Dual shelf???

[smdcosta]

Hi all,

Love Trad gang love trad archery. Totally new to both.
I bought a Bob lee t/d longbow on this site and am eagerly waiting for it. Also bought some 3555 gold tips to go with. I will post some pics when it gets here.

I have a question... many actually but this one for now  

Do any bowyers make a dual handed/shelf bow. Any pictures or examples. I am blind in my right eye (right handed though) and would like to eventually shoot with both hands.
The Lee is right handed.

Oh wait another question?  
With instinctive shooting will this blind in my right eye but shooting R/H matter??

Okay guys take care

Madhava

p.s i saw one example of a dual shelf on a Hill bow.

[smdcosta]

ttt

[smdcosta]

oops. what i mean...
With instinctive shooting will being blind in my right eye and shooting right handed matter?? As from what i understand the focus is on the target with instinctive and i dont have to site down the arrow.

[Orion]

Most folks feel that one is better off shooting on the side of the dominant eye, i.e, right eye dominant, shoot right handed.  However, others say it makes no difference if one shoots instinctively.  

I've seen Jay St. Charles' Pacific Yew bows with double shelves.  Also, many of the older Bear Kodiaks, Alaskans and I believe some Polars and perhaps a few other models have double shelves.  Ben Pearson made a few as well.  Good luck.

[BobCo 1965]

I know that Craig at Howard Hill Archery will make a longbow like that. I have inquired since I shoot right and my son shoots left. He said he needs to make it new though and he can not modify an existing bow.

[smdcosta]

Thanks guys...

[paradocs]

Brent at Black Mountain Bows could probably do it...the standard rattan grip/floppy rest Sheepeater would be easy to add the leather rest to the right side.  A bud of mine was shooting mine left-handed off his bare hand with no problem.

[billy shipp]

Leon Stewart offer a double shelf longbow.

Billy

[brettlandon]

If you're new to traditional archery and are blind in your right eye, I would recomend switching to left hand.  You can shoot lefthanded with most longbows if you shoot off your hand.  My best friend, who got me back into traditional archery, has converted two of his children to southpaw shooting due to their left eye dominance.  Both are wicked nock busters now.  While I agree with Orion about it SHOULDN'T make any difference if you are right or left eye dominant when you are shooting instinctively, antectdotal evidence has swayed me otherwise.  I think you will be able to shoot well either way, but also think left handed shooting will better shoot your situation. IMHO
Good luck either (both?) way!

-Brett

[maxwell]

I have one on order from Leon Stewart- his slammer TD longbow is great.

Max

[smdcosta]

Thankyou guys for your valuable input and suggestions.

My biggest problem is that i do volunteer work in India where archery supplies are primitive at best.

So its a long process getting a bow shipped to Australia to my mums house then waiting for a friend to visit (INDian post is a nightmare and customs are even worse).

I will research till finances allow (volunteer work) the look at a dual shelf or a lefty. Till then i guess i will hone myself with my RH Lee (when i get it sheesh).

Trad Gang has ben invaluable my knowledge has gone from zero to comfortable (comfortable as can be without hands on instruction) in a matter of a month or so.

Do we have any written up instructionals i have searched on the shooters forum. Terrys clock helped alot on there.

Again Thankyou and god bless.

M. D'Costa

[30coupe]

Boy, I think shooting right handed with only your left eye working is going to be difficult at best. The shooters who are telling you it doesn't matter are shooting with two eyes open. You will have to tilt your head to the right far enough to get your eye over the arrow shaft in all likelyhood. While instinctive shooters do concentrate on the target, they also try to get the arrow shaft directly under their right eye (right hand shooters).

You say you are new to trad. Does that mean you have shot compounds? If so, how were you able to make the sights work? Did you shoot them left handed?

Keep us posted. I would be interested in hearing how the right hand bow works out for you. I have no doubt you can find a way to make it work, but I still think it would be MUCH easier to shoot lefty.

[smdcosta]

Hi,
I havnt done any shooting before this past month or so.

The funny thing is i was considering getting a compound untill i stumbled on tradgang then that idea was well shelved.

The only bow i have access to is a right handed kids samick (20 lbs) and an old kasai horse bow (20 lbs) both bows were donated to the school i teach in. I have mainly been shooting the 20 lb samick and after trying to get my form in order i am able to consistantly hit a 5 inch circle at about 10 - 12 yards. Groupings arnt great but they are getting there.

Oh by the way as resources allow all the kids are super excited to get into trad archery. They absolutely love it and we pass around these two bows with the six arrows we have everyday.
Its great.

At some point i am sure i will need some hands on instruction or atleast some sort of dvd... `any ideas on that one guys.

regards
Madhava

[MOstate]

I am a left eye, right hand dominant shooter. And my bows are all set up for right hand. I have never had a problem and i can get pretty good groups with my recurve and have shotten 5 robin hoods with my compound from 10-30 yards. But this is what i prefer and everyone is different

[One eye]

I only have one eye, as I lost my left eye in an bowhunting accident.  Luckily, I am right handed, so I have not had to battle what you are describing.  I also recommend that you lear to shoot left handed rather than trying to fight through aiming with the off eye.  Lacking binocular vision is challenging enough when shooting without sights, but it can be mastered.

Dan

[John C Keith]

Welcome to the campfire and archery.  I have no knowldege to pass on to you.

But when I read you post my thoughts were "Why not get a new riser that is left handed, so you could use it either right or left.  Just put the limbs on what ever riser you want."  Plus I am thinking it would be easier to store than a whole new bow.

Is this viable?  I dunno, I am hoping someone with better knowledge that I will step up and answer that.  Just figured I would toss it out there and hope it will help you.

Take care
John

[Dr. Ed Ashby]

Shri,

Way back when I started, over a half century ago, I had almost no information available about archery. I shot for a few years before I finally found another archer/bowhunter - who turned out to be the only other one in my home county.

At any rate, all my first bows were homemade, then ambidextrious solid-fiberglass bows. Not knowing anything about what to do, I shot the 'form' that felt best to me. After a few years I saved up enough to buy a 'good bow'. I could not locate any place that had a 'good bow' that I could look at; all they had were catalogs.

Finally I selected one from a Bear catalog and ordered it. One of the specifications was whether I wanted a right or left handed bow. I was right handed and right eye dominant, so surely it was a right handed bow I needed' right? When it arrived, I discovered that I had been shooting left handed all those years! I had to learn to shoot all over again.

I still occassionally practice left handed. merely shooting my right handed longbows from the left side; and I've killed one deer shooting that way!

I can still pick up a left handed bow and, at hunting ranges, shoot it almost as accurately as I can a right handed bow. I think it is an advantage to be able to shoot both ways.

One big advantage is that doing so helps strengthen both shoulders. Being right handed, and doing most of my shooting that way, I definitely notice that my bow arm is more stable when I'm shooting left handed; giving a better follow-through.

Some of my longbows don't have an arrow shelf; having a peg-rest instead. I actually think an ambidextrious bow is not such a bad idea for a hunting bow - and neither is learning to shoot it both ways.

Try one. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

Ed
TGMM Family of the Bow