Hi, its great to be back.I just got my 12 year old son into bow hunting with me.Some times when he shoots, he gets a nasty "sting" on his forearm from the bow string making contact after he releases.How do we correct this.I don't know because it has never happened to me.Hes now almost "gun shy" to shoot because of the pain.Thanks.Steve.
Make sure his DL isnt too long and maybe post some pics of his form. He could be torquing the bow slightly. Tel it happens to the best of us and not to give up. Once he corrects his form hell be hitting lifesavers at 20 yards in no time.
So many times people say that forearm contact is due to a DL that is too long. This is true sometimes, however just as often it is improper grip on the bow that causes this.
When I was learning to bowhunt I was always told
[ul][*]knuckles (loose grip on bow)[*]nose (nose on anchor point of string)[*]ELBOW (do not straighten your elbow, bend it slightly).[/ul]
If he shoots with a realease you can try to shorten itup a little bit to see if it is his DL.
No he doesn't.That was my last resort if I couldn't correct his problem.I think that you guys might be right about his draw lenght.I watched him shoot this morning and he has leaning or arching his back at the waist.I don't think that I can shorten up his release.maybe I'll have to buy him another one.Steve
Agreed, too long of a draw length can initiate this problem. Often, when the DL is too long, people tend to rotate their elbow downward for more 'stretch'. This puts the meat of the forearm in the string's path. If your son's DL is ok, check to see that his elbow is rotated slightly outward, with a slight bend. Personally, I shoot with elbow rotated as far towards horizontal as it will go, but everyone needs to find their own comfort zone.
Seems like everybody is right. 99% of the time it's too long a draw and/or hand position on the grip. For draw length you should measure his wingspan (search) and divide it by 2.5. Thi'll get it closer than just letting him draw the bow. Also, generally speaking, when it's close the arrow nock will be straight down from his aiming eye. You can fine tune for feel from there.
As for his grip there is a good tutorial with pictures on Bowsite.com. Click on Features/Practical_Bowhunter/Get a grip. You'll get more from this than trying to interpret what everybody is trying to explain. If he's gripping the bow at all then he's not doing it right. Proper grip will turn the elbow out as the hand is in the grip at about a 45 degree angle. Suggest you incorprate a bow sling if he doesn't have one.
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DL would be my first guess as well ,but another thing to look at is his stance .Be sure that he's NOT standing square .By this I mean when he's drawing he should be turned towards the target and nott standing facing directly toward's his bow .Being square as I call it mean's that his shoulder's would be parelell to his bow .which also mean's that his forearm's are close to the string ,The further away his left shoulder is ,the further away his forearm would be from the string.
This is what i mean the straight line on the right would be his bow ,this is what I mean by standing square.
Shoulders Body
l l
This is the way he should be ,the straight line up and down would be his bow and the slant would be his shoulders and feet ,his left shoulder should be out a bit from the bow meaning his arm would be at more of an angle away from the string.
Shoulders Bow
\ l
I think this discription is kind of funny ,but it's the only way I can think to discribe it to you.
Hitting forearm with string
