grip and form question

[Cooter]

Seem to shoot a bit right occasionally but rarely left. Is this a problem in my grip or form or possibly incorrect draw length? I'm assuming I get a little torque on the grip at release time. Any answers with suggestions to fix the prob would be appreciated.

(Whisker Biscuit makers must be in cahoots with fletching manufacturers!)

[mechanictim]

Sounds to me like your in need of a wrist strap for your bow. what could be happening is that as you squeeze your release you are also squeezing harder with your bow hand. The best way to grip a bow is with as relaxed of a grip as possible to minimize hand torque(Torque is a rotational force applied to an object) A bow wrist strap lets you shoot with your bow hand open and the bow grip only being held by your palm.

[delmuts]

an open hand would cure any problems with torqueing the bow, but many people tend to grab it by instinct anyway. what i always taught shooters was to hold the bow with only your index finger. letting the three other fingers relax. this still gives the feeling of holding the bow , but with alomost no torque. del

[Deitz Dittrich]

I have also seen where people dont hold the bow yet are not relaxed.. you can just as easily torque the bow without grabbing it if your fingers are not relaxed...

However, without seeing you shoot its almost imposible to say why you are missing left or right... could be a bunch of things..

[ghotierman]

all good replies...there are a lot of variable in the grip...wrist high, wrist low, loose grip, 'catching' the riser as you release...can also result from plucking the release, if shooting fingers, or punching the trigger if using release aid...or a small change in anchor point...but dietz' point is well put...without seeing you shoot...hard to pinpoint cause...

on the grip issue...consider your palm...fleshy muscle on the thumb side...fleshy muscle on the pinky side...right where the palm lines intersect at the base it's flat....push against the grip there, and you can eliminate some torque from flinching your grip..

good luck..

[TomBow]

If your bow arm is fully extended, with your elbow locked, you may have too long a draw length. You should have a slight bend in your bow arm when you are at full draw. As above, if you don't have a sling, get one, then concentrate on having a relaxed bow hand. The weight of the bow will rest on your wrist when using a bow sling so you will be less "fearful" of dropping the bow so you can relax your hand some. Your mind won't let you drop the bow but if your bow hand is relaxed, the arrow will be "gone" from the bow before your bow hand goes to "catch" the bow.

Your hand should flop into the grip and feel natural. How does your grip fit your hand? A wider grip will cause some shooters more problems with torquing at release so you might want to shoot a narrower grip. Try a few different things and see what works best for you.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Tombow, I am going to respectfully disagree. I have shot with a stright arm for years. Bone on bone, if you look at most of the top target shooters out there, some of them do have a bent arm.. many have a straight arm. I think the problem with a bent arm is this.. Its too hard to replicate the exact same bend each time. If you shoot stright arm.. you know if you are not doing it right.

just my opinion!

[Cooter]

Thanks much for the replies, keep em coming if ya got something to add. I'll get er figured out sooner but probably later