Straight arm, or bent arm?

[DukesArcher]

When shooting your compound, do you keep a slight bend in your bow arm, or instead shoot with it straight with a rotation in the elbow?

I'm a stickler for good from when it comes to archery, and I've been trying to switch over to shooting with a straight arm for a short while now, however I just can't seem to get comfortable with it. Get the odd string slap and my groups have opened up quite a bit.

Feel far more comfortable with a slight kink the in the arm. I also shoot with a slight bend when shooting trad.

Maybe I'm hanging around too much with dedicated target archers.....

Any comments?

[schian]

I shoot with a slight bend, but I'm no pro by any stretch.
Whats the advantage of a straight arm??

Schian

[arrow dog]

Take the time to drop in to Jimbows. The guys there are really good about helping fellow archers out and they know their stuff. They'll answer your questions for you.

[DukesArcher]

I shoot at Jims

[CNP]

Full extension of the arm. It just happens that when my arm is fully extended, there is a slight bend. I've seen people whose elbow hyperextends (mostly in women) when they fully extend their arm.........in that case I would not recommend full extension of the arm..............unless you really like string slap.

[Lefty-Canuck]

I do a two-finger tuck, and shoot with a slight bend.

LC

[58thecat]

Draw, release and watch arrow punch the centre ring, if this is happening your form/gear is spot on for you.
I have seen some odd, from my perspective forms but no denying the end result and people hit where they are aiming repeatedly at various distances.

[beaver hunter]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I do a two-finger tuck, and shoot with a slight bend.

LC

Lefty, is that similar to the half-gainer???

[Ultimate Predator]

I shoot relaxed grip elbow rolled out

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by beaver hunter

Lefty, is that similar to the half-gainer???

Lol yup...with a twist.

LC

[Bing]

Just spent the whole preseason messing with the same thing. Tried a lengthened draw length to shoot with a straight arm. Very inconsistent groups. Had Dave at Jimbows shorten draw length back to get bend in the arm and now back to more consistent and tighter groups. Also easier to adjust for hunting situations like gloves and odd body positions etc.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by Bing

Just spent the whole preseason messing with the same thing. Tried a lengthened draw length to shoot with a straight arm. Very inconsistent groups. Had Dave at Jimbows shorten draw length back to get bend in the arm and now back to more consistent and tighter groups. Also easier to adjust for hunting situations like gloves and odd body positions etc.

One of the biggest and most common setup mistakes is shooting too long of a draw length. I shoot my hunting bow shorter than my target bows for reasons above.

LC

[nekred]

Straight arm, not hyper extended not bent...

bent arm uses muscle to hold it n place and muscle is inconsistent,

think of a hinge of it is straight it cant be compressed and forced to bend.

In a book called archery anatomy it explains this and oddly enough on most males a straight arm looks slightly bent because of the way the muscle and tissue bulges.

The key to this is proper hand rotation as well. this way your planes of flex are perpendicular which aids in locking things down.... think of a piece of flat iron vs angle iron....

easy way to look at it is lay on your back and have a 25 lb weight in your hand on your outstretched arm and find position you can hold it for the longest and most consistently.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by nekred

Straight arm, not hyper extended not bent...

bent arm uses muscle to hold it n place and muscle is inconsistent,

think of a hinge of it is straight it cant be compressed and forced to bend.

In a book called archery anatomy it explains this and oddly enough on most males a straight arm looks slightly bent because of the way the muscle and tissue bulges.

The key to this is proper hand rotation as well. this way your planes of flex are perpendicular which aids in locking things down.... think of a piece of flat iron vs angle iron....

easy way to look at it is lay on your back and have a 25 lb weight in your hand on your outstretched arm and find position you can hold it for the longest and most consistently.

Thanks for clarification, the bend I referred to is not a "deliberate" bend but a natural one.

LC

[denied access]

Originally Posted by CNP

Full extension of the arm. It just happens that when my arm is fully extended, there is a slight bend. I've seen people whose elbow hyperextends (mostly in women) when they fully extend their arm.........in that case I would not recommend full extension of the arm..............unless you really like string slap.

In that case use a string between thumb and forefinger and shoot with hand fully open and fully horizontal (knuckles parralewll to ground) just like olympic style

[denied access]

If you are used to shooting a certain style then when you try to change your groupd are going to open up until you have the old muscle memory is overwritten by the new muscle memory.

[nekred]

Biggest thing is to shoot with as many muscles relaxed as possible. comfort does not mean relaxed it just means it is ingrained due to repetition.

I see people stretching their hands open and that takes muscle recruitment as well and muscles create tension. So you only want to use the least amount of muscles to create a tension free shot.

if arm is actually bent when bow is released then the arm will straighten as tension is released and will often create torque or sideways motion. not an issue if this is 100% consistent but if only way bow can move is forward then that tends to be more consistent and accurate.

And as one gets tired the arm bend seems to increase... and then ones anchor point starts moving back... then we lose our t-form as we lean back and we artificially shooting long. I find many people shooting with a bent arm have an anchor point too far back so in essence the bow is driving and supporting them instead of them supporting and driving the bow.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...rBSl3AYjTnq1xA

here is a picture of an archer with a very open stance with a straight arm you can draw a line from his shoulder to the bow and his arm bones will be aligned.

comparing to a rifle the archer becomes the stock, do you want a loose, bent stock, or a strong straight stock.

[DukesArcher]

For me, keeping a fully straight arm and rotating the elbow outwards feels kinda awkward.

[dfrobert]

Originally Posted by Ultimate Predator

I shoot relaxed grip elbow rolled out

Tight grip on those lucky's though eh boy!

[catnthehat]

If you let your arms drop to you side and look a them, they naturally have a slight bend , they are not straight . Bring your bow arm up to the horizontal and there you have it- this is its strongest position, with a slight bend .
Cat