# Bow Arm, straight or bent?



## deck

I need advice on my bow arm. I recently learned to shoot back tension back in early spring. I seem to shoot better and get a better release when i shoot with a strait bow arm rather than a slightly bent arm. The problem is that my pin moves around alot more this way. I think my form is ok. I have a low locked shoulder and shoot off the riser instead of a grip. I also shoot a carter squeese me for 3d. ...HELP!


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## [email protected]

relax your bow shoulder,keep a straight but relaxed elbow joint.u are fairly new to back tension.do not try to control your pin,let it float and concentrate on middle and your arrow will find it.if your mind is on the middle the arrow will find it no matter where the pin is.aiming is what the mind sees not the eyes.over time you naturally get more steady.good luck


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## td051

Straight! Level shoulders.


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## Jim C

The great Jim DeSpart wrote a great article after he won Vegas in 2000. He said he cannot understand why ANYONE would advocate a bent arm (or less than fully extended arm). I don't think he posts here anymore but there was a couple years where this guy was the best spot shooter going.


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## adam Guggisberg

Straight, most definately.

-Adam


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## NockOn

yep straight but not locked for the general population. Of course there is always some smart ass that comes along and prove us wrong once in a while :frusty:


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## mike 66

grade 2 certifed here... yeapers straight relaxed. not bent


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## aread

Straight is better. 

Several of the top shooters used to shoot with a bent arm and now I see them shooting better than ever with a straight arm. Check out archeryTV on you tube. There are videos of the top shooters in the world going head to head. All of them have straight arms, and very few of them have locked elbows.

A bent arm requires more muscle and muscle fatigues. You are just going to be more consistent with a straight arm.


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## 454casull

aread said:


> Straight is better.
> 
> Several of the top shooters used to shoot with a bent arm and now I see them shooting better than ever with a straight arm. Check out archeryTV on you tube. There are videos of the top shooters in the world going head to head. *All of them have straight arms, and very few of them have locked elbows*.
> 
> A bent arm requires more muscle and muscle fatigues. You are just going to be more consistent with a straight arm.


Are we drawing a distinction between bent arms and unlocked elbows? Bone on bone is steadier but locked introduces tension, for me at least.


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## fatboyshooter

NOCKON, how do I get the big grip off of my Q2XL, I love that bow but the grip feels too big. I shoot with a low wrist grip. Been shootin the Q2 since I bought it new in 2000, just recently bought a BOWTECH SENTINEL to hunt with and shoot 3D.


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## scrawnyPilgrim

But if it's not locked then it's almost guaranteed to not be straight, even if that bend is only like a nanometer, it still is a bend. So yeah, slight bend it is. Your elbow will thank you as well.


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## redboyd7

I just watched the 2009 Las Vegas Open Shootoff for the unlimited class. I was surprised when I noticed that the majority of the shooters had a bent bow arm. The two archers I was watching the closest had both a front stabilizer and one rear stabilizer. Upon release the bow would move froward slightly and the bow arm would become straight. This would seem to mean to me that these archers were pushing the bow into the Wall and shooting some type of tension release. This video is available on this web site. Check it out and see if you agree with me.


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## bquick

of course its gonna go forward if you are applying dynamic pressure in both directions and dont anticipate your release. you gotta find the correct draw length that allows you to shoot a straight but relaxed bow arm without bringing your shoulder up. if you are getting lots of movement with your arm straight try shortening your bow a LITTLE. For peats sake measure it first incase it dont work..


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## PurnsleyOutdoor

With back tension or not, your bow arm should be straight, but not locked. One bow arm detail is for the crease between your bicep and forearm should be facing towards the right if right-handed or facing left if left-handed. 



deck said:


> I need advice on my bow arm. I recently learned to shoot back tension back in early spring. I seem to shoot better and get a better release when i shoot with a strait bow arm rather than a slightly bent arm. The problem is that my pin moves around alot more this way. I think my form is ok. I have a low locked shoulder and shoot off the riser instead of a grip. I also shoot a carter squeese me for 3d. ...HELP!


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## bardman

Whatever feels more comfortable. I believe straight not locked is the winner. 

But locked takes a variable out. I watch those guys shoot in big tournaments and looks locked to me.


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## drtnshtr

How about Jessie Broadwater? HIs arm looks very bent to me and he shoots decent.


