HH BUG GOT ME - Part Two!

[cahaba]

I got the call today from James. It's going to be a long week.

[katman]

Cahaba, what do you have coming? I spoke with James yesterday and I am, about 3 weeks out on my Morningstar.

[cahaba]

I'm getting a Vixen. Will be ordering a Morningstar soon. Show us some pics when you get yours.

My Morningstar has caused me a lot of trouble.  My wife watched me compare bows.  Now she thinks I have three too many left hand snaky bows and two too many right hand bows.

[ScouterMike]

Hopefully your wife will understand the weighty responsibility you have taken on acquiring all these bows for long term testing so your fellow archers will know what to expect. Of course with new models being introduced etc the task just never ends...

[katman]

Pavan giving your wife access to your bow collection was your first mistake. Comment on her shoe collection, end of discussion.

[Rob DiStefano]

as a word of caution to all, this HH BUG GOT ME thread is about the howard hill longbow, and all american flat longbows.  

this thread is not about hybrid longbows.  

if yer unsure about what constitutes a howard hill american flat longbow, words and images are available in this article -  www.tradgang.com/docs/trad.html

in the spirit of this thread, please temper your posts accordingly.  thank you.

Exactly, my wife wants me to only have Hill style bows.  Perhaps I should get her a nice light Hill, but at her 26" draw and 38 pound pull, it would have to be quicker than average.

[katman]

Thanks Rob, won't happen again.

In a couple of weeks, Katman, you are going to have some serious non snaky fun.  Those first three shots on this are the same as my most natural feeling rhythm with my Morningstar.  Almost like the bow shoots itself.
 

[katman]

You just made my wait harder pavan, thanks a lot, lol. Cool video link, enjoyed it very much.

I started out with an afl design many years ago and am anxiously awaiting to have a non snaky bow again.

[Mudd]

Thanks Pavan that's a reel I hadn't seen before.

I need a second and third opinion from those who watch this.

If I am seeing correctly Mr Howard is using his middle finger as his anchor.

Years ago I switched from using the same finger to using my index finger because I thought it brought the arrow closer to my eye and I thought I had read where Mr Howard shot this way.

I guess I got some misinformation.

God bless,Mudd

In one film Hill anchored with his index finger while giving shooting lesson.  If you watch that film closely, you will see that when he goes about his business, he anchors with the top of the middle finger inline and behind the corner of his mouth.  I was told that he had gap in his lower molars that he hit with the middle finger.

[Mudd]

Thanks Pavan!

I guess I had it correct on both counts...woohoo! That doesn't happen very often.....lol

I shot yesterday using the middle finger, it felt strange after years of using the index finger.

The resulting conclusion is....both ways work.

God bless,Mudd

[Orion]

Hmmm.  Interesting video.  In his books, Hill describes his shooting style as using the index finger in the corner of the mouth.  Sure does look like he's using the middle finger to the corner of his mouth in a number of those shots.

They both work, of course.  If one anchors in the same place, the index finger to the corner of the mouth has the effect of lowering the rear sight so to speak, i.e., placing the arrow nock lower on the face vis-a-vis the middle finger to the corner of the mouth.

[Trad Longbow Joe]

In Hunting The Hard Way, Howard describes his anchor as his middle drawing finger to the corner of his mouth.  I read this else where as well, second finger to his eye tooth.

[Blaino]

Awese video Pavan!

[Blaino]

I know a lot of archers talk about Hill's achor point.... For me the greatest advance in my ASL accuracy was accomplished by string placement along with finger placement.

Look at all of Hill's photos and all of the old timers for that matter....... The string is touching the outside of the eyebrow. Once I made the effort to make brow contact along with middle finger anchor my accuracy improved greatley!

Give it a try. I'm sure you'll agree....

The touch of the string on the brow gives a consistent head angle to the string and the arrow, it gives the brain  more reliable information to work with. If the bow gets too short I lose that on my left side, it makes a difference for with my left/right variance on longer shots.  As Hill, Schulz and many others have stated, everyone has their own best anchor point. Hill goes so far to say that for some hard and tight is better while others a light touch is better. On my right side I am better with a somewhat lighter double anchor. On my left side, I am better with a hard plant with the finger tips with a light tag with the thumb knuckle on the back of the jaw.

[Overspined]

I've played around a bit with anchor placement and had a local buddy, truly a Hill style expert, tell me why most folks would do well with index to anchor. It lowers your draw hand at anchor point, obviously, but that really helps the archer to engage back muscles in the draw. A higher anchor tends to make it easy to lose the back tension on the draw, or make it difficult to engage.  I was surprised at the difference.

I'm sure Howard could do whatever he wanted without a problem, but I definitely noticed a difference.