Painful string slaps

cappagardi

New member
Hi

I've been shooting my longbow now for a couple of weeks and seem to be improving, and can stick 6/6 on a portsmouth at 20yards indoors. BUT, my lower forearm is taking one heck of a battering by the string.

I'm wearing a thick Neet arm guard but the whiplash is still getting through. I cant seem to figure out a grip that doesnt put my wrist in the line of fire and still hold the bow without looking like i have a claw hand.

Anyone have any ideas how to avoid this or should i just man up?
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
If you are getting string slap either your bracing height is wrong, or you are doing something wrong. Off the top of my head I can think of two things;
1) You are't loosing right, and are plucking sending the string into your arm,
2) You're not holding it right.

How I hold my bow is with the ball of the thumb against the handle, the finger knuckles should be at about 45degrees to the bow with the fingers comfortably folded around the bow. Personally I raise the index finger slightly so the arrow shoots off the 2nd knuckle of the index finger rather than the third knuckle. The thumb should be folded around the other side of the bow, if you have a thin bow (or large hands) your index finger and thumb may touch.

If you want to check your bracing height, give a thumbs up and put the base of your fist on the handle on the belly side of the bow. The string should sit just above your extended thumb. Roughly this should be between 5.5-6.5 inches.
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
+1 for everything Raven's Eye says.
I also tend to keep a straight line along left forearm and back of hand. Imagine a school rule tucked down the back of your sleeve and protruding 6"
it would stop you cocking your hand back which tends to result in wrist slap.
Similarly don't lock the left arm rigid, have a slight curve in the arm elbow pointing more left and hrozontal than left/down.
Canting the bow can help, but may not be suitable for target, depends on your style.
Imagine you are hugging a huge Oak tree :) !
The above just reflects my own agricultural style which will doubtless be considered 'incorrect' by some.
Del
 

ghound

Member
Tried all of the above and i still get string slap though it is not as harsh as described by the OP, it's just the way i shoot!
 

Martin Heelis

Active member
Ironman
What's the nock fit like on the string? If it's difficult to clip the nock on you could try reserving with something thinner.
 

ghound

Member
Hi Martin, not sure what difference this would make? I had to change my first serving after a few months as it wore through where it had been hitting my arm brace.
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
ghound are you able to video your release with close up on your string hand and another on your bow hand.
 

DavidH

New member
I get some slap but its only slight, I've even forgotten my arm guard and still shot. If all else fails get a really nice think leather arm guard, but all the advice so far is spot on, though I'd say your brace height should always be plus 6 inches, normal fistmele is 6.5
 

mediumtab

Member
AIUK Saviour
Bear in mind,any sign of bruising or black patches...means bleeding under the skin where blood vessels are leaking.
It will only spread up the arm and lead to serious circulation problems if you carry on -manup doesn't come into it......
Alter your grip,keep a more relaxed bow arm ...and you could try opening your stance.Move the front foot back half a length to open your stance and improve clearance-but this will shorten your draw length slightly.Better that than a black arm.....
 

cappagardi

New member
I had one of my colleages video me and I was clearly doing all of the above wrong. I felt like i was doing a clean loose but was plucking, and I was holding the bow with a more recurve style grip which was pushing my wrist in to the bow. Bracing height was good but on zooming in you could see the string belting my lower arm after every loose.

I would have to turn my wrist quite alot to get clearance, probably pulling the bow in to keeping th eback of hand inline with my arm, knuckles facing down the range. One of the guys at the range has offered to help out, but for the moment its shut after some scrote burgled the club and the rugby club next door - suppose it gives me some time to let the bruising clear.
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
Well least you were able to discover why you were doing it. Though I've not tried doing it myself (yet) but videos always help yourself see flaws in your form.
 

Nightimer

New member
Try keeping your shoulder down.
If your shoulder comes up (towards your ear) the gap between your arm and the string narrows.
Result,WHACK.
I only shot a long bow for a VERY short while, getting my hand position right really helped.
 

ghound

Member
I had one of my colleages video me and I was clearly doing all of the above wrong. I felt like i was doing a clean loose but was plucking, and I was holding the bow with a more recurve style grip which was pushing my wrist in to the bow. Bracing height was good but on zooming in you could see the string belting my lower arm after every loose.

I would have to turn my wrist quite alot to get clearance, probably pulling the bow in to keeping th eback of hand inline with my arm, knuckles facing down the range. One of the guys at the range has offered to help out, but for the moment its shut after some scrote burgled the club and the rugby club next door - suppose it gives me some time to let the bruising clear.
I also shoot in a sort of recurve style, i bend and push with the wrist it's the only comfortable way for me to shoot, and comfortable (even though it may look wrong) to me = consistant. As for the loose, i keep my hand tight to my face and make the movement as short as i can like a trigger, i don't do the flapping the hand to the back of the neck or round the head, it's just excessive and moves the body and upsets the shot imo.
At the moment this style is serving me well with good scores, and as time goes by i will probably change and adapt, but until then......
 
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