Bow hand pressure

[GrizzlyBear]

Here's a question for all you gurus out there. How much pressure should be on your bow hand. What I mean is how hard should you push away from your body. I am right handed, and I noticed the other day that if I consciencely push out a little harder with my left hand, my groups seemed to tighten up a bit. I'm sure there is some variation from shooter to shooter, but what is a good rule of thumb?

[spk131]

I have been having a problem similar to this. For a while i was not able to pinpoint exactly why i was having some pretty bad groupings. I was talking to my uncle as we shot explaining my problem and he said that i was holding my bow to tight and putting to much press, which was causing my bow to twist upon release. Im still trying to loosen my grip but i am also not sure how tight to hold my bow.

[TrailFndr]

The key is consistancy. I shoot with my left hand OPEN, so that the bow is held only by the pressure of the draw. I do use a wrist strap so that I do not drop the bow upon release, but I make a concentrated efort to open the hand as I draw to avoid the twist. Once you are doing things the same way every time, adjust your sight pins accordingly and you will be set..

[Dawg]

I also shoot with my bow hand open. I lock that elbow while drawing so that the riser conceals as much draw movement as possible, making my draw straight back with the string hand. Once at full draw I slightly relax the elbow on my bow hand, as it shouldn't be fully extended during your release.

[GrizzlyBear]

I agree, consistency is the key, but part of having correct form in archery is doing things in a way that force you to eliminate variation, which is what I am trying to do here. I wasn't referring to grip or hand placement so much as the amount of pressure forcing the bow away from the body. Thanks for the input.

[mecheadSR]

GrizzlyBear, I'll take a shot at what I think your talking about. To properly shoot a bow there should be as little tension as possible in the whole body, but especially the upper body. I shoot a back tension release which cured target panic for me, to shoot this way you learn a push and pull technique which I learned from Frank Rus down at AUI Archery. To do this technique is very simple and it give's you the right form every time, you push toward the target and pull with your release, you just have to figure out how much to push and how much pull is needed, when the release goes off your energy from pushing towards the target is released thus causing your bowhand to jump up or at the target and your release hand to go straight back every time. Remember this is done with a back tension release. Hopefully this help's. :)

[TrailFndr]

I agree, consistency is the key, but part of having correct form in archery is doing things in a way that force you to eliminate variation, which is what I am trying to do here. I wasn't referring to grip or hand placement so much as the amount of pressure forcing the bow away from the body. Thanks for the input.
Ok...I think I understand what you are looking for..Personally, I begin my draw with the left arm already extended and allow my right arm and shoulder to do the work. Left are is bent Slightly, and is always in the same position, Left hand is locked into theface witht he thumb and forefinger wrapped around the corner of the jawbone, Kisser is in place in corner of mouth. This makes me very consistant.

While some say push with bow and pull with release, I never do..I ALWAYS pull with the release while my bow hand is already in place, and locked in.

If you try to mimic the excact amounts of pressure with each arm, I would think that you open yourself up to the variations that you are trying to avoid. Lets face it, IMO Most would not be able to get the precise amount of pressure each and every time. I would liken it to throwing a baseball...a GOOD pithcher can throw a 90 MPH fast ball...BUT He can NOT hit 90 mph each and every time..it varies by 5-10 mph or more. I would think the same with your bow. thats why I shoot the way I do.

[58archer]

The way I was taught is to push out then pull back, but of course, keep your hand on the grip very loose and relaxed. I push out with quite a bit of pressure, keeping my elbow slightly bent, shoulder turned slightly forward. Remembering to breathe normally and deeply during this is important for focusing energy and to stay relaxed. Practicing this form increased my accuracy and consistency a lot.

[TnRidge]

I like to keep an open relaxed grip ,and I put more pressure on the lower part of my hand . Every bow is has a different grip ,and a sweet spot ,and you have to experiment with it to get the most consistant grip pressure for that bow. It is possible to torque a bow with an open grip too . Just watch your cables at full draw while moving your wrist back and forth , and you will see how the slightest movement in the wrist will torque the bow .

[safetreehunt]

While all of this sounds a bit confusing, it may be because your grip is one of the primary areas of variation, but one of the least "talked" about.

As I have learned to put my groups together with a lot more consistency I've found that this one thing alone causes me more problems than anything else. Many times I can "feel" with my bow hand whether or not my shot will be where I want it to be or not. Sometimes if my bow hand feels wrong, I'll back off my draw, reset my hand and start over.

Consistency is the key. Make sure you get the right feel each time you draw. As you practice, you'll know when your right or not.