Big guy -big forearm - string contact

Jojetski

New member
I have problems with string contact on inside of forearm after release. Right hand, recurve. There is a lot of weight in my arm (too many pies!!). Bow/hand contact is to the thumb side of the lifeline to try and get out of the way and I rotate brace arm as far clockwise as I can. Brace hand knuckles are relaxed at 45 degrees. I still get contact.

The only solution I have found is to put a bend in the left elbow but this causes some early fatigue, joint ache and inconsistent draw length as the arm is not locked.

Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks.
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
Stick an old arrow under the back of your watch strap so it stops you c0cking your wrist.
Del
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Sometimes this happens because the drawing hand pulled the string back very close to the bow arm, all the way from start to finish.
This ends up with the string on the front of the chin and the chin very close to the bow arm shoulder. From that posture, the string path runs almost along the bow arm.
It might help to draw the string further from the bow arm, as if aiming to land on the right hand side of the chin.
 

mediumtab

Member
AIUK Saviour
Have someone watch to see if you are rotating the bow shoulder forward,as you draw up - this will move the bow arm closer to the string -which you need to avoid! Also you might try to open your stance on the shooting line( i.e move your rear/right foot half a length forward,so the chest is at an angle as opposed to in line).
This will give you more string clearance -but it will also shorten your draw length.........
 

ThomVis

Active member
A bad release can send the string away with more sideways movement causing your bowarm to be hit. The bad release still needs fixing, but a longrod can help save your bowarm. So if you plan to go the Olympic Recurve route, stick a longrod on and see if it helps.
 

Jojetski

New member
Thanks to all especially mediumtab. Front shoulder was lifting on drawback which I hadn't realised was happening. Taking care of that solved the problem. Shot a Windsor this morning at 1 short of 2nd class which is a vast improvement on recent weeks. Thanks again.
 

frustratatosk

New member
I was hitting my arm too often and that caused me to rotate my hand on the grip further thinking it would get my arm out of the way. It actually had the opposite effect, the balance on the grip was uneven and was actually throwing the string into my arm.
 

JohnK

Well-known member
Glad you've had some luck solving this problem.

I don't have large forearms, but I have had string clearance issues in the past. I was persevering with a Jager grip, which has a very pronounced angle sloping from the left to the right of the bow (right-handed riser). A top archer advised me that this sharp angle was pushing my arm into the line of the string and that I should change it. He was absolutely right. Now the only time I get string contact is if my elbow isn't rotated properly.
 

backinblack

Active member
I'm not sure whether the solutions you've tried include tweaking your kit rather than your form. If you haven't done so, you can try things to vary either the amplitude of the string's oscillation on release or things to try to make the "trough" of the wave rather than the "peak" occur at the point where the string passes the sticky-out bit of your arm:

Play with bracing height;

play with string strand count;

play with string material; and

add or subtract weight at the back of the arrow.

I would also back up Thom Vis's advice that a poor release can accentuate this problem (that's what caused my own problems with this) and what really helped was working on back tension to make sure the string hand follow through was moving along the line of my neck rather than outwards causing a plucked string.

Hope you get sorted soon,
Backinblack
 

Ar-Pe-Lo

Member
I'm not sure whether the solutions you've tried include tweaking your kit rather than your form. If you haven't done so, you can try things to vary either the amplitude of the string's oscillation on release or things to try to make the "trough" of the wave rather than the "peak" occur at the point where the string passes the sticky-out bit of your arm:

Play with bracing height;

play with string strand count;

play with string material; and

add or subtract weight at the back of the arrow.

I would also back up Thom Vis's advice that a poor release can accentuate this problem (that's what caused my own problems with this) and what really helped was working on back tension to make sure the string hand follow through was moving along the line of my neck rather than outwards causing a plucked string.

Hope you get sorted soon,
Backinblack
NO please, set up (BH, string etc.) shoul by done for good bow/arrows match not for avoiding forearm contact....it's a form issue.
 

backinblack

Active member
NO please, set up (BH, string etc.) shoul by done for good bow/arrows match not for avoiding forearm contact....it's a form issue.
Sorry Ar-Pe-Lo, I don't follow the logic: if a certain set up leads to string contact then all the tuning in the world won't create good grouping, even if the bow and arrow match is, on paper, good. If the problem can be solved by form changes, then all well and good, but I've been working on form changes to solve this for a number of years now and I still get the problem creeping back in now and again and more so at certain bracing heights so I tune to eliminate this as it can wreck my grouping. However, I accept that I might be something of a slow learner as far as archery goes.

As the saying goes, you can only tune as well as you can shoot and unfortunately, for me, I have to balance what I would like to have tune wise with what generally gets me the least worst results in the context of my own shooting. I thought that everyone did this, although I accept that those with better form will have to compromise to a lesser extent.

Best,
Backinblack
 

Ar-Pe-Lo

Member
Sorry Ar-Pe-Lo, I don't follow the logic: if a certain set up leads to string contact then all the tuning in the world won't create good grouping, even if the bow and arrow match is, on paper, good. If the problem can be solved by form changes, then all well and good, but I've been working on form changes to solve this for a number of years now and I still get the problem creeping back in now and again and more so at certain bracing heights so I tune to eliminate this as it can wreck my grouping. However, I accept that I might be something of a slow learner as far as archery goes.

As the saying goes, you can only tune as well as you can shoot and unfortunately, for me, I have to balance what I would like to have tune wise with what generally gets me the least worst results in the context of my own shooting. I thought that everyone did this, although I accept that those with better form will have to compromise to a lesser extent.

Best,
Backinblack
The logic is:unless you using extremely low BH (7" and less) it's always form problem, so to fix that it's far better to solve form(maybe different grip) that build bow around the problem. Just my opinion of course.
 

JohnK

Well-known member
Opening your stance only changes clearance if your shoulders follow suit. Opening your shoulders is not a good idea, as it can lead to bad alignment.

That is, assuming you aren't over-rotating your bow shoulder into the path of the shot.

In any case, the OP seems to have sorted this problem out, as indicated above.
 

ieuan_johns

New member
I have problems with string contact on inside of forearm after release. Right hand, recurve. There is a lot of weight in my arm (too many pies!!). Bow/hand contact is to the thumb side of the lifeline to try and get out of the way and I rotate brace arm as far clockwise as I can. Brace hand knuckles are relaxed at 45 degrees. I still get contact.

The only solution I have found is to put a bend in the left elbow but this causes some early fatigue, joint ache and inconsistent draw length as the arm is not locked.

Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks.
I have the same problem. At the moment the only solution I have found that works consistently is a more open stance. My front (right) foot it moved back an inch from my left with my toes pointing around 30 degrees apart. I find this enough rotation to clear the forearm 99% of the time even when fatigued.

It does have the down side of reducing draw length slightly and forcing me to float my head forward from my shoulder more than I would like but seems to work. I am slowly attempting to inch back straight at the moment though and have already gotten back straighter than I was able before, so I suspect that my technique has improved somewhat over that time.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
If you imagine the string path as straight, from anchor to end of the power stroke, then it is possible to see different options to get string clearance.
One is to open the stance which takes the bow shoulder back and away from the starting position of the string path. Not always a good thing.
Another is to turn the head less than before and that moves the string at anchor, away from the bow shoulder, while leaving the shoulders aligned as before.
Another is that the archer may be shooting with an arched/hollow back. That often leads to the chin being very close to the chest and bow shoulder at full draw. From the archer's point of view, they seem to be looking over their shoulder and straight along their bow arm.
Lowering the chest and getting the hollow out of the back, puts the string further from the bow shoulder.
 
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