Chest protector?

[longbow fanatic 1]

I have been working on my form, trying to assure that my bow hand and draw arm elbow are in line. As I pull through the shot, I notice the string slaps my left chest. Is this normal? Should I be using a chest protector? Thanks for your advice.

[Wapiti Bowman]

Without a pic of your stance at full draw, it's difficult to say exactly what's going on. If you're not using an 'open stance', that's the first suggestion I'd make.

 Move your rear foot forward so that more of your torso is 'open' to  the target. You can move your foot forward as far as 45 degrees from the 'in line' stance which is perpendicular to the target face. I, personally find that placing my rear foot forward about 10-15 degrees works best for me.

If you're already using an open stance, we'll have to take another "shot" at it.    

[longbow fanatic 1]

Thanks, Wapiti. My stance is squared up to the target ( perpendicular ), so that is probably the problem. Too many years of compound shooting. Thanks for the tip.

[Wapiti Bowman]

Actually, the form for compound and/or Trad shooting are, or can be, the same. I was a very competitive compounder for several years prior to turning to trad shooting after a 15-20 year hiatus. I shot a compound with the same stance I use for trad shooting.

If you were a long time compounder and you're now having trouble with string/chest slap when shooting Trad and using the same form, you may have done what most shooters do when making that switch: over bowed yourself. That is, you chose a bow with a draw wt similar, if not the same as the "peak wt" of your compound. That just doesn't work for most shooters.

You might want to try a bow with a bit less draw wt, if you find you're still having problems after opening your stance. JMHO  

I've found Trad shooting to be a whole lot more fun than the compound; and I shoot more and tinker less. I've also lightened my load: No big tackle box to carry, and no hex wrench!  

[longbow fanatic 1]

Wapiti,

Like you, I shot a lot of 3-D's over my 20 plus years of shooting compounds. Initially, I was self taught ( not a good thing ) and eventually shot 3-D's with some semi-pro shooters. My accuracy improved a lot, but my stance was always parallel to the target. At that time in my life, I shot many different ways to avoid accessive string slap and chest/string interference, mostly shooting bow with 1 inch shorter draw length and a noticeably bent bow arm. The short axel to axel bows also helped. Having said all that, my form was unconventional( I guess ). With your tips, I'm improving all those years of poor form.

Thanks again for your thoughts. I truly appreciate it. Since I have picked up trad. shooting, I have never looked back!

BTW: I posted a few pics entitled Shooting form advice ( Pics ). If you have time, take a look and let me know you thoughts.

Take care,

Dennis

[longbow fanatic 1]

I forgot to mention that I was very careful not to overbow myself when I began trad shooting. I was used to shooting 60-70 lb. compounds. When I began trad shooting, I began with a 45 lb recurve and now own a 49 and 52 lb longbows. I feel comfortable shooting them and feel it is a good weight for me.

[brinkwolf]

An overly long bow can cause the problem but yours don't seem that long so I would try the slightly open stance suggestion and see if that cures it.

[longbow fanatic 1]

Thanks, brinkwolf.