Bow slings allowed with English longbows?

TJ Mason

Soaring
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
American Shoot
I fancy entering some longbow shoots. Longbow has never been my preferred style, but many of the shoots themselves are interesting.

Trouble is, I can't take the hand shock longbows produce. I smashed my left hand up very badly when I came off a motorbike in 1988, and my left hook has never been right since. The hand shock from an English longbow inflames the joints within a couple of dozen shots if I have my fingers around the bow.

But I might be able to manage it if I can use a bow sling - just a cord with one loop around the bow and another loop around my wrist, so I can shoot with a fully open hand and not drop the bow on the ground.

I'm not clear on whether GNAS and BLBS rules allow such a sling though. Anyone know for sure?
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
GNAS rules say:

BOWSTYLES
201. Introduction and General Rules The recognised bowstyles are given below.
Additional information is also provided where necessary within the Rules for each separate
archery discipline. The following general rules apply to all bowstyles:
(a) Visual Aids.
(i) Field glasses, telescopes and other visual aids may be used for spotting arrows.
(ii) Prescription spectacles or shooting spectacles, provided they are fitted with the
same lenses normally worn by the archer, and sun glasses may be used. The
glass of the non-sighting eye may be fully covered or taped, or an eye patch may
be used.
(iii) No visual aid may be fitted with microhole lenses, or similar devices, nor marked in
any way which can assist in aiming.
(b) Accessories. Accessories are permitted such as limb savers, bracer, dress shield,
bowsling, belt or ground quiver, and tassel. Foot markers are also permitted but must
not protrude above the ground more than one centimetre.
(c) Broad-head, edged, bodkin, silver spoon and any other large diameter arrow piles are
not permitted.
(d) An archer’s equipment must not represent an undue obstacle to other archers on the
shooting line.

206. Longbow
(a) Bow. The bow shall be the traditional longbow made from wood, either “self”, “backed”,
or “laminated” with cambered (stacked) belly and horn nocks. With the exception of the
“self” bow, each limb of the bow shall form a single simple curve from the handle to the
nock when at full draw. The bow shall be not less than five feet in length for an arrow of
less than 27 inches and; not less than five feet six inches in length for a 27” or longer
arrow, this being measured along the back between the string nocks. At no point shall
the depth of the bow, measured from back to belly, be less than 5/8 (five eighths) of the
width of the bow at the same section. The bow may carry no support for the arrow.
Bows of bamboo, constructed in conformity with the above, shall be permitted.
(b) String. The string may be of either natural or man-made substance, and may, if
desired, embody a “kisser” at any point as required to facilitate a consistent draw
position, but for no other purpose.
(c) Sights and Ground Markers. A sight, as such, is not permitted but one of the following
may be used:
(i) A mark on the bow limb.
(ii) A rubber band of no more than 1/8” in depth and thickness.
(iii) A ground marker of any design provided it does not exceed a height from the
ground of 6 inches or a diameter of 3 inches or impede any other archer.
(d) Arrows. Arrows shall have wooden steles (shafts), shall be fitted with feather fletchings,
and may have either horn-reinforced, self or applied nocks. There is no limit to the
maximum shaft diameter. The pile shall not exceed the diameter of the shaft at the point
of fitment. Shouldered piles, whilst not disallowed, should be avoided because of
excess damage to targets. Arrows shall be properly marked, so that there shall be no
difficulty in claiming them.
(e) Hand Protection
(i) Finger protection in the form of finger stalls or tips, gloves, or shooting tab or tape
(plaster) to draw, hold back and release the string is permitted, provided that such
protection does not incorporate any device to hold, draw and release the string.
(ii) A separator between the fingers to prevent pinching the arrow and/or a platform
tab may be used. An extension so as to provide a greater angle, prior to release,
other than that achieved by the use of a normal tab, glove or other form of finger
protection, is not permitted.
(iii) On the bow hand an ordinary glove, mitten or similar item may be worn but shall
not be attached to the grip.
______________________________________________

Those are GNAS rules, I'm not sure where my BLBS rule book is (and it isn't online) so can't check that right now.
 

