Arrow falling off the shelf!

[sinawalli]

New to trad archery. I have a long bow, and a Bear Grizzly(1970). When I wear a glove and draw my bow, the arrow swings off the shelf. If I wear a finger tab with the little spacer on it, it still happens, but less often. Did some searching here, and figure it could either be my grip (I shoot split finger), or the the way I draw my bow. Why is it more prevalent with a glove? I would rather shoot with a glove than a tab. Thanks!!

[Killdeer]

Yours is the most common problem plaguing new shooters. We have all gone through this.

Try taking a very deep hook with your string hand. Many folks just use the tips of their fingers, hoping for a cleaner release, but really hooking your fingers around the string will cause the string to rotate as you draw, pulling the arrow closer to the riser.

See if this helps you.
Killdeer

[McDave]

Following what Killdeer said, the reason the arrow is less likely to flip off the rest with a deep hook is because it's easier to relax your hand with a deep hook. The arrow flips off the shelf because you tense (cup) your string hand which puts an outward pressure on the nock.  If it doesn't cause the arrow to flip off the rest, it causes a left miss (for a RH shooter).

The way to avoid tensing your hand or your forearm is to learn to pull with your back muscles. The feeling should be that your hand is just a link in a chain, and you should be able to feel the stretch in your joints as you draw the bow.

[moebow]

What Kildeer and McDave said is correct AND...

You mention that it doesn't happen AS much with the tab and finger spacer.  Another common cause is that you are letting the string pinch your fingers together with the glove.  The tighter your fingers press together on the nock as the string angle increases as you come to full draw the more likely the arrow will fall off the rest.

You might try a search here for a thread called "release tips."  This video might give you some help.

[sinawalli]

So by a "deep hook", you mean I curl my fingers more towards myself, not put the string deeper down my fingers past the first joint? Is that coorect? Thanks!!

[moebow]

Yes, that is correct.  The deep hook along with as relaxed as possible string forearm and wrist will really help with the issue.

[sinawalli]

Originally posted by moebow:
What Kildeer and McDave said is correct AND...

You mention that it doesn't happen AS much with the tab and finger spacer.  Another common cause is that you are letting the string pinch your fingers together with the glove.  The tighter your fingers press together on the nock as the string angle increases as you come to full draw the more likely the arrow will fall off the rest.

You might try a search here for a thread called "release tips."  This video might give you some help.

BANG! That's the sound of you hitting the nail on the head!!  Watched your video,took your advise, and it worked like a charm!!    Thanks for all replies!!  

[moebow]

Glad it helped!!  Work on it for a while to get it really "grooved in."

[manitou1]

I think we all have that happen occasionally.  I know out here where I live, we have had some very strong winds and the wind has actually blown the arrow off the shelf at times!
Try cutting your shelf material pretty darned narrow and placing it toward the outer edge of the shelf, leaving a substantial gap between the side plate and the shelf material.  This will give your arrow a nest or cradle to lay in and will help.  I know it happened a lot more back when I switched to 3 under.  A thinner glove may help you feel the string and if you are torqing also.
Like Moebow said... practice relaxing that string wrist and forearm. This will help with the torqing of the string.

[sinawalli]

After shooting close to 100 arrows in the last 3 days, I'm happy to say since following the above mentioned advise, it hasn't happened once!! Thanks again!