Howard Hill ( Which grip ?)

[Bill Turner]

I started with a slight dish, purchased a locator and now prefer the straight grip. Its an individual thing, but it does take time and experience to find the grip that is made for you.  

[SpankyNeal]

All mine are either straight or the Shultz style slight dish...both work just fine for me. I cannot shoot a deep dish at all and it's very uncomfortable in my hand. The nice thing about the straight is that if you can't get with it, you can have it reshaped into either of the others for little cost. Like Rob said, you have to experiment, especially with Hill bows! If the grip will not let you heel the bow properly with the size and shape of your hands, your not going to enjoy the bow!

[K.S.TRAPPER]

I modified my Tomahawk grip to a slite dish and really like it a lot better then the locator type grip.

 

 Here's my new bow Charlie Lamb gave me, It's the first Hill style bow I have ever tried and I can't believe how well it shoots. I have finally found a grip I like, I can shoot all the other types and have but something didn't feel right but now it does.

 

Tracy

[MikeM]

All my current Hill's have the smaller takedown straight grip which I like better than the large grip takedown and the locator grip I had on a one piece Hill I sold.

[Greg Skinner]

I agree with Rob that it is a very subjective thing.  I will say that it might not be a decision that you can make quickly.  It took me over ten years (I'm probably slower than most) to figure out that I like the straight grip more than any other.  A slight locator or mild dish works OK, but the small takedown is really hard to beat.  A recurve style or deep locator hurts my wrist if I shoot it very much.  The straight just feels stronger and more natural.  My favorite current HH I finished from a blank and shaped the handle exactly the way I wanted - can't go wrong that way.

[David Mitchell]

KSTrapper, that's an interesting longbow in your second picture.  What can you tell me about it?

[Mudd]

I love how simple the straight grip works for me.

I am constantly amazed at how it perfectly puts my hand right where it should be.. up at the arrow shelf.

I think I could close my eyes and pick up the bow and my hand would be in the right place for launching an arrow.

My 2 cents worth.

God bless,Mudd

[BobCo 1965]

On my Hills, I have had straight and locator. On my Schulz, I had a dished. Personally, I preferred the dish to the others.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

David, The bow in the second pick is a all bamboo and wood composite modeled after a bow Shultz used to offer called the natural.

Absolutely the quietest bow I have ever shot and one smooth shooter.  :D  3 lams of actionboo and one natural bamboo.

I can send you some more picks if you want to see them, Don't want to high jack the thread.

Tracy

[David Mitchell]

Tracy, thanks...it is an interesting looking bow. My e-mail is [email protected]. I would be happy to see more of it.....Dave

[straitera]

Rob is dead nuts about what YOU prefer. However, you need to give them all an honest chance. Straight Hill grips for me for 33 years. IMO, it's an honest grip quick to locate & shoot in one swift motion. Locators lock me into where I do not want to be. Therefore, I am slower to shoot pistol or locator grips effectively. Slight dish is my 2nd choice very close to the straight.

[trapper]

I own both but prefer the straight, both are fine it is just what feels good to you.

[trapper]

I own both but prefer the straight, both are fine it is just what feels good to you.

[tomwatson]

I believe that the Hill Style bow was designed to be shot with a Straight or Slight Dished (as on a Schulz Bow) grip. In order to shoot a Hill bow properly, one must "heel" the bow. The Straight grip and slight dished grip allows this to happen. The locator grip however, makes it more difficult to do this, allowing the so called "Hand Shock" to happen.

I make my straight grips with a bias to the bow hand, that is when one holds it in the wrong hand it is too sharp while in the correct hand it bleeds the torque out of the the shot.  My locator shaped grips allow the bow to still be heeled,  have the bow hand bias, but allow for a little more of a straight arm and clearance for when shooting with gloves on the bow hand.  For me the size of the grip and the softness to the bow hand are critical. You can always order straight and if you don't like it, you can fix it to match your own hand.

[Ralphie]

My HH Cheetah arrives tomorrow with a wedge grip. It's not listed in the HH Archery catalog. It was described as thinner in the back, which helps to position the hand. The bow is only about 2-3 years old, so the grip style must have been made to order.
(Here's hoping it works for me ! ...)

[royking]

Having tried all the hill grips i realy prefer the straight grips.

[Joe Subler]

Does anyone know which grip Howard Hill preferred?

Cheers,
Joe

[Mudd]

I just ordered a  wedge shaped straight handle.

[Ralphie]

The wedge shaped grip Cheetah just arrived.  The shape sort of guides one to position the hand in the same spot each time. because the grip in the rear is only about 1/2" wide. I shoot best when I grab the bow with the meaty part of my hand, under my thumb, against the grip. The wedge seems to make this positioning easy to repeat.