TJ Mason

Soaring
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
American Shoot
Aha - thank you! :) I hadn't thought of looking further up the page - was just worrying about 206.e.iii. So should be OK.
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
Should be ok, though its generally not often seen at longbow shoots, so carry a copy of said rule just incase a judge wants to have a word with you.
 

Insanity-Rocks

New member
Not sure with BLBS but I've spoken to some GNAS judges about it last year and they all agreed it was legal if a bit unusual, I've found a finger sling works better than a bow sling on a longbow though.
 

DavidH

New member
You're going to find it jumps forward and slips down, unlike a recurve with a handle and a longrod. Some longbows are built with little aftershock, ask Del the Cat, he will know
 

ghound

Member
I tried a finger sling once, found the bow jumped a different direction every time and it was very inconsistent, i feel you need a little finger weight on the bow to absorb this.
 

DavidH

New member
I tried a finger sling once, found the bow jumped a different direction every time and it was very inconsistent, i feel you need a little finger weight on the bow to absorb this.
a bit non traditional;)

But I think you're right ghound, theres nothing to make sure it goes straight, if it worked we'd all use one, but then we'd use a different grip. Here's a stupid idea, what about a few wrappings of foam on the handle?
 

The Admiral

New member
i too felt the shock from the bow and started to use an elbow support which has worked wonders, maybe try a wrist support.
 

ghound

Member
a bit non traditional;)

But I think you're right ghound, theres nothing to make sure it goes straight, if it worked we'd all use one, but then we'd use a different grip. Here's a stupid idea, what about a few wrappings of foam on the handle?
If you use too much foam and wrappings and you have yourself an arrow shelf...:burp:
 

WillS

New member
A well-made longbow shouldn't really have any hand shock, or at least not enough to agitate an injury. Hand shock is generally a result of a poor tiller resulting in the limb tips being out of time, or shooting too light an arrow for the bow. Not even my 80# longbow does enough to cause hand shock, and I'm a musician by trade so being careful of my hands is a top priority!


Despite the potential for slight interference with consistency, a thick glove is probably a better option, as a sling would be so unpredictable. Also, with the extra length of longbows any dropping or slipping could very easily cause the tips to crash into the floor which you don't want!
 

GoneBad

Member
I hold my longbow in the same manner as my compounds. Bottom of thumb pad against the grip and index finger rested on the front(back) of the bow. The bow jumps forward and is guided back by the index finger. I've never suffered from hand shock with it.
Other methods might include a padded glove or on a lighter note try holding some doinkers between your fingers like a cigar :cheerful:
 

WillS

New member
I do think it's worth checking the actual tiller of whichever bow is giving you shock. Chances are the limbs aren't returning to brace height at the same time, which will feel a bit rough. This might be giving you a bad experience of what a decent longbow should feel like, and using things like slings and thick gloves etc won't be necessary with a good quality bow.

I know everybody has their own opinions of why they shoot traditional longbows, but for me it's the idea of using nothing but a hand-shaped piece of wood and string. No sights, slings, gloves, tabs, rubber bands etc etc. Once you start down that path you might as well stay with recurves/compounds. However if a well-made longbow is still giving you handshock and that's impacting on your injury, there's absolutely no point forcing it, increasing the chance of permanent damage just because some people on a forum say that their bows don't do it. If a sling works and is legal in whatever competitions you shoot, then do whatever it takes to aid you in enjoying this sport!
 

ghound

Member
If you try out one of the tri lam performance bows you will be surprised how little shock there is with them, there very thin and light in the hand. I only ever feel a vibration coming from the bow when i hold it too lightly, i usually find the weight of my fat fingers resting on the bow is enough to counteract it.
 

blakey

Active member
I fancy entering some longbow shoots. Longbow has never been my preferred style, but many of the shoots themselves are interesting.

