Choking my bow?

[Boesman]

Over the past few weeks I have been paying a lot of attention to what I do while I am shooting, and through a process of elimination I hope to build up a mental check-list of things that make arrows fly straight and true. Most of the things are well documented on the Shooters' Forum pages, but one thing that works for me, seems to be a bit of a no-no by many accounts.
I have found that it helps to grip my bow fairly tightly to avoid dropping or lifting my bow-arm upon release. Could it be that I need to do this because my form or allignment is slightly off?

[McDave]

Some people who shoot longbows with straight grips like to hold them firmly.  I've never heard anyone who shoots a recurve or a longbow with a contoured grip who believes you should grip it firmly.

If you hold the bow so the pressure point is to the thumb side of your lifeline, when you draw the bow, all the force should be back against the pad below your thumb, and you shouldn't have to grip the bow at all, other than enough to keep it from flying out of your hand when you shoot it.  The reverse should be avoided too; don't hold your hand with your fingers open (unless you use a bowsling) so they reflexively grab the bow when you shoot it.

Perhaps your bow arm would be more stable if you consciously push toward the target until your shot is released.  You can tell if everything is working properly if your bow recoils toward the target on release, and not to one side or the other.

[Boesman]

Thanks for the advice, I'll try that. What you say about the straight grip longbow makes sense. I'll shoot my recurve a bit tomorrow and see whether a firm grip makes a difference.

[hvyhitter]

I grip all my bows very firmly, recurves and longbows both, and have done so for years. When gripped loose I dont seem to get the same shot to shot consistancy as when gripped firm.....YMMV

[Larry m]

If I shoot longbows I have a tendency to palm the bow.  If a recurve then the pressure is higher in the palm area closer to the thumb. The bow is always with a light grip pushing forward. I find if I grip the bow firmly I tend to torque the bow upon release. I strive to always work towards improvement on consistency of grip with a smooth release.

[alaninoz]

From my experience different bows need different treatment. One of my longbows works best if I hold lightly with thumb and forefinger and tuck the other fingers alongside the grip.

The other two longbows need to be gripped firmly with all fingers to work well. If I strangle them or hold them too lightly they don't like it.

Find what works for your bow.

[Boesman]

Considering what McDave said, I did some shooting with my recurve. You are right - after a few shots I started to relax and without giving it much thought my grip on the bow also started to relax without affecting my groupings. So I picked up the longbow again and while my first two shots were spot-on my arrows soon started flying wider. I realised I was 'flinching' (for want of a better word) at the hand-shock of the bow and that the only way to control the flinch and the bow was to grip it very firmly. As soon as I did that my groups tightened again.
Lesson learnt: What's good for one bow, can lead to bad habits on another bow.

[Boesman]

Alan, you hit the nail on the head, I'm going to have to learn to tread each bow differently.

Thanks for all the input from everyone.

Jasper

[Jeff Roark]

I tried to experiment with different grips after watching MBB3 and tried to mimic what Rod and Denny were doing instead of finding what worked for me, which I was already doing. I soon noticed after trying the index finger and thumb grip while letting the other 3 fingers ride along the side I started getting bad elbow pain, like tennis elbow. It was making shooting miserable. I went back to my normal full grip, which I grip neither too hard or too lightly, and my elbow pain disappeared within a few days and my groups tightened up instantly. I guess in this instance I told the bow how I like to shoot it, instead of the bow telling me how it wants to be shot. The Fedora and I see eye to eye on this one.

[TSP]

Experimenting to find what works for you does make perfect sense.  Whether a straight-grip Hill or a Widow recurve or a hybrid, I've always preferred and shot more consistently with a firm grip.  By firm I mean with palm into the grip and fingers around the grip, rather than simply allowing the bow to 'sit and bounce'.  It works better for me, but only you can determine what fits your particular style and natural preferences.  It's part of the learning curve, and the fun.

[Lee Lobbestael]

Watch mtbb volume one. Darryl Quidort says he holds his grip tightly. "about like you'd choke a snake' He says

[Norminator]

One problem with choking or squeezing your grip too tight is you may develop torque. This is a common problem with
handgun shooters.

[Trad-Man]

excellent post Mr. McDave...

"if your bow recoils toward the target on release, and not to one side or the other."

Same holds true when you squeeze the trigger on a firearm...especially a rifle.  When I shot competitively I knew without looking through optics where I impacted the paper relative to the buzz eye.

[Flingblade]

After reading this thread I tried shooting my recurve with a firm grip instead of the thumb index finger loose grip and I noticed my left/right accuracy cleaned up.  I have always had a problem dropping the bow arm or having the top limb recoil to the right upon release.  The firm grip helped on both counts.  The bow stayed right where it was when I released.  Like Jeff I have also had elbow pain and hopefully the firm grip will help that over the next few days.

[Boesman]

Flingblade, I battled with bad elbow pain at the beginning of the year. Some good advice I found searching Tradgang included wearing a tennis elbow brace just below your elbow while shooting and also taking anti inflamatories for a few days - something with Ibuprofen - while massaging the sore elbow with a pain-relief ointment - Diclofenac topical? on a dayly basis. This sorted it out in a week or two.
McDave's advice on pushing towards the target has certainly tightned my groups with my recurve. I find that I can hold it as loosely as I like without it having any effect on my accuracy. On my longbow, I still have to maintain a firm grip to keep my groups as tight as I like. It also has a lot of hand shock and I think I subconciously try to strangle the vibrations out of it.

[Flingblade]

Thanks Boesman.  I'm going to pick up one of those elbpw braces today.  Good idea.  With deer season right around the corner I don't want a sore elbpw hoding me back.