Grip is Key
12-13-2005, 02:06 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: some were
Posts: 801
Grip is Key
I have been shooting hard again, and have really been working on things. My form, draw and release are the best they have been. The only thing I am having a problem with is my grip, I just can’t get consistent with it. When it’s good, it great and I shoot like I should be, then other times it is bad and so are my groups.
Anyone know any way to get a more consistent grip. I have been shooting point blank and really concentrating on my grip but it really hasn’t done all that muck.
Any help
Anyone know any way to get a more consistent grip. I have been shooting point blank and really concentrating on my grip but it really hasn’t done all that muck.
Any help
12-13-2005, 06:38 PM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Livonia,new york
Posts: 564
RE: Grip is Key
i wrap my grip with that navcom silencer wrap. it's black and has little bumps all over it. it like sticks to my hand and really gives me a nice grip. it also keeps my hand a little warmer than if i just gripped the wood/glass.
12-13-2005, 06:57 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: some were
Posts: 801
RE: Grip is Key
Jimmy I think I know what you are talking about, I may have seen it in Cabelas. Have to give it a try, thanks. I did ruff up the leather of the grip with some 80 grit sand paper and that seems to help for a while.
12-13-2005, 11:16 PM
#4
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Mississippi USA
Posts: 15,296
RE: Grip is Key
Two things I am very picky about in a bow is grip and handshock. I've gotten to the point where I'll hardly even try a bow out if the grip isn't comfortable.
I don't like a grip that requires I hold on tight, even in a longbow. If I try to choke one to death, I will usually torque the string. I want a grip that feels natural and fits my hand consistently, without having to make any adjustments. That "Form a Grip" (think that's what it's called) might help with your bow.
Chad
I don't like a grip that requires I hold on tight, even in a longbow. If I try to choke one to death, I will usually torque the string. I want a grip that feels natural and fits my hand consistently, without having to make any adjustments. That "Form a Grip" (think that's what it's called) might help with your bow.
Chad
12-14-2005, 06:35 AM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 7,571
RE: Grip is Key
Are you shooting a recurve or longbow? With the longbow, I prefer gripping the handle. Not choking it, but gripping. Kind of Howard Hill style. I also shoot somewhat static, making sure that I am holding the bow and bow arm up and on target right through the shot. Having the bow kick to one side or the other upon release is something Itry to avoid. But, if you can not put your hand in the exact place time and time again, then you made need to have some work done on the handle.
12-14-2005, 08:04 AM
#6
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,175
RE: Grip is Key
Grip is something a lot of folks take for granted, I think.
I don't grab the handle like I'm totin' a suitcase. Here's how to take the grip I like... Hold your bow arm straight out, inside bend of the elbow vertical to the floor, palm down, thumb extended out to the side. Rotate your wrist so that your thumb is pointing up at a 45 degree angle. Elbow bendis still perpendicular to the floor! Now, just relax your fingers and the back of your hand. The bow fits right into that V. Index finger wraps around the front of the bow. Middle finger is about in the middle of the bow. Ring finger just touchingand the pinky is not touching the bow.
A bow will usually tell you how it wants to be gripped. Grab the handle, take hold of the string, relax your grip - plumb loose! - and draw the bow. Pay attention to how the handle wants to settle into your hand. Where it pushes hardest, that's where you want to put your hand pressure. If it's in the throat area, the bow is telling you it likes a high wrist grip. If it's a bit below the throat, it wants a medium grip. If it's more into the palm, the bow wants a low wrist.
Now, go back through the steps I use to obtain my grip. Point that big knuckle on your fist from your index finger at the wall so that the top of your hand is level with your forearm. That is high wrist. Now, relax the wrist. That big knuckle will be above the line of your forearm. That's medium wrist. Lean the hand back, but not so much that you'll feel strain in the wrist. That is low wrist.
It's all about shooting the bow the way it wants to be shot. If you want to shoot with a certain style grip and the bow wants to be shot a different way, then you've got a problem. And, like Chad said, if the grip doesn't feel comfortable, that's also a problem. You can either send the bow down the road to find a new home - which is probably best - or, if you're handy, you can modify the grip.
Take the grip on my ChekMate, for instance. I always felt it was a little thick in the throat area, felt like it could use a bit more of a palm swell and it was cut a little too much into a low wrist for my tastes. I could send the bow down the road, but I've already sold two cutom bows I wish I hadn't. I did not want to repeat a mistake like that. So...
I got out the sandpaper and thinnedthe throatdown a bit- not too much because I definitely don't want to hear something go CRACK when I draw the bow. [:-]
Then I got a long strip of leather and folded up a few other pieces of leather. I wrapped those folded pieces of leather under the thong - one under the side of the gripto make more of a palm swell and the otheron the belly side of the grip toincrease the grip angle. I wound up with a grip that felt very comfortable.
The pads let me put pressure where the bow wanted it and yet let me hold my wrist at an angle that was comfortable.
