Longbow's and string slap

[Flyboy718]

Been shootin trad for three years now and only recurves until I got a longbow.  Never had any problems with a recurve slappin my arm, but for some reason the longbow string likes to hit me on a 1" spot just on the inside of my wrist.  Brace height and all are right where it is supposed to be.  Is this something that is always gonna happen with a longbow and if so what good leather arm guard would you recommend?

[BWD]

Never had that problem with a longbow, but all of mine brace around 7 1/4" - 7 5/8". Also shoot with a slightly bent elbow.

That is a typical "problem" with many, including me and Howard Hill (ha)

I have always experienced this with longbows and must wear a bracer (mostly to keep loose sleeves in check)

Others here have no problem because of how they hold the bow I guess.

[Flyboy718]

Originally posted by BWD:
Never had that problem with a longbow, but all of mine brace around 7 1/4" - 7 5/8". Also shoot with a slightly bent elbow.

7" is the recommended brace height for my bow and that is where I am shootin it.

[Archer 1]

Any good leather arm guard will work, that is what they are made for. Howard Hill used them, Byron Ferguson uses them, archers have used them for thousands of years. There's a reason, getting slapped even once is one to many.
            Ouch!  

[straitera]

Good question Fly. Transitioned from recurve to LB w/similar results to youe own. Typical fistmele on LB's is 6-6.5" & less than recurves over 7". Doubt recurves have the same stringfollow also. My straight handled lb's I shoot w/slight arm bend. Nonetheless, my serving & armguards tell the tale pdq especially if I'm tired.

[Fishnhunt]

great advice by Rob D. here

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=005077

[BRITTMAN]

Flyboy its probably how you grip the longbow . On most recurves we get a deep med to high wrist grip with the grip centered in the V of our pointer and thumb . Most longbows have a med low to a low wrist grip and we grip them more to the side of the bow  with a low wrist grip and the grip being more into the thumb side of the life line of your hand. It does feel odd at first but you will get the hang of it thru pratice . There is several longbows with more of a recurve type grip that you may like better , the one that comes to mind is the Kanati .

[kongo]

My straight handled lb's I shoot w/slight arm bend. Nonetheless, my serving & armguards tell the tale pdq especially if I'm tired.

 I have found the same thing except L/B or RC with a slight arm bend , proper brace height , & a weight I'm comfortable with I have no forearm slap .

[Jerry Jeffer]

It's all in the grip. I switched from recurve to longbow and had the same problem. Also struggled with my shooting. Once some one explained to me how to use a suitcase type grip with the back of the handle in my thumb knuckle joint instead of the web of my hand, every thing change for the better. Basically holding on the side of the grip forces a slight bent elbow.

[Brently]

A lot of it has to do with how you grip it.  If you use a bent arm it is less apt to smack you.  How ewer I use a stiff leather arm guard just in case.  I do find when I shoot a self bow it will get me almost every time even though I grip it the same and use the same shooting style.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Nothin' wrong with getting slapped by a real longbow. Howard Hill and Jeff Challacombe both reckon that's the go for a proper D (if you're wondering who Jeff is, he made the longbow that Ed's holding with the buffalo at the top of the main page). We're all different, and for some, a string slap will nearly rip their arms off; for others, a bit of an "Ouch!" is hardly noticed in a hunting situation where the arm-guard has been forgotten. I know this is a little can of worms, some of what I'm saying, but there are two schools of belief: String slap, even with a longbow, is bad; or, string slap, with a longbow, is fine (and nothing an arm-guard won't help with). I'm happy with the latter.

Originally posted by Ben Kleinig:
Nothin' wrong with getting slapped by a real longbow. Howard Hill and Jeff Challacombe both reckon that's the go for a proper D ................. but there are two schools of belief: String slap, even with a longbow, is bad; or, string slap, with a longbow, is fine (and nothing an arm-guard won't help with). I'm happy with the latter.

X2 what Ben said...kinda runs in same vein as "the gawdawful hand shock" thing.  A "thump and a lil slap on the wrist is just a unique characteristic of shooting a truly "long" bow....and I'm okay with it.

Again, the degree (or absence) of hand shock and wrist slap seems to be directly correlated to how you hold the bow as Rob and several others have pointed out.

[Rob DiStefano]

no need for arm slap OR an armguard (i never use one) if you adjust yer bow grip.  my longbows (62" to 70") all have a 6.4" to 6.7" low brace height, too.  

the latest fred asbell book (boy is that a goody!) goes into great detail of this kinda grip, in terms of bow hand angle and pressure point, for maximum consistency shot to shot, and promotes a better "instinctive feel" for the instinctive aiming process.

[Buckhorn47]

Flyboy, I've been back and forth between recurves and longbows for fifty years, now, and have only ( in the last three years ) settled in with the longbow - straight limbed, straight grip and wooden arrows. The one adjustment that always bothered me was the grip and just as has been outlined here, the longbow ( at least with the straight grip ) requires first and foremost a bent bow arm. When you use the the main portion of you hand, or palmswell to hold the bow, your forearm will be in line with the string. When it releases it hits the spot you have described on your wrist which not only can hurt but will create a noticeable noise while the arrow heads to the target. The noise is what prompted me to move my bow hand around slightly so that the base of the thumb takes the pressure and, "viola" no slap, noise or hurt. As mentioned already, it does take getting used to like everything else with this style bow, but once attained, all you hear is a low "thump" when the arrows is released.

[rjackson]

Had the same problem. Its how you grip the bow.Ferretwyo helped me out big time. Flatten your palm out and rotate it around the grip. No arm slap at all. Thanks to FerretWyo.

[Cool Arrow]

I too bounced back and forth from longbow to recurve untill I finally realized that I enjoyed shooting the longbow far more. Regardless of what type of bow you shoot you will always get the best results by placing all of the bow pressure along the center of the thumb base(thenar eminence). It sometimes requires quite a bit of experamenting to locate just the right location and then repeating it for each shot both vertical and horizontal. Once this is accomplished  with a slightly bent elbow You probably will eliminate string slap.
    Larry

[Jeff Strubberg]

Mine don't "slap" as much as "brush".  

You can eliminate it, but if you look back through history you will find an armguard on just about every prominent longbow archer.  There's a reason for that.

[smoke1953]

What Rob said.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I try to maintain the grip that Rob has described with my longbows and it does work, but I still get slapped on occasion myself. I usually wear an armguard when shooting my longbow just for good measure. I don't get slapped everytime, but even once in awhile is too often and usually it's due to allowing my hand to slip into that valley where it doesn't belong. Or sometimes due to poor release, which is a form issue and not a bow design issue. Another reason I wear the arm guard is for clothing issues like others have already stated. Especially when wearing a thick jacket or long sleeves, just to ensure they stay tucked out of the way.