Bent vs Straight bow arm

[Ari]

Hey, I know that some like a straight bow arm and others like a slight bend. I was wondering what are the differences in the straight and bent bow arms, pros/cons and what you prefer?

God Bless,
Ari

[moebow]

I recommend a straight but NOT locked bow arm.  that facilitates bone on bone support for the weight of the bow.  Bent will work but then you are holding more with your muscles which can lead to unsteadiness and potential injury to tendons, etc.

Many shoot either way, I just believe that bone on bone is better/stronger than bent arm. FWIW

[Terry Green]

Mine is straight and locked.

Find what works best for you....neither is 'the best' for everyone.

[BuckyT]

Funny this topic came up.  I've never really paid attention to this until the other day.  I shoot with my arm slightly bent at the elbow.  Not locked.

I tried shooting the other day with a straight, locked arm, and I didn't like it to much and went back to the slightly bent arm.

[tmccall]

Slightly bent arm seems to avoid the string better.

[BobCo 1965]

Luckily my elbow does not lock. My knees do, but not the elbows. Personally, I keep the arm fully extended to the point that I feel a slightly uncomfortable stretch taking place in the tricept. I push from the palm.

[BowsanAiros]

Mine is straight, but not locked. With a slight clockwise rotation of my elbow (bow in left hand) it keeps the
string from hitting the forearm.

[TRAD101]

straight and locked, works for me

[Jake Diebolt]

I lock my arm. If I don't, my shooting goes all over the place. Everyone I know who shoots compound has a very distinctive bend in their arm. I think it would be pretty difficult to hold a higher-poundage bow without letoff with a bent arm...not impossible, and you would get good string clearance.

[JamesKerr]

I tend to draw with a straight arm but as I reach full draw I bend my elbow very slightly. This allows for a straight arm which has been said before allows for a more solid hold because the weight of the bow is resting on bones. You do not want to try to hold all your bow's weight on your muscles alone as you will tend to throw your bow arm upon release. Try to keep a straight arm but not locked.

[Ari]

I was shooting with a slight bend but sometime getting the bow kicking back and making that slight bend swing the elbow back upon release. I have just started to try shooting with a straight elbow, so I'll have to see how it goes.

[Lee Robinson .]

I personally feel a slightly bent bow arm allows for a better follow through than does a straight fully locked out bow arm.

In terms of physics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction that occurs at the same time. (And for every force there is an equal and opposite force).

When you release the string, I believe it is best if all forces are in line...and if this is done, when you release the drawing hand should go slightly back and the bow hand should go slightly forward. If the arm is fully locked, the arm can't go forward and the forward push (force/energy) you have in your bow arm will be find an outlet to dissipate...and since it can't go forward it may be more prone to cause a bow hand to drop, rise, or go to one side or the other. If that happens, a non-forward (out of alignment) energy will then be transferred into the riser of the bow.

This is my reasoning.

That said, if someone has been shooting well for a long time with a fully straight bowarm and does well with it, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND leaving them alone.

There is an old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Trying to change something that works is a great way to destroy success.

[Kip l Hoffman]

I now shoot 53#, When i was younger i shot 85+#.  You don't shoot either with a bent elbow, but on the other hand you don't shoot either with a stretched out arm or one that is stiff.  Hold your bow down at your side with a relaxed  bowharm while holding the string with the other hand.  Grip the bow hard enough to have a grip strong enough to control the poundage you are shooting.  Raise your bow to the point that it is level with your shoulder or in line with what ever you are shooting at.  The distance that your bow arm reaches out in this relaxed position is what is proper for you.  I find it most natural to bend slightly at the waist and kant the bow. Draw the bow back at what ever speed seems natural.  Anchor your index finger underneath a tooth like your were going to bite it.  Fold your thumb down and lock the natural curve of your hand against the back of your jaw bone.  Take one last GOOD look at what ever is the smallest spot you can see on the target and relax the fingers.  Being as you are shooting with your fingers and not any kind of mechanical release or release aid, your  brain will know exactly when you are releasing the string.  Being as you know this there should be ABSOLUTELY NO movement in your bow hand or string hand other than the straightening and then natural recurling of your fingers.  If your hand stays on your face and your bow arm doesn't move your brain will know where everything is in relation to the target.  With these three known and none moveing points of reference you will hit very close to your intended point of aim.

Like throwing rocks at frogs, it is so simple that people try to make it complicated.

Practice your release with your eyes closed while standing 10 feet away from a big round bale.  

Good shooting.

Kip

[Bender]

Straight not locked. With a bent arm you'll never shoot the same way twice in a row.

[njloco]

I guess it depends on the individual, I shoot with a slightly bent arm, elbow rotated slightly clock wise, I shoot pretty good with too many robinhoods, ( becomes expensive ) so I guess one can shoot the same way twice with bent arm.

So do what feels natural to you.

[CEO]

Straight & locked, hand rotated to about 45 deg.

i shot longbows for many years from 80 to 96 pounds with a bent bow arm.  If one shoots a heavy longbow with a locked bow arm it can do some damage to your shoulder and elbow, if you 'don't have enough arm for the bow weight' as John Schulz put it, one will go through some very unhealthy contortions to get the bow back. this is referring mostly to low gripped or straight gripped bows, pistol grips tend to put the arm straighter. if one does not have enough arm for the bow weight it is very possible to develop tendon strains in the elbow. I would advise that if one wants to shoot a standard Hill style longbow and try to duplicate the success that Hill and the Schulz family had, take their advise how how to shoot that style and seriously be honest with the strength you have before deciding on what bow weight to start shooting.  It is easier to develop form and strength when you can adequately manage the style without straining.  Hill's famous quote when seeing someone strain after they asked for a bow that too stiff for them,"I could cut washers off your rump." Now that is a strained puckered up state we all want to avoid.