Also, I've got a definite preference for a wrapped handle rather than using a piece of leather glued and sewn on. The wraps give you something you can feel in your hand. If you can feel them in places where they aren't supposed to be when your grip is right, you know you haven't your grip right. I have never tried that navcom stuff, but with all those bumps and stuff, it's gotta have enough reference points to drive you absolutely NUTS! [8D]
I don't grab the handle like I'm totin' a suitcase. Here's how to take the grip I like... Hold your bow arm straight out, inside bend of the elbow vertical to the floor, palm down, thumb extended out to the side. Rotate your wrist so that your thumb is pointing up at a 45 degree angle. Elbow bendis still perpendicular to the floor! Now, just relax your fingers and the back of your hand. The bow fits right into that V. Index finger wraps around the front of the bow. Middle finger is about in the middle of the bow. Ring finger just touchingand the pinky is not touching the bow.
A bow will usually tell you how it wants to be gripped. Grab the handle, take hold of the string, relax your grip - plumb loose! - and draw the bow. Pay attention to how the handle wants to settle into your hand. Where it pushes hardest, that's where you want to put your hand pressure. If it's in the throat area, the bow is telling you it likes a high wrist grip. If it's a bit below the throat, it wants a medium grip. If it's more into the palm, the bow wants a low wrist.
Now, go back through the steps I use to obtain my grip. Point that big knuckle on your fist from your index finger at the wall so that the top of your hand is level with your forearm. That is high wrist. Now, relax the wrist. That big knuckle will be above the line of your forearm. That's medium wrist. Lean the hand back, but not so much that you'll feel strain in the wrist. That is low wrist.
It's all about shooting the bow the way it wants to be shot. If you want to shoot with a certain style grip and the bow wants to be shot a different way, then you've got a problem. And, like Chad said, if the grip doesn't feel comfortable, that's also a problem. You can either send the bow down the road to find a new home - which is probably best - or, if you're handy, you can modify the grip.
Take the grip on my ChekMate, for instance. I always felt it was a little thick in the throat area, felt like it could use a bit more of a palm swell and it was cut a little too much into a low wrist for my tastes. I could send the bow down the road, but I've already sold two cutom bows I wish I hadn't. I did not want to repeat a mistake like that. So...
I got out the sandpaper and thinnedthe throatdown a bit- not too much because I definitely don't want to hear something go CRACK when I draw the bow. [:-]
Then I got a long strip of leather and folded up a few other pieces of leather. I wrapped those folded pieces of leather under the thong - one under the side of the gripto make more of a palm swell and the otheron the belly side of the grip toincrease the grip angle. I wound up with a grip that felt very comfortable. The pads let me put pressure where the bow wanted it and yet let me hold my wrist at an angle that was comfortable.
Also, I've got a definite preference for a wrapped handle rather than using a piece of leather glued and sewn on. The wraps give you something you can feel in your hand. If you can feel them in places where they aren't supposed to be when your grip is right, you know you haven't your grip right. I have never tried that navcom stuff, but with all those bumps and stuff, it's gotta have enough reference points to drive you absolutely NUTS! [8D]
12-14-2005, 04:05 PM
#7
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: some were
Posts: 801
RE: Grip is Key
Bob I shoot a long bow.
Thanks for all the help guys.
It’s not that the grip is uncomfortable, for the most part I just can’t get my hand in the same spot every time. Some days it will just melt into my hand and others I have to really work at it.
It is a flat style grip and when I get the right hold the bow CAN’T torque, and it is beautiful. This grip also gives me a little more clearance between the string and my arm. Because it is a flat grip I have a hard time judging were my hand is on it and I think that is were my problem is coming from.
Today I shoot and everything went good
I have found the only time the grip gives me any problems is when I am shooting at the target, in the woods it just falls into place. Maybe I should just stop being such a wimp and just shoot.
Thanks for the help I will beputting it to good use.
Thanks for all the help guys.
It’s not that the grip is uncomfortable, for the most part I just can’t get my hand in the same spot every time. Some days it will just melt into my hand and others I have to really work at it.
It is a flat style grip and when I get the right hold the bow CAN’T torque, and it is beautiful. This grip also gives me a little more clearance between the string and my arm. Because it is a flat grip I have a hard time judging were my hand is on it and I think that is were my problem is coming from.
Today I shoot and everything went good
I have found the only time the grip gives me any problems is when I am shooting at the target, in the woods it just falls into place. Maybe I should just stop being such a wimp and just shoot.
Thanks for the help I will beputting it to good use.
12-14-2005, 05:57 PM
#9
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Hopkinsville, Ky USA
Posts: 811
RE: Grip is Key
Guss, I have a longbow w/a flat grip too. I've hadmine for years & it's taken its share of animals, but I had to shoot it ALOT to keep my accuracy up to snuff. I still really like the feel of that grip when I wrap my hand around it, but I don't have nearly the time to shoot these days, so I don'tshoot that bow much right now. For me the flat grip adds an extra challenge & isn't the easiest to be consistent with.
....but then again, 'easy' isn't what we're after is it?
....but then again, 'easy' isn't what we're after is it?
12-14-2005, 06:15 PM
#10
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: some were
Posts: 801
RE: Grip is Key
AP thanks, will try that when I get off of work, won't be the first time I shoot by candle light.
Arrowamith, had no idea that a flat grip was harder to shoot. What type of grip would be easier to shoot. I think because it is a flat grip I could get it changed if I want,but not sure.
Arrowamith, had no idea that a flat grip was harder to shoot. What type of grip would be easier to shoot. I think because it is a flat grip I could get it changed if I want,but not sure.