Shooting with a bent arm

[Guest splitg2]

I was wondering if it is okay to shoot with a bent arm. My bow has come to the end of its draw length and it is to short. I was told that when you shoot you should push with your left arm and hand and pull with your right berfore and as the bow is going of.

So if you shoot with a bent arm will this create inaccuracy?

[clrj3514]

not if u set urself up to shoot with ur arm bent

[Canuck2]

It depends how bent it is. When at a proper length full draw, your bow elbow will normally have a slight bend rather than be hyperextended. Yes, you are making use of opposing forces with your bow arm and drawing arm, but they must be in balance such that you're not torquing the bow.

If your draw length is too short and you have an inappropriate bend to your bow elbow, opposing muscle groups in that arm will cause instability in your form and you will, indeed, have accuracy problems.

[Guest splitg2]

A freind of mine told me to put a longger loop on the string or is that a bad idea

[ultratec1]

A longer d-loop with a straight arm will only pull your bow away from your face and anchor points.. Another thing about your bent arm is that your arm will get tired ALOT faster than it would if it were straight. That's where you could get your left arrows or low shots.

If you wonder what I'm talking about, go to a wall and lean against the wall with your arm bent the way that you shoot your bow and then lean against the wall straight armed and see which one gets tired faster.

[m gardner]

I've tried both ways and my scores are the same on the field course so I believe it's not a "real" issue. My draw length for the tests was 29.5 and 29 inches so there wasn't excessive bend in my elbow. I did it because a friend who is an anal retentive target shooter (and very good at it I might add; at shooting, not being anal retentive) videoed himself then studied himself frame by frame and found that his wrist snapped down and forward with his arm bent. But the arrow left the bow before it was affected. But he is a perfectionist and corrected his form anyhow. I like the bend in my arm because it helps the string clear my clothing when I hunt. It does cause impact changes when I get tired but I don't mind being in the left side of the 5 ring at 50 yards as opposed to the center X-ring. A 5 is a 5, and a dead critter is a dead critter.

Mark

[Tony]

their have been some good points brought up for a straight arm and a bent arm. but the biggest reason i know of is it is a lot harder to duplicate a bent arm everytime the same way, than a arm that is straight but relaxed.

there are many ways to shoot, each person should find what works for them. so tryt he straight arm and see if your scores improve. nows the time to do this, because bowseason is still several months off and it wont hurt to try something new now.

Tony

[Guest splitg2]

Thanks for the replies they helped alot

[Strut10]

there are many ways to shoot, each person should find what works for them.

Tony

Bingo!!

The guy whose shop I go to is a huge proponent of the bent arm style. He switched me over about 5 years ago. It improved my shooting immensely. May not work for everyone the same. But there's a good chance it could if you try it.

[Straight Shooter]

A slightly bent arm is the correct form to be shooting, if your arm is straight then this puts your foreearm in the path of the string as it is released. A slight bend allows the forearm to naturally rotate back out of the way. As for repeatability of shooting form, if your shooting form which is your anchor points are met every time then you are shooting the same every time. It is recommended to have more than one anchor point so you know if you are not anchored properly. Personally I use the string touching my nose, the fletching touching my face and where my hand rest at full draw on the side of my jaw bone; if any of these aren't in position I know something in my form isn't right.