Curing string slap

[Bob Baur]

I recently purchased an Abbote Longbow. It’s a beautiful bow, draws smoothly & shoots where I look. In a word I love it BUT on each & every shot the string slaps my arm about 2” shy of my wrist.

I have limited longbow experience only owning a Black Widow PL series & that never hits my arm. I believe my form is good & the brace height is set at 6 ½” (same as my Widow)so I am not sure what I can do if anything to stop this from happening.

Any idea’s/suggestions would be much appreciated.

[moebow]

Bob,

If the string is hitting you that far forward, it is probably one of two things.  As you mention, brace height is the first one that comes to mind.  Try raising it a 1/2 inch or so and see what that does.

Second, how tight are your nocks on the string?  IF they are too tight, the arrow can pull the string farther forward than normal, before it disengages, which can cause the same effect as the brace height.

Arne

[Piratkey]

Low strands Dacron string not stabilized can do that or to much twisted string too.

[mark land]

My suggestions are covered as well with a too low brace height being my 1st suggestion but also improper or too light a grip or trying to shoot it with a recurve grip can cause slap as well, longbows are meant to be grabbed so put your palm in it and hold the grip and that will help also.

[Bob Baur]

Thanks for the replies fellas!

I thought Piratkey might have hit the nail on the head cause the string was already wound kinda tight. It was easier to wind it up a little more than to buy another string so I kept adding a couple turns & trying it out. At a BH of 7 1/4" it stopped hitting my wrist & the string now has a nice tone to it. Not sure how the arrow was flying cause I was shooting in the dark (I hate daylight savings) with a flashlight set at the base of my target.

Which brings me to my next question. Given the string is wound up pretty good should I buy a shorter one so I need less turns to get the same BH or y'all think it will be OK as is?

[moebow]

Bob,  

Ideally, you want no more than ABOUT one twist per inch but don't get too concerned if you have more, there is really no set rule.  That said, getting a slightly shorter string so you can reach your 7 & 1/4" brace might be good.  If it is a dacron string it too might stretch which MAY be what happened to your current string.

Arne

[McDave]

Abbots are good bows, and I've had several. That said, whenever I've bought a new Abbot bow, the string has been too long, in my opinion. I don't remember what brace height Steve said to set it at, but I do remember that on a new string, I had to put a lot of twists in it to get it there.  After a normal amount of stretch, the extra twists I had to put in it to keep it at the recommended brace height put an excessive amount of twists in the string, so I just made a new string myself.

Just because the two Abbott bows I bought both came with strings that were too long doesn't mean they are all that way, of course, but it is possible you could have the same problem.

[Piratkey]

The string is a very important equipment part , I recommend you a new string, astro or D10 materials seem to be one of the best for hunting because it's one of the more quiet string material, 12 to 14 strands is a good compromise beetwen speed and stability.