How do you hang on to your bow

Questions and answers. How to tune your bow, match those arrows and how to shoot your bow or hit the target. Its all here!

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matt61
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How do you hang on to your bow

#1 Post by matt61 » Sat Jun 06, 2015 6:42 pm

I have been doing a bit of shooting with my Cascade Longbow today having just made a new string for it.
I find it shoots best if I literally strangle it.
What sort of grip do you guys use when shooting your bows :?:
Matt

alaninoz
Posts: 218
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Location: Canberra, Australia

Re: How do you hang on to your bow

#2 Post by alaninoz » Sat Jun 06, 2015 7:21 pm

Depends on the bow. With two of my longbows I grip with all fingers firmly but without strangling. With the other two I grip with thumb and one finger, with the other fingers tucked to the side of the grip. Different bows prefer different grips.
Alan

littlejohn59

Re: How do you hang on to your bow

#3 Post by littlejohn59 » Sun Jun 07, 2015 9:33 am

The Just right grip. Hold the bow too tight you run the risk of torquing the bow. Too loose ...who know where your arrows are going to end up. I prefer a firm grip

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Kendaric
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Re: How do you hang on to your bow

#4 Post by Kendaric » Mon Jun 08, 2015 4:21 pm

I have generally found that longbows in particular, do not like to be heeled, that is, the bottom of your palm of the hand (the heel) is on the bow. If you have to strangle the bow, then that is a good indicator that you are heeling the bow.

Ideally only the meat of your thumb should be on the handle. This requires rotating the hand out about 45 degress. Ideally you should only hold the bow firm enough to stop the bow from jumping from your hand upon release.

The more you 'hold' the bow, the more human error you impart in the shot.

Strangling the bow can also make the shooting experience less sweet, as you get all the bow shock coming up your arm. Just holding the bow enough, so that it doesn't jump out of your hand, removes all shock.

You may also need to get your hand closer to the arrow shelf as well.

You may also need to check the bow tune and nocking height. Also, when shooting a longbow off the shelf, try shooting your arrows with cock fletch in. I know that may sound weird, but so often it resolves a lot of flight issues.

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stickshooter
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Re: How do you hang on to your bow

#5 Post by stickshooter » Wed Jun 10, 2015 6:32 pm

Like women some like to be held tight,some not

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rodlonq
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Re: How do you hang on to your bow

#6 Post by rodlonq » Fri May 27, 2016 8:58 am

Barely, I relax my bow hand as I take load on the string and don't grip the bow again until after the arrow is gone.
Cheers... Rod
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scuzz
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Re: How do you hang on to your bow

#7 Post by scuzz » Fri May 27, 2016 2:19 pm

I think the pistol-type grips seen on most recurves would not take very well to being strangled.

I shoot longbows with either howard-hill style, or dean torges-bulbous grips and I strangle them. Strangle with the grip but push through with the palm. I have never had a problem with the bow torquing, but I can imagine it being less common for shooters using a weaker grip.

Cheers,
Scuzz

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