HH bug got me ... Part One!

[Looper]

Kyle, I'd almost bet you that your index finger is pushing down on the shaft, causing the shaft to bounce up off the shaft at release. See if lowering your elbow slightly helps. It won't take much.

[khardrunner]

Take a look at the video of me shooting a couple pages back. See if you think my elbow is high. I'm curious what you think.

[cahaba]

khad one more thing (you probably already know this) with Hill type bows another thing that affects arrow flight is where you put pressure on the handle when you grip it.. You can put pressure on the middle finger and an arrow will fly totally different than if say you put pressure on your bottom two fingers. Just see how the bow wants to be gripped and with how much pressure. It will help arrow flight and  accuracy when you find what your bow likes.
If one grips the bow wrong it flexes the riser into the arrow causing erratic flight. The key is being consistent with it all. This may be one factor as to why you sometimes get good flight and sometimes not good flight. I'm sure Nate or someone that knows more than I can explain it better.

[cahaba]

I recently received a new Half Breed and I had the handle wrapped in natural deer skin. I found that this leather is much thicker than some of the other wraps and it made my handle feel to big. So I needed to do a rewrap.
Matt aka overspined came to the rescue and he sent me two pieces of leather,sewing neeedles and two types of thread to choose from. Everything went off without a hitch. I wanted to thank Matt publicly for his generosity. Thank you sir.

[khardrunner]

Just a question, not looking to start anything negative....

I've always read, heard, and believed that these bows are to be the most forgiving by design. From what you guys are saying now, is this untrue? I mean, if I grip too much with one finger and not another on the bow hand and end up with worse flight that does not sound like a forgiving bow. I'm picturing hunting situations, unorthodox positions, etc. where tiny little changes will happen that could end up in wounded or missed deer.

I DO appreciate the comments. It's wierd. I have decent arrow flight most of the time by anyone's standards. Even with the weird bareshafting/tearing that I can never get changed no matter what I do.

[cahaba]

I hope you get your arrow flight problem worked out.  

[Goshawkin]

Originally posted by khardrunner:

I've always read, heard, and believed that these bows are to be the most forgiving by design. From what you guys are saying now, is this untrue? I mean, if I grip too much with one finger and not another on the bow hand and end up with worse flight that does not sound like a forgiving bow. I'm picturing hunting situations, unorthodox positions, etc. where tiny little changes will happen that could end up in wounded or missed deer.

No bow design is going to shoot exactly the same if you make differences in your form,grip,etc.I started out shooting recurves,went to R/d longbows and have now settled on Hill/Schulz style longbows.I've found that they shoot the best for me in almost any situation,if I do my part.They also seem to be a little more forgiving if I don't get everything quite right.
They are not magic,but sometimes it feels that way.     If they were everyone would be shooting as good as Howard did. I think people get to caught up in every lttle aspect of their technique sometimes.Get into a shooting routine and just shoot.Not everyone will grip,anchor ,release the same,but if you do it the same way everytime,you'll get results.If I over think every little thing,it doesn't work for me.

[cahaba]

Good post Goshawkin. I don't think about anything when I'm shooting except the target I intend to hit. That comes in time with lots of shooting. With a Hill bow you can make a mistake and still get a good shot but if something is bothering you with the way it shoots figure it out,correct it and keep shooting. I don't get caught up in every technique in fact I try to do everything without thinking but when I get a new bow I try and get a feel for what it likes. Shooting bows shure is fun!

[LongStick64]

The point for me is the less you influence the shot no matter the bow, and let the bow and arrow do most of the work, the better the shot will be.

[Nate Steen .]

Khard...the guys are telling it true.  These longbows are very forgiving of shooting errors.....but they do have certain nuances, one being the grip.  You shot a recurve for years right handed and now are shooting a longbow lefty.  Give it some time, do alot of practicing at short range for form until it is ingrained and don't be overly technical...don't overthink things...just enjoy shooting.

[khardrunner]

I'm enjoying it for sure. Actually, most of my life I shot hill style bows RH as well. That's what I shot as a kid...still have the bow.

khard, here is a forgiveness test that did.  I got me a 52" recurve, I always liked the idea of having a bow that I could shoot easily from any position.  I found that, after playing with the nocking point all over the place, would get one good flying arrow and then two or three bad ones.  I tried many different arrows, and to get good predictable flight, I absolutely had to strait wrist the handle with no finger pressure at all. then just to find that if I tried a faster shot, my arrows would whip out of the bow off the mark by more than just a few inches at 18 yards. I tried three under and had to push the nock up a ways.  then I added a feather rest, I thought i had it.  Then, when I went to shoot with a little better tempo and backed up to 25 yards, about 20 degrees up and right of my garage there is a hole up by the power line leading out to my garage, about 28 degrees that same direction there is a hole between the two windows on the second floor of my house.  The problem was I pulled too hard with my middle finger, lifted the arrow off the rest and let go. Frustated, i went in the house and got my 68" whip ended Half Breed from a Hill blank.  I shot wood arrows from 55 to 75 pound spine, 1916, 1918 and 2018 eastons, and some carbon Alaskans, they all flew.  Then I tried extremely rapid fire shooting and by accident, I snagged the string with my ring finger and ended up with just a ring finger release.  The arrow flew pretty much the same as the others.  Then i shot with the ring finger on purpose and found that it made virtually no difference in arrow flight. I grabbed that little recurve put the nock back to the split finger mark and shot with the ring finger, the arrow hit the rain gutter of my garage four feet above and right of my 7 foot by four foot target. One other forgiveness point. when I shoot with heavy gloves in very cold condition, all I need to do is to hold the grip lower and bridge up on the grip a little and the arrows still fly the same.  If I am shooting with soft gloves and the squeezing of the bow makes the arrow ride up to an 1/8" or less, that makes no difference in where the arrows go. there is a lot of talk about that just perfect form, I am OCD about it myself, however, if you have a Hill dvd and play with the slow motion and the stop, you can catch Howard occasionally letting the arrow lag out a couple of inches from the bow before the arrow snaps out of sight, and he was still dead on target. Draw length forgiveness is important, we are not arrow drawing machines. My Grooves Spitfire recurve is very fast for its poundage, but changes in draw length from shot to shot are more visible with it than with my longbows. I should be out hunting this morning, my farmer friend gave me a bunch of doe tags, but I got no sleep, so i am up typing instead. i need a nap.

[Overspined]

CAHABA, glad I could help!   Thanks for the seal arrow rest material too.  It was not necessary but I will put it to use!

PAVAN,  I laughed out loud when you said you hit the rain gutter....

[Overspined]

The reverse handle longbows are probably fast becoming my favorite, most forgiving longbow design.  Impossible to torque, even good with gloves.  Still good arrow speed, and comfy.  Also, like PAVAN said, the longbow arrow speed changes little with different  draw lengths.  So if I short draw a 68"bow by 1/2-1" because of a hunting position or situation, i will probably still hit right where I am  looking because the limb tips move very little at that length of bow vs draw for me.  I've checked it with a chrono, and it's apparent that it is a forgiving design in the Hill style bow.

I left out the embarrassing part, when people would ride by and point at the two arrows stuck in my house.

[Charlie Lamb]

 
 
 

[dragonheart]

Charlie,

Very Cool.    

[WESTBROOK]

Way ta go Charlie! Your gettin a nice supply of meat layed up this year.    

Eric

[Brianlocal3]

good hunting Charlie

[rushlush]

Congrats Charlie!