extreme string slap
 

about a week ago during a extended shooting session my 82 airborne suddenly bit back taking a goodly slice of skin off my arm. ok time to a armguard i said to myself and so i did. gave shooting a miss for a few days to let the arm heal up a bit.
went to the local range this morning and all went well till i had shot about 40 arrows. the string ripped the armguard right off my arm and really did some damage to my arm. 9 stitches later and a arm thats blue from elbow to wrist.
i have been shooting this bow very well for about 6 months now and have no problem with the draw or poundage.
now the question is! to long draw? (ime 1.84m tall 29 inch draw) driver error all of a sudden?(why suddenly after all this time) could some problem have crept in with the bow setup ( was shooting good groupings the whole morning) or has the bow gone rabid on me cos i have not hunted in a while ha ha!
any thoughts would be welcome on this issue since its really bugging me (and it hurts like hell)

RE: extreme string slap
 

Sounds like your DL is to long. With proper form you shouldnt have string slap.

RE: extreme string slap
 

Well if you are shooting good to start with and then all of a sudden you get this long into a session I would say its your form breaking down because you are getting tired.

RE: extreme string slap
 

When you draw your bow , is you elbow bent out a little bit or is your arm completely straight ? If it is straight , I would say your draw length is too long .
If it is bent , then I would think your form is bad .

RE: extreme string slap
 

I'd say your Draw length is too long. Have someone measure your wingspan and divide by 2.5. That may not be exact but it's a close place to start.;)

Dan

RE: extreme string slap
 

Sounds like your getting tired to me,your left arm is giving instead of holding

RE: extreme string slap
 

Yeah like these guys have said-- most likely one of two things -- or both. 1. you're getting tired and losing form meaning you're pulling too much weight OR 2. DL is too long

RE: extreme string slap
 

Using the wingspan divided by 2.5 that gives a draw length of 28.7" and I always round down and not up using that so we're talking about 28.5" then if you take into account that you're string may have settled in a bit longer as it broke in you would be a just a bit long in the draw but not very much. However, if you're also on the upper limit of weight you may be turning that elbow in to lock it as you fatigue. Given both of those in combination: [:@] Ouch! [X(]

RE: extreme string slap
 

When did he measure his wingspan?

Dan

RE: extreme string slap
 

I think he took his height as roughly his wingspan since they are usually about the same.

RE: extreme string slap
 

Well I suppose that's fine for an example but in reality that's just a guess. My buddy is 2" shorter than I am and figuring both our Draw lengths by our actual wing span measurement, he shoots a 29" draw and I shoot a 28.5" draw.

It's usually takes some really bad form to get your arm in the way if you are shooting a draw length a little short. Hence like Rob I tend to round down not up. As your Draw length gets to long you have less and less room for form error before you get slapped:(

I hunt with a 28" draw because in hunting situations and positions you can get in. I find it much easier to repeat my form when the bow is just a tad shorter on draw length.

It's definitely a different game than towing a line at a paper or foam target!;)

Dan

RE: extreme string slap
 

I'm with the "Sounds like a form issue" group, especially if it doesn't start occurring until you've been shooting a while.

1) Are you shooting with an open hand style grip??? If you're choking the grip, you're putting your forearm right in the line of fire, and with a shortbraceheight bow like that it's even more profound than if you were shooting something like a Tomkat before that had an 8+ inch braceheight.

2) You may also be a little overdrawn as far as DL. I'm about the same height as you, but I have really broad shoulders which helps me sneak into that 29 - 29.5 DL without too much problem, but my little bro is 6'4" and a 30" is a hair too long for him!!! Don't make too much sense, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.

Make sure you are not LOCKING your elbowout, check your grip again (hold your bow with your thumb and forefinger making a "C," allowing the bow only to contact the soft part of the palm aligned with your thumb.

RE: extreme string slap
 

thanx`s for all the advise guys. me and a shooting buddy spent some time at the range looking at grip and form and so forth when he commented on the fact that my left arm was drawn very far back. we both thought ok DL to long till i had a good look at my release (scott lobster claw). the metal bar securing the webbing to the wrist stap had in fact slipped (stripped thread) so i was drawing my left arm back way to far and it seems i was "opening up" to compensate for that hence the string slap. what surprized me was the fact that i never noticed it. i know it does not affect the draw lenth of the bow at but it just goes to show. small thing`s can make a big difference.

RE: extreme string slap
 

You are correct. It doesn't change the draw length of the bow, but it does, as you say, make you open up. Just makes you stretch out too much. I hope this is all the problem was.