Having a grip that feels right has become so important to the way I shoot and the bows I choose to shoot. My favorite recurve grips are Zipper, Addiction, and Stalker. Longbow grips: TwoTracks and Caribow. What about you?
The most consistent grip for me is the JK Kanati. There are other grips that I "like" but the Kanati grip for me is dead on every time, has great "memory". Can not shoot it for a week and pick right up where I left off, with other bows it takes a few arrows to get back in the groove. Part of that may be that im fairly new to archery, but I also attribute a large part to that Kanati grip.
I love the grip on the JK Kanati also. Very comfortable and consistent witch equals accuracy.
Blackfeather, Stalker, Wallace, Blacktail and Hummingbird. On most days, I can pick-up any of these and shoot pretty decent. My Blackfeather very rarely lets me down, truth is all of them shoot better than I do. If I just let the bow do the work........the shooting is better.
Winterhawk1960
Lost Creek, Kanati, Shrew all 3 different grips but each are very repeatable without having to think about it. I am getting a Chad Holme Osprey with the thumb ledge that I think is going to be fantastic. I am going to test drive the Stalker next week, I hear really good things about that grip. The best grip on a recurve is one I changed myself, it is a Tradtech Black Onyx riser that has mostly phenolic in it. I reshaped the grip, then where the fingers go I did not like the flat surface so I added some marine apoxy putty and rounded it and then sanded it how I like it and then painted it and added some clear coat. That grip now fits me perfect.
Longbow grip would have to be Thunderstick I just can't grab the thing wrong.
The medium checkered grip of the Silvertip, did it for me!
I'm with you on the grip thing Mike, it dictates whether or not I'll buy or keep a bow. For me the grip on my Big Jim Buffalo bow and the grip on my Northern Mist Superior are perfect!! Also, although I didn't care for it at first the "normal" grip on my Whisperstik Voodoo makes the bow feel like it's part of me and it's the grip that I judge all other grips by. I love that palm swell!
Longbow grips that I like are the Toelke Classic Whip and the Marriah Chinook. As far as a recurve, I haven't found one better for me than the Black Widow Asbell grip...Mike
bw asbell grip....best so far
I just sent Bob Morrison the grip off my Bears Paws bow so he can duplicate the grip on the 2 bows i'm getting from him.
Bears Paw (neil Jacobson) had me send a handprint to him and wow i love his grip.
His longbow i ordered is not the fastest bow by no means but the craftmanship is incredible.
I love the grip on my Morrison Cougar. The first time I picked it up it fit my hand perfectly.
For longbows it's Lost Creeks and Shrews, Great Plains for curves.
That's what works best for me.
BW asbell grip love it
I wish I have had experience with more bows to tell you what I prefer. As of right now i have only used my Pearson Hunter. Though i do find it comfortable.
Leon Stewart's Slammer and the SXT Zipper put my hand in same position very consistently without having to move it around to make sure it's in the same spot each time. Grip is the most important thing to me in a bow. A perfect grip to your hand removes one more thing to worry/think about when shooting and allow myself more concentration on the string release and target.
The most consistent for me is the Gamemaster. I actually don't really like the look of the Tech riser, but I shoot it better than any other bow I've owned.
I love the grip on my shrew,but i'm likeing the grip on my fox breed really well.
Brackenbury's grip is the one I judge all others by. Very few even come close.
In order of preference..
1-Schafer TD grip(Checkered)
2-Zipper/BW Asbell
3-Most any other Med wrist grip...
For LB's it's Shrew grips all the way,but I haven't shot many LB's and I don't care for most Low wrist grips.
I love a med to large palm swell with a thumb locator on all my Striker longbows. On self bows, I love a good Dean Torges style grip.
Can't beat the grip on the grayling SKs...Bear out to copy tht handle on all of their current traditional line of bows.
michael
Black Widows newer low wrist gip on a recurve.
Shrew, Shrew then Shrew. ;)
Dan Toelke's ability to make the grip to fit my hand was amazing... It just fits and I don't think I am able to grip it wrong...
I like a straight grip or a slightlty dished grip.
I prefer any grip that has a thumb rest. I use just my thumb and trigger finger to hold the bow, then I let it contact my palm. Medium-low is good for me, but thickness doesn't seem to matter much in my accuracy. I do like to see the bow jump forward upon release...any other movement, and I know I have made a mistake.
So far 15 bows by 11 different Bowyers....For me Chad's Lost Creek grip works best.
I have great hopes for Jim's ThunderChild 2pc that's in the works :)
I have a very high wrist grip Border recurve that only allows you to grip it one way. Many who are used to the high, low or medium grips of other bows hate it at first but to me it's genius and as though it was made for my hand. Absolutely lines up the bow perfectly with no margin of error! Conversely, I insist on a "broom handle" type grip on my longbows or I don't think of them as truly longbows. Pistol grips, recurve risered "longbows" just ain't longbows to me (though they are often great bows) but hybrids. They just don't capture that "longbow feeling of yesteryear" that I seek when I shoot a longbow. I welcomed the challenge of learning to grip the old school lonbow and shoot it well. Part of the fun of stickbow shooting!
Grip isn't that important to me. I've known only a few bows I just couldn't live with the grip on. They were bows I just had to fight with keeping my hand in them throughout the shot. With that said I've owned a few that felt very strange but the reason they did was because how it held my wrist or hand was the position the bowyer had designed the bow to shoot best with (if that makes sense). If a bow feels weird but shoots very well what the heck? The ones that I've kept that felt weird at first don't anymore.
I've got three Dale Dye bows that have basically the identical grip, with one older one piece being sans the checkering. I have to admit that the grip of these bows really suit me....or at least I seem to shoot them consistently.
On the other hand, I shot a 1962 Bear Kodiak for most of my early years. After I sold it, I went about 28 years without having one in my hand. I picked another one up some time ago and borrowed some arrows to shoot with it from a friend. The feeling of having that grip in my hand brought back tons of memories......and I shot it right where I looked. Familiarity I guess! Two fairly different grip styles, but the same results....a comfort zone!
:archer2:
Gotta be my Javaman longbow, nicest feeling grip I've shot yet, just can't seem to grip bow wrong, best bow I've bought in a while, thats being compared to a GN super ghost and a Kota kill-um recurve, so its in very good company!
My Treadway grip has a slight palm swell that feels better in my hand than Mike's other models. I think he said he'd been making that large grip only recently. Not quite a locator grip but it sure feels nice.
Good point KentuckyTJ
I've learned to shoot bows with grip I found uncomfortable at first but Its nice when you pick a bow up that feels like home.....
I've got a real pretty longbow right now that I'm really trying to figure out. I wish it was ugly so I could move on..... :)