Trouble is, I can't take the hand shock longbows produce. I smashed my left hand up very badly when I came off a motorbike in 1988, and my left hook has never been right since. The hand shock from an English longbow inflames the joints within a couple of dozen shots if I have my fingers around the bow.

But I might be able to manage it if I can use a bow sling - just a cord with one loop around the bow and another loop around my wrist, so I can shoot with a fully open hand and not drop the bow on the ground.

I'm not clear on whether GNAS and BLBS rules allow such a sling though. Anyone know for sure?
I always shoot much better with a sling from wrist to thumb, with the bow moving forward on the shot. However because there is no shelf on an ELB the bow tends to slip through the fingers and drop to the ground. this is not really a problem on grass, and sometimes I have a square of carpet under the bow. The other thing is to develop a technique of grabbing the bow after the shot. With the handshock, as others have said this should not be a problem with a well made bow. I have had horrific handshock with heavy poundage selfbows, and standard fibreglass AFBs. However I have a really light beautifully tillered bamboo ELB with absolutely no handshock whatsoever. It is smoother to shoot than a recurve. I recommend trying a bamboo laminate. You are lucky over there with many to choose from. Good luck.
 

DavidH

New member
I always shoot much better with a sling from wrist to thumb, with the bow moving forward on the shot. However because there is no shelf on an ELB the bow tends to slip through the fingers and drop to the ground. this is not really a problem on grass, and sometimes I have a square of carpet under the bow. The other thing is to develop a technique of grabbing the bow after the shot. With the handshock, as others have said this should not be a problem with a well made bow. I have had horrific handshock with heavy poundage selfbows, and standard fibreglass AFBs. However I have a really light beautifully tillered bamboo ELB with absolutely no handshock whatsoever. It is smoother to shoot than a recurve. I recommend trying a bamboo laminate. You are lucky over there with many to choose from. Good luck.
Ive got to say that the idea of grabbing the bow like that doesn't sound like good practice. I guess if it works for you fine, but its just one more thing to worry about. With all respect to the OP I think this is a non issue for most people who shoot longbow. I dont have expensive bows but I've never experienced hand shock. Could be that people who do are gripping the bow too hard in the first place. As for taking carpet around with me. no comment;)
 

WillS

New member
Ive got to say that the idea of grabbing the bow like that doesn't sound like good practice. I guess if it works for you fine, but its just one more thing to worry about. With all respect to the OP I think this is a non issue for most people who shoot longbow. I dont have expensive bows but I've never experienced hand shock. Could be that people who do are gripping the bow too hard in the first place. As for taking carpet around with me. no comment;)
I'm 100% in agreement with this. I've always believed (and have always been told by shooting instructors / experts) that to be accurate and consistent with a longbow, everything should be as still, and repeatable and static as possible until you hear the arrow hit the target. To me, that means that the anchor point should be the same, and when you relax your release fingers the bow arm shouldn't even twitch until the arrow has hit. That ensures that you're not disturbing the flight of the arrow at all.

I guess whatever works for you works, but I can imagine that letting the bow "jump" forward during the shot and letting gravity pull it downwards as a result of not holding it tightly enough would definitely affect the flight of the arrow as it leaves the bow.
 

blakey

Active member
I guess whatever works for you works, but I can imagine that letting the bow "jump" forward during the shot and letting gravity pull it downwards as a result of not holding it tightly enough would definitely affect the flight of the arrow as it leaves the bow.
If you watch Olympic Recurve shooters you will see that they don't grip the bow, and the bow moves forward and rolls down on the shot. This is why bowslings, thumb/wrist slings were invented. We also have compound shooters who do this. You free the bow to go where it wants. This eliminates torque and pressure. The arrow has left the bow by the time the bow moves.
 
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