Bottom Finger Callus

[outdooru]

Any suggestions on how to stop my bottom finger from being hammered? I have a large callus on the bottom side of my bottom shooting finger. Even with a thick traditional cordovan glove I feel the shot. I shoot 2 fingers split. I find two finger more comfortable for me and I shoot a light bow, 45lbs. My assumption is that I'm torquing the string.

[madness522]

Keep your elbow lower.  A high elbow contributes to that callous.

[wtpops]

Your assumption is most likely correct and Madness gave you the probable cause, a high elbow will cause you to torque the string and put undue pressure on the bottom finger ofcourse shooting two fingers you will probabley never get rid of the callus all together. Im no expert but on this one ive been there and done that.

[Shawn Rackley]

i had this same problem. heres what fixed it.
all of my bows a 66" long except one 60" i shot the 60 for a while with no problems then one day i noticed it. it just kept getting worse. i finally put 2 and 2 together and fingured out it was because the shorter bow put alot more pressure on my bottom finger around the nail. so remedy is i stoped shootin the bow    . well not totally i shoot it from time to time but i shoot my 66 longbows more.. just more comfortable.
im not sure what kinda bow your shooting but if your shooting a short longbow this might be a factor if u have a longer draw

[bow loving man]

Shawn, I have had the same problem and when I am just target shooting, I shoot my longer bows and when I need my shorter bows for hunting I grab them, fling a few through them and head off to the hunt...Gonna have to be more conscience of the elbow and see if that helps some...thanks guys for the input...

[Molson]

Maybe it's a high elbow but I think the real problem is your drawing the bow without proper alignment between the drawing arm and bow arm. Basically you're not drawing the bow straight back but at an angle off to the right (right handed) which causes you to cup your hand in order to have the strength to hold the string. The cupping of the hand is what puts the tension into that finger and cause the string to rub hard against it on the release.

[Yellow Dog]

I take it you're shooting split? I have the same calouse on my ring finger. Mine is caused by a 45 degree cant on the bow, which is my natural shooting position, and drawing my string hand tight to the side of my face. The only problem is I tip my head about 30 degrees so I put some torque on the string which ends up putting pressure on my ring finger. I actually see it more shooting bows with lower weight. Sting hand not at the same angle as the bow.

[outdooru]

Looking into a mirror at full draw shows a high elbow. This kinda stinks because learning to keep it low is going to be tough because it does not feel natural. I'm shooting a 64" longbow so length should not be a problem. It's funny but the thick cordovan trad. glove I'm using makes the problem worse for some reason.

[Bradd]

There should be no pressure on the third finger at all at anchor because it can cause undue release issues (string torque, plucking etc)  Try to take it off or just rest it on the string before release.

[Terry Green]

Either your elbow is too high, or you are torquing the string.

Pressure should be on the 3rd finger IMO as it aids in drawing the bow.

The 3rd finger is not the problem.....but the 3rd finger is revealing that there is a problem.

[outdooru]

So how do I stop/prevent this torquing?

[champ38]

Been working on correcting this my self outdoor. Went from a 62" to a 58" and ring finger is giving me fits. Im waiting on the answer to this myself. Let me know.and good luck

[Austin Brown]

I fought it for a long time(prob 2 years, at times it hurt so bad I couldn't shoot without bandaids over it).  Had no clue what I was doing.  Terry and these guys turned me onto the problem.  I was letting my wrist rotate outward(away from face) my face as I drew(elbow comes up as a result, or maybe causes rotation).  This rotation was torquing string, abnormal pressure on ring finger equalling big, painful callous if you shoot much.  Still have light callous so don't have it completely cured, but it is better.  Wish I knew what causes us to want to draw a bow like this, maybe it is alignment as someone suggested above?

[Terry Green]

Yep...usually when you make a 'Z' out of the string, it causes pain in the ring finger....the string hook needs to be even, and the string needs to be pulled to anchor with the hook inline with the string.

Rod may have something else to say about this as well.....I'll give him a heads up.

[SHOOTO8S]

Seeing as how your shooting 2 finger split....string torque would be the one place to look for the problem.... keep the string back of the string hand relaxed and at the EXACT angle of the string if you cant the bow.

Another reason the lower finger gets hammered is.... attempting to open the fingers to effect a release...its impossible to open the fingers fast enough to avoid scrubbing the fingers..and after looking at hours of shooters film, its always the bottom finger that clears last , so its the finger getting whacked by the string the most! A much better method is to remove as much tension in the draw side shoulder, forearm, and back of the hand as possible..then simply relax subconsciously as you expand the draw on way to shot conclusion... if you watch slo-mo footage its easy to see how the fingers get scrubbed...pull them off the string!!clear as mud huh?  


Not doubting your ability to be comfortable shooting 45#'s with a 2 finger hold...but be careful....if you shoot a bunch 2 finger is tough on the hands...works well for bows in the low 30's , but much above 40 and the strain begins to take its toll....I know several old field guy's who now wish they had cleaned up their form vs dropping a finger, now that in later years they can hardly shoot the bow.

[outdooru]

Thanks for the great info. Now I need to work on my form and try going back to using 3 fingers. I wish I would not of cut off that 3rd finger on my glove