I am wondering bout this, I rem awhile back about to not bend ur arm because it affects accuracy, but now I am hearing bout bending ur arm a bit, can someone explain to me about this?>?
A lot of the top target shooters, like Dave Cousins and Jim Desperatt (sp?), shoot with a straight arm but there are many other top shooters, Randy Ulmer comes to mind, that shoot with a bent arm..... I personally shoot with a slightly bent arm for the simple fact that it provides more clearance for hunting clothing....
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SLIGHTLY BENT at most. Just enough to get your elbow away from the string and your bow hand position correct (about 45 deg angle)Lock your bow shoulder down and relax the bow arm - let the pressure fall on the shoulder bones.
IMO
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Asking whether to shoot straight vs slightly bent is like Ford vs Chevy. I shoot better straight armed. For me (and me only) shooting a straight arm is very easy to duplicate shot after shot. Slightly bent arm works for me also. BUT, after shooting several 3D targets (throwing in variables here like tiredness and stress levels), my bow arm can get tired. A tired bow arm with a slightly bent arm can lead to variances and rights/lefts and low/highs. Now I concentrate on the same grip feel, then bow arm straightness, release grip, and then back tension. But what works for one may not for the other.
Recently I attended Indoor Nationals at Kansa City and had legendary shooter by name of Dee Wildes explain to me why I need to shoot straight arm. He did and I changed and it sure helped me. You tend to push risor more with bent arm. Causing torque which means bad shot. Mary Zorn and some of the best shoot straight arm today.
It seems most pros shoot straight arm. Not straight arm with musles flexed holding straight but straight relaxed. The main problem with trying to shoot bent arm is how do you duplicate the exact same abount of bend each and every shot? Those muscles have to be in the exact position each time. If you shoot straight relaxed, then the muscles aren' t involved, instead it is bone to bone. Easy to duplicate.
If you are getting string slap, then I' d bet either your grip is too far into your hand or your draw length is too long.
I was taught to bend the arm a little....In fact I was taught to drop the shoulder which bends the bow arm......I hardly ever get a slap from my string.
It wasn' t that long ago that the ' standard' compound form was straight armed, high wrist. Of course, most of us shot easy pulling round wheels and bows with 9-10" brace heights, or more. The bent arm came along with the low brace, high intensity speed bows and light arrows. You can' t shoot a bow with a 5 1/2" brace and 5 grains per pound arrows with a straight arm or you' ll get eaten alive. I' ve even seen guys shooting with their elbows cocked up nearly 45 degrees!
I just shake my head and go about my business.
I still like a straight but relaxed arm, a bow with no less than 8" brace height and arrows not much lighter than 8 grains per pound. As long as the arrow hits where I aim it, I don' t care one whit if it takes a couple thousandths of a second longer to get there than someone else' s does.
I bend my arm slightly simply because it helps me hold a steadier aim. At release my arm continues to push toward the target in what for me, is a predictable and consistent motion. With a pin that floats steady on the spot I have much less problems with target panic.
Bent or straight, I dont think it' s something you should sign on to because someone said to. You should try both ways and see what works.
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Bent Arm??
