I've been shooting a recurve for the last two years now and just recently picked up a couple of longbows.
I cannot seem to shoot the longbows without the string slapping my arm. Is this a more common problem with longbows?
Maybee its the grip design, I just can't seem to get my arm out of the way like I could with the recurve.
Thanks
Mike:
Because of the lower brace height with the longbow hand placement on the grip is more critical, try rotating your grip so the large knuckle of the thumb is more inline with the center of the limb.
This will do several things, it straightens out your wrist, which in turn moves the forearm out of the way. When the bow is placed in the web of your hand it pulls your forearm right into the bow string. By rotating the hand like I said, you will also not torque the bow as much upon release.
Bob
Yep , most people when switching from recurve to longbow pop there wrist/forarm at fist . Think about picking up a suitcase as someone here at tradgang suggested to me , you grip a longbow more from the side instead of more into the bow like you would a recurve or even a compound . Also keep your bow arm elbow rotated out and slightly bent (not down) as this will pull your forarm out of the way .
Mike
There's a thread on this subject just below this one a bit.