string from striking the clothing when the shot is taken. A good bow will give more of it's energy to the arrow when the string stays in contact with the arrow for a longer time.  When my sting strikes my wrist, I don't worry.  The arrow and the bow have done it's work by that time,  it is when the string strikes the forearm that I have problems.  I can most often trace it back to my foot position opening up.  I hope this helps some.

[ChristopherO]

Spot on, Scott!  I tried your suggestion this morning and every shot in reasonable range, out to 25 yards, were all in the kill zone and the string slap was noticably less.  Thank you very much.

[Scott J. Williams]

Your very welcome, glad I could help.

[Pete Darby]

Horace Ford, writing a hundred+ years ago said; "A Bracer is something every archer should have and no archer should use." If you are hitting your forearm hard enough to wear out the serving you are probably not doing something right form wise.   As Scott said the farther down your arm the string hits the less it affects the arrow flight although any strike will affect it to some degree since if the string is traveling forward the arrow is still on it and thus suceptable to sideways movement. I often shoot without a bracer to ensure I haven't gotten sloppy.  And of course in cold weather hunting clothes a bracer is mandatory for me.

[TSP]

To avoid forearm or wrist string slap try holding your bow more from the SIDE of the grip (i.e., rotate your wrist clockwise on the grip if you are right-handed), with your palm pushing into the SIDE of the bow.  This will put more of the grip into you hand for better control, and more bend in your bow arm which adds clearance between string and forearm.  It works especially well with Hill-style longbows but will work with any bow.  

Years ago I too had string-slap problems, using the more conventional "push the web of your hand into the bow" type of grip.  The bow is hard to control with such a loose grip and moves significantly after the shot...not good for sharp-eyed game.  By using the Hill-style grip on both longbows and recurves my shooting is now more consistent and with much less after-the-shot motion...and I don't even need an armguard.