bow string hitting arm OUCH!!!!!!!

[bighunter301]

My 14 yo son has a problem with the bow string hitting his arm.. He does this about 2-3 times in a ten arrow group. I have heard thet the draw lenght might be to long and need to shorten up. I feel sorry for him because I know how it feels. He is dead on at 15 yards and I know it is too late to make adjustments before opening day. But I want to fix this asap to save the kids arm and to keep him from getting mad at the situation. What do I need to do to shorten up his draw length??? would I need to retune the bow after this procedure???

[MEAT-WAGON]

have him turn the heal of his hand out like a fist so that the skinny side of his arm is tword the string kinda hard to explain but if he does it right he'll never hit his arm again :thup:

[Archer101]

My 14 yo son has a problem with the bow string hitting his arm.. He does this about 2-3 times in a ten arrow group. I have heard thet the draw lenght might be to long and need to shorten up. I feel sorry for him because I know how it feels. He is dead on at 15 yards and I know it is too late to make adjustments before opening day. But I want to fix this asap to save the kids arm and to keep him from getting mad at the situation. What do I need to do to shorten up his draw length??? would I need to retune the bow after this procedure???

That's what you have to do! Shorten the draw length up by a inch or two. I had the same problem and shortened mine up by 2 inchs and that made all the difference in the world! It's not to late to make that adjustment at all. When I made the adjustment it didn't throw anything off at all! All you need to do is move the screw on the cam or if you have 2 cams move both. Or just take it in to your local shop & they'll do it for you.

[DEER CHUM]

also, check for proper form , have him roll his elbow up a little, make sure he holds the grip between the thumb and first finger. this should bring his forearm away from the bow. gripping the bow too tight with a full hand not only jerks the bow, but pulls the arm in too close to the bow. it is a common cause for arm slap. i keep my hand open and do not grip at all. hope this helps. it worked for me back in the day.

[PhilCVG]

BH,

It is most likely the draw length. In my opinion, in most cases poor form is caused by a poor setup which I'd bet is the case here. When I first start I had the same problem and was told by the neophites that I knew and hunted with that it was my form or it is just something that happened and I needed to get one of those plastic pads.

Well, it was the bows draw length. It was about 1.5 inches too long which caused me to have to have my left arm almost dead straight. That put the meat of my forearm within range of the string which lead to some big, painful bruises. Shorter draw length equaled a better position for my arm and 4 years later no string/arm contact.

If it isn't real bad, you could have him try to roll his left hand and elbow outward/upward ( assuming he is right handed ) which would seat the bow more in the pad/thumb portion of his hand and give him some clearance with his arm. However, I'm going to bet that this makes a 14 year old ( he plays football though so maybe not ) feel a bit uncomfortable. That position makes you feel like you need to be stronger ( atleast it did to me ) to hold the bow back. If he is at his limits as far as poundage goes he may feel uncomfortable.

I'd shorten the draw length ASAP. That hurts like heck and sooner or later he is going to start flinching which will be no good if a deer is in range. The last thing he'll need to think about is how much this is going to hurt.

[mudmarlin70]

Draw length. Make the adjustment if you can. He'll thank you!

[stephenf]

I would look at everything , If his arm is getting hit he is keeping his arm straight. He needs to have the arm slightly bent as it has more strenght and stability. they teach this at Karate classes, try holding your arm straight out and have some one try to push it around and try to resist ,then try to slightly bend the arm and do the same , you will find that you have so much more control over the arm. this will help out with form and consistency. if the arm is being hit it is probably more than one thing or problem

[gunsmith1]

The reason the string is hitting his arm is because your son is grabbing the bow when it is released. The first thing to do is to make sure he has the same anchor point each time he draws the bow back. Second install a wrist sling. This will keep the bow from flying out of his hands and also teach him not to grab the bow after the release. The draw length has nothing to do with this. I've been shooting bows for 35 years I've shot indoors in PAA tournaments and outdoors in NFAA tournaments and beleive me if you don't do the same each time everything will change and I'm talking about how the bow reacts and how the arrow reacts. If he is shooting a compound that isn't fitted for him that's not good. If he is shooting a recurve this isn't much of a factor as it is for a compound. Make sure also that his arm is slighty bend and that the bend in his arm is facing inward and not facing up. If you have any more questions shoot me an e-mail.:thup:

[PhilCVG]

I had a wrist loop when I had my forearm slapping problems. Draw length was the answer, so in my case, it had everything to do with the draw length.

[Archer101]

I still say that it's 99% the draw length problem. As someone said, your arm should be slightly bent and that has to do with the draw. Once you get that fixed the arm slapping will go away!