I am looking at ordering a Black Widow with the Asbell grip. I like the theory on situating your bow hand to be "pointing" at your target but because I have never shot a bow with this setup, it is hard to tell if it is the right decision to have it built into your bow. Any opinions?
Everyone's hand is different. I'm not sure what the "Asbell Grip" incorporates, but I'd try it before I spent that much money on it. It might work for you, or you might hate it. I'm really suspicious of anyone that says "this is the ONLY right way to do it!"--I've never seen one style of anything be right for everyone. A comfortable, natural feeling grip is what I look for.
Chad
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"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
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I have the 'Asbell grip' on my bow & like it even better than the standard BW recurve grip. Like LBR says tho, no bow is "one size fits all", so it may or may not suit you. Why not call BW & test drive one? All it'll cost is shipping, & I'm thinking that cost is refunded if you order a bow, but you might ask about that part....I'll go get a picture of the grip on mine to possibly give you a better idea of it.
The palm swell is more pronounced & the thumb slot is slightly lower than the standard grip, which fits my shooting style to a tee. For what it's worth, it feels very natural & comfortable to me & I'm very glad I ordered it.
VicW,
How about a pic showing the sides of the handle?
I've seen pics in Asbell's books on how he shoots with his hand in a funky placement. I could never shoot that way - looks too akward to me and as though the wrist wouldn't be able to support all the draw weight. He doesn't even have the palm of his hand on the riser - it seems.
Looks too funky for my liking....but then, everyone IS differant!
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Mike Urban, RN
Iron Cross Tattoo
Old School, New School,
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I think the thing that makes it an Asbell grip is having the thumb rest lower than the index finger. If that's the case, I highly recommend taking arrowsmit's advice and getting them to send you a loaner to try out. I had a Bighorn that had that kind of grip and it gave me a roaring case of tendonitis in my bow arm in very short order. The grip simply did not work with my shooting style.
I never even got it tuned in before I had to quit shooting it. That bow was a $1000 mistake.
Play it safe. Get the loaner and test the grip before ordering.
Asbell Grip
