In my case by bent I mean if my shoulder were at 6 o'clock and my elbow were where the hour and minute hands attach my bow arm would be between 1:30 and 2 o'clock.

No problem. I just thought it was being taken out of context. Other post forgotten

Thanks BF - Yes thats what I mean....

Most straight arm advocates are talking Target/competition...samething IMO with nailing that perfect drawlength.

In reality I could probably hit deer just as well with a draw length 2 inches longer or shorter than I am..If i practiced that way.

You can shoot VERY well with a bent arm.....but....most of the Top competetive target shooters shoot with a straight or almost straight bow arm.

I will take the clothing clearance over the 1 or 2 arrows out of sixty that might miss the five ring with a bent arm.

when I target shoot it goes almost straight............I still miss the X.....LOL.....

Just to keep the specific issue up front, I am talking about the advocating of using a bent bow-arm to be part of a correct shooting form, period. Not a temporary adaptation to meet a difficult shooting situation in the field.

Should a person train to shoot the correct way and adjust/adapt from a correct method for a difficult shooting situation that occasionally occurs, or acquire a conditioned shooting form that is not the best shooting form for best and consistent accuracy, but might be handy in case the person faces a difficult shooting situation?

I think bent arm is a CORRECT way for bowhunting - I think it allows a little more "forgiveness" in forms that can arise in bowhunting - It will deliver super accurate shots when needed.

I think straight to almost straight is the CORRECT way to shoot or learn to shoot competition.

And of course you can do well in both with either

I know a guy who's fond of saying "Life, she is full of compromises".

I think that applies here quite nicely.

What kind and degree of "forgiveness" does the bent arm method provide for hunting conditions? I am still not clear on how much bent is bent, but just what hunting shooting conditions justify using a bent bow-arm as standard hunting form?

If the degree of bent arm actually shortens the draw-length during the shot, is not your anchor and line of sight affected? Would not a bent/cracked bow arm introduce hand torque? What happens with string and eye to pin to target alignment?

I shoot the way Range described. That being said I don't see how anyone can be consitant shooting either way if they aren't comfortable/relaxed. Shooting the way RB described I sometimes feel so relaxed I could stay at full draw all day, then my bow muscles remind me otherwise.

Its seems like to me you should just pick up your bow and shoot what ever way settles comfortably. I usually shoot best when doing whats comfortable.

Try to get beyond the form adaptation aspect for bowhunting purposes and conditions, or for comfort and relaxation. I am referring to the bent bow-arm shooting form that is often suggested vs. what historically was/is the standard form, when tuning everything for best arrow flight and accuracy….before heading to the field.

Being comfortable and relaxed does not always mean that a person's form is good. Nevertheless, if accuracy is good, and has been unwavering so for an extended period, then I will compromise and agree to leave things be. However, beware. If comfort and relaxation is derived from an adaptation of what is correct, and you decide to experiment with what is the correct method, things can go to hell in a hand basket very rapidly.

Shooting low wrist, I don't get full extension in my elbow. It keeps a natural, soft bend when I'm shooting. If I used high wrist, straight elbow, perfect "T" form and really stretched into the shot, I'd have a 35" draw length! It's bad enough at 33". I don't want a longer draw.

But I've seen some guys shooting with their elbows bent dang near 90 degrees. I guess that's what you've got to do when you're shooting one of those P.O.S. bows with a 6" brace height. (You wanted to know where the bent elbow came from. That's it!)

What I could never figure out - What's the point in bending the elbow so much they're giving up at least 2" of draw length in order to shoot a low brace bow? They'd be just as well off to straighten that elbow out to their natural draw length and shoot a bow with an 8" brace.

But, these days, common sense rarely has as much to do with equipment selection as IBO speed ratings do. [:-]