exactly what is finger pinch?

[Aaron2k5]

I've been shooting a 62 inch howatt hunter for 2 months now.  55@ 28  with a 29 1/2 inch draw. My lower shooting finger is pretty much permanently numb now. Is this from finger pinch? Do I need a different bow? It won't heal and its just now starting to effect me. What do I do?

[Ragnarok Forge]

You are pulling with most of the force on your lowest finger. Switch to two finger shooting and keep the tension 80% on the finger under the nock and 20% on the other finger.  I had the same problem and this fixed it.

[jhg]

Agreed. Its not finger pinch caused by the Howatt. I owned two and they are very nice bows to shoot. My draw is 30". Is your elbow high at full draw?

Joshua

[YORNOC]

What these guys said....not the bow, its your form. You shooting a glove, tab, ?

[Javi]

Have someone take a photo from the side while you are at full draw. I suspect your anchor is higher than your bow hand and you are pulling up on the string..

[Night Wing]

The way I see it, if the finger is numb, it's probably from "form", but if there's pain, it's definitely "finger pinch".

[jhg]

Sure, his finger is being pinched, but should we call it that? Finger pinch as we define it generally is an acute angle of the string caused by the geometry of the bow and archer at full draw compressing the fingers. A Howatt Hunter does not give that sharp string angle at 29-1/2" of draw. I think its important to keep oranges oranges and apples apples when we can.

J-

[Don Stokes]

I had a similar problem from not using a deep enough hook on the string. No problem since making sure the string is all the way to the joint on that finger.

[Orion]

Because the acuteness of the string angle increases as a bow is drawn, all bow strings pinch the fingers toward the nock.  For most of us with normal draws and normal bow lengths, the discomfort caused by that pinch is negligible.  But as the draw length gets longer and/or the bow gets shorter, finger pinch may become more noticeable.  IMO 29 1/2 inch draw on a 62-inch recurve is right about at the point where finger pinch might become a problem. Any form problem would certainly exacerbate the finger pinch problem. I suspect, too, that you might have your drawing arm/elbow too high.

[PaddyMac]

What these guys said. Definitely form.

I just solved a problem with this. Do you find you are torguing the arrow off the rest? That is a real good clue to a specific line of easily corrected form problems. G. Fred Asbell talks about that in Advanced Instinctive Shooting for Bowhunting. Worked for me.

I concentrated on a deeper hook, starting out with a little more spread between my fingers, a more relaxed hand, I arched my draw wrist a little (there is a video somewhere around here on that) and worked on my draw elbow. Within a few arrows the pinching was gone and my shooting improved dramatically.

It really helps if you can get someone who has been shooting a long time to look at you. They can usually spot a problem immediately.

[Pete McMiller]

I had the same problem last year and basically was told to relax my drawing hand so the back of my hand was 'flat' and not under tension when drawing the string.  Also, make sure you are not drawing the bow with your arm - back only.  If you don't know what that feels like, make your own form master to check your back tension.  I shoot every day, split finger, and none of my fingers are sore any more.  You have a fine bow and just need to tweek your form.

[Aaron2k5]

Alright guys ill give it a shot. I've been having a hard time finding other trad shooters to help me