59 Kodiak!!

[Valkyrie]

Originally posted by McDave:
I don't think you're quite coming to full draw.  There seems to be an angle between your drawing forearm and your arrow.  I would imagine that if someone were to put an arrow on your shoulder blades when you are at full draw, it would point to the left of the target.  These two alignment issues are related, and can cause left misses.

In general, you look really solid and relaxed.  If you're happy with your shooting, keep doing what you're doing and don't worry about it.  However, it may be possible to improve your alignment.  One result of that might be an increase in your draw length.  Ordinarily, that would be a good thing, but as you're already pushing the limits of your Bear, this could possibly move you into the stacking range of the force/draw curve.

I get a good repeatable anchor in the corner of my mouth with my knuckles just under my cheekbone. Opening up my draw stance brings that anchor way back beyond what I would be comfortable with even if bow mechanics were not an issue. When I shot a compound, my draw profile was more in what you are talking about but that's with a release and a loop, kisser button and a peep and the knuckle of my index finger just under my ear at the back of my jaw hinge.  I think it's just the repeatability that makes it feel right. Who knows.


Long arms and being 6'5" don't make anything easy.

[McDave]

You really have two choices, if you were to decide to change your alignment:  making the adjustment on the string arm side or making the admitment on the bow arm side.  Imagine keeping everything the same as you have it on the string arm side, but rotating your bow arm to the left.  In the picture you posted, this would cause your bow arm fist to move to the left, covering the exposed portion of your bow arm.  This would bring both your shoulders and string forearm into better alignment.  To cause this to happen, you would start your draw closer to your body, so your bow arm and shoulders would be closer to in line as you draw the bow and at full draw.

[Valkyrie]

Good point. But would I be locking my elbow?  I think I might. But I could, conceivably rotate my shoulder and elbow further up on the string side and keep my anchor and better aligning my arms and shoulders with the line of sight.  So my elbow and string arm would be higher in relation to my shoulder if that makes sense?  'll fool around with it and get more pictures.

[Holm-Made]

I now make a 56" , 60" and a 64" replica of the 1959 era Kodiak.  They are just neat bows.

[McDave]

I think your elbow could be locked or unlocked in either position.  To demonstrate, hold your arm straight out to the side, without holding a bow, so that your bow arm and your shoulders are in a straight line. You could lock or unlock your elbow with your arm in this position.  Now move your arm several degrees toward the front of your body, without changing anything else, which is the position you are in in your photo.  You could also lock or unlock your elbow in this position.

Your objective is to get your bow arm as far to the side as possible and still be able to draw the bow.  When you draw the arrow, it will be closer to your body than it is in your current position.  You may not be able to achieve perfect alignment without also making some changes on the string side, but you will be better aligned than you are now.

To get into this position, I like to start from a slightly  open stance and then rotate my torso until my shoulders are pointed at the target.  I'm conscious when I'm drawing the bow of keeping the arrow close to my body.  If I can see that I'm going to be off target to the left because of that, I rotate my body more as I draw the bow rather than move my bow arm, so that I don't have to make any further windage adjustments when I'm at full draw.

Starting from an open stance is optional.  I do it because I feel like my body is more stabile than it is if I'm in a perpendicular stance.

[Valkyrie]

I sent a few arrows down this morning and had my wife put the ruler to the bow at this draw and opening up a little with my shoulders straighter and with the elbow still unlocked slightly more, Im just a 1/4" longer to 31" exactly on the ruler so not much in the numbers but in the mirror the geometry is a lot cleaner and I might say the bow points even better?

Ill get her to take another picture this evening but I think it still is working well.  No finger pinch, I dont notice a wall or stacking really bad and the bow seems to shoot pretty smooth.

[crazynate]

Very nice bow. Congrats

[Valkyrie]

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And this is what I've come up with. No a real noticeable draw length increase but definitely more repetitive and pointable at a target.

How's it look?

[McDave]

You seem to have a better line through your shoulders and bow arm to the target, which has also indirectly improved the alignment of your string forearm and arrow.  However, I like your upright head position better in the picture before.  The bowstring seems discontinuous as it passes through your hand, as if it's being torqued.  This could just be a photographic illusion.  Do you have any sense as to whether you might be torquing the bowstring (i.e. putting a counterclockwise force on it)?

[Valkyrie]

I see exactly what your talking about.  No torque. Its the angle from which she took the picture so what appears a little twist to the string in my hand is due to the parallax of the picture angle and is the angle of the string below my hand. Make sense?

[McDave]

Makes sense

[Valkyrie]

I don't seem to be able to keep my head up and get my shoulders aligned this way at the same time. This is comfortable and repeatable. Been working on it with a low pound Tigercat just to get it ingrained into my muscles.

[McDave]

There's nothing wrong with tilting your head over the arrow, as long as you do it the same way every time.  Jim Ploen, who I greatly respect, and a lot of other people in the past have recommended it.  Current orthodoxy is to keep your head in a neutral position and bring the arrow to it, which eliminates the step of tilting your head over the arrow.  So pick whichever one works best for you.

[Tedd]

My 59 got here quickly. It's pretty sharp looking. The darn string that came packaged with it and sealed in the bag with the owner's manual is for a 58" bow! I untwisted it as far as possible and could get no lower than a 9" brace. The string measures 54".  So I did not draw the bow. (I'm at the office). Three Rivers said they will ship a new string ASAP. I have a new BCX-X string ready at home.
   

[Valkyrie]

Very very nice!!

[murph60]

Bow porn,I love it.

[Gator1]

Nice satin finish.

[Tedd]

I got about 25 shots through it. It was simple to tune. The arrows I had for my current shooter were perfect. So that was easy. I feel like bow points and hits better than any bow I have had. It's a little hard to tell with the 50 mpg wind driven snow and single digit wind chill. I have to play with the brace height. I'll give it a while then do a review.
   

[Gator1]

Ted they are great shooters. B

[Woodpuppy]

Aw you guys are killin' me. I'd never seen the 59/60 before, they are so clean looking. I draw 30" too, nice to know they don't stack. I think I need a 35# version.

Valkyrie & Tedd, how's the 59 working for you now a couple months later?