Straight grip vs. Locator

[Ground Hunter]

I picked up another Howard Hill Wesley Special last month.  It sports a straight grip.  All of my other Hills (3) have locator grips.  I'm finding that when I shoot the straight grip bow 70# @28.  I'm getting blisters in the palm of my bow hand.  Locator's no such problem.  Any other's find the straight grip making blisters??  H

[SpankyNeal]

If the grip is too big for your hand, or your turning your hand too far to the outside which folks tend to do with a large grip on a Hill, you may get blisters from it. Try placing the heel of the grip right in the life line of your palm and see if that helps.

Ken

[Bill Skinner]

I have several Hills, most are striaght or dished.  Looking at the sweat stains, my palm really doesn't have that much contact.  How are you holding it?  Bill

[Ben Maher]

H,
i find it the other way,  and as of eight years ago, will only order Hills and their ilk with straight grips ...
maybe you should send it too me then ... lol

Ben

[Dick in Seattle]

I'm with Ben.   started out feeling that I had to have the locator grip and ordered a number of Hills from Craig that way, then got a used one with straight and found that looked and felt much more "basic bow" and didn't really shoot any different, so I've gone with that.  All my later Hills are straight and all 19 that I've built have been straight.  Don't even think about any other option any more.

Depth is another issue.  I found that many old Hills had extremely deep, sharp edged risers.  I've never figured that out, except maybe that Howard himself had very large hands and built his own bows (for himself) that way.   Anyway, i found them uncomfortable to impossible to shoot with my barely medium hands.  I finally trimmed one down on a rather battered old bow and found I liked it much better.  

At one point I owned two take down Hills and I really liked the rounded, full feeling of the take down sleeves in the riser, and this is the form I build into my bows now.

[Missouri Bowman]

I love the straight grip and mine Hill grips are about 5 and a half inches in circumfrence, which is smaller and I really like the feel of them.

[MikeM]

I have had Hills with both straight and locator grips. I found the locator more uncomfortable than the straight. I now have Hill TD bows and prefer these more rounded straight grips like Dick indicated above.
Mike

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

I have a Hill style bow that Dick helped me build and it is a deep straight grip and I shoot between 30 and 60 arrows a day with and no blister or callous on my gripping hand (my string, ring finger gets sore but Terry Green believes I am torquing the string somehow). I have to admit I get a serious grip on the riser.

[Ground Hunter]

Thanks folks.  Maybe I'm just tender - ha.  Or, the 70#s is just taking its toll.  Was thinking I would change it.  I think I'll give it a little longer and see if I grow into it.  I love the bow - accurate etc..  Will give her some time.  Thanks all  H

[jdemoya]

A locator grip in a Hill bow is about one micron short of sacrilege. :-)

God bless,

José

[Ground Hunter]

FYI - I'm getting the blister at the base/web just below my thumb.  Not the palm.  H

[Bill Skinner]

Is your grip too small?  How big around is the grip?  Bill

[carbonflyr]

locator grips are way better for my shooting, i tend to heel my bows. oh by the way howard hill did have huge hands!

[Bowferd]

Like others I have had problems with locator grips. But then again I'm somewhat small caricature. In my old age 5'8" 175#.
I wouldn't classify my hands as dainty but they fit most medium to large gloves comfortably.
Of the 3 favorite bows on my all time favorite list, Jay St. Charles Yew and Osage T/D, GN Ghost and GN Bushbow, all of the above have had a straight grip.
Sometimes you just have to find what fits.

[GingivitisKahn]

Big hands and straight grip here - no blisters. YMMV

[Dick in Seattle]

groundhunter...   here's another thought for you...

I make some of my bows without shelves, i.e. shoot off the top of your fist.   I learned to shoot that way when I was a kid and that was the way inexpensive bows came and I still enjoy it.   However, I do usually wear a bow hand (left hand for me) glove.  I go to a golf store and buy a fine leather golf glove. They sell single gloves, right or left, and in half sizes, so you can get a perfect fit.  These are very thin, very comfortable and give you a nice grip on a longbow.   In the case of my shelfless bows, they also protect the top of my delicate little hands, treated every day with hand lotion, from those nasty rough feathers...   8^)  

Seriously, all our hands are different, and your blisters may  just be an individual grip problem that could be solved just this easily.

[Ground Hunter]

Dick - thanks!  I usually hunt with a light glove on my bow hand.  I'm going to give that a try with "the beast"!  I think I just need to let my hand toughen up some.  I shoot every day and rotate the bows I shoot, average about 150 arrows a day total.  I may have to put "the beast" off a day or two longer so the hand recovers more.  I love the bow and it shoot awesome.  I shoot it as well as my other bows.  The grip is just so much different than the others its just taking some getting use to.  H