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## drtnshtr

PurnsleyOutdoor said:


> With back tension or not, your bow arm should be straight, but not locked. One bow arm detail is for the crease between your bicep and forearm should be facing towards the right if right-handed or facing left if left-handed.


can you expand on this I am not understanding how it couldnt be facing right regardless if your arm is bent or straight? Not arguing I just really dont understand.


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## nuts&bolts

drtnshtr said:


> can you expand on this I am not understanding how it couldnt be facing right regardless if your arm is bent or straight? Not arguing I just really dont understand.


Hello drtnshtr:










If you look at this photo from the Easton catalog...

you can see that the elbow crease on the bow arm (left arm) is darn near vertical.

If I glued a pencil to the elbow crease on the bow arm,
then the pencil would be nearly vertical.

She has the bow forearm rotated clockwise.

This is what PurnsleyOutdoor is referring to.


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## drtnshtr

nuts&bolts said:


> Hello drtnshtr:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you look at this photo from the Easton catalog...
> 
> you can see that the elbow crease on the bow arm (left arm) is darn near vertical.
> 
> If I glued a pencil to the elbow crease on the bow arm,
> then the pencil would be nearly vertical.
> 
> She has the bow forearm rotated clockwise.
> 
> This is what PurnsleyOutdoor is referring to.


Hi Alan long time not talk I hope you are doing well. Thanks for explaining this. Is this proper form for compound shooters also? I have a very hard time getting my arm in this position. my crease faces about 45 degree upward


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## rossing6

Note here, this is a finger release shooter form, not quite what we do with releases if you look at the entire form position. Keep that in mind. And the Broadwater bent arm thing, he is just a freak of nature in my book, very good no matter how he shoots, I used to do that as well, just very hard to be consistent over the long haul with back tension if the DL can change even slightly...straight arms can look locked-hyper extended, as above, but most importantly, shoot your own game. My arm doesn't hyperextend beyond straight, but my wife's does, and her straight not "locked" looks much different than mine, due to the differences in our body builds. However you do it, the idea is to get bone on bone, all in a line and eliminate as much muscles as possible, the fatiguing muscles cause movement, bones just sit there and support rock solid. Your sight picture should move, that is a normal arc of movement. Try a sighting technique of focusing on the impact point instead of a pin or dot. Look through the sight and just focus on the target....your subconscious mind will always be trying to center the sight for you (within reason) but it is an entire mindset you have to incorporate into your shooting style along with the bone on bone form, and back tension ie. suprise release....if you truly don't know when the shot goes off, you have nothing left to do but aim aim aim aim and let the bow shoot itself...every gimmick or new thing you try works for three days....give this some time and let your body sort it out and get used to it. Also, don't lock in and stick with that exact DL, it may be good, but not optimum. I will shoot for a few weeks, and then make a 1/16" short change to the DL and shoot that for a couple weeks and go another shorter until my shooting suffers, then go the other way, then I know that the best DL is what scores and shoots most consistently over "time" and go with that...it's almost never what I thought was the best DL at first...thoughts for you anyway. Listen to these guys on here, they know some good stuff,,,but you have to try things and sort out your own game in the end. good luck to you...Ryan


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## drtnshtr

rossing6 said:


> Note here, this is a finger release shooter form, not quite what we do with releases if you look at the entire form position. Keep that in mind. And the Broadwater bent arm thing, he is just a freak of nature in my book, very good no matter how he shoots, I used to do that as well, just very hard to be consistent over the long haul with back tension if the DL can change even slightly...straight arms can look locked-hyper extended, as above, but most importantly, shoot your own game. My arm doesn't hyperextend beyond straight, but my wife's does, and her straight not "locked" looks much different than mine, due to the differences in our body builds. However you do it, the idea is to get bone on bone, all in a line and eliminate as much muscles as possible, the fatiguing muscles cause movement, bones just sit there and support rock solid. Your sight picture should move, that is a normal arc of movement. Try a sighting technique of focusing on the impact point instead of a pin or dot. Look through the sight and just focus on the target....your subconscious mind will always be trying to center the sight for you (within reason) but it is an entire mindset you have to incorporate into your shooting style along with the bone on bone form, and back tension ie. suprise release....if you truly don't know when the shot goes off, you have nothing left to do but aim aim aim aim and let the bow shoot itself...every gimmick or new thing you try works for three days....give this some time and let your body sort it out and get used to it. Also, don't lock in and stick with that exact DL, it may be good, but not optimum. I will shoot for a few weeks, and then make a 1/16" short change to the DL and shoot that for a couple weeks and go another shorter until my shooting suffers, then go the other way, then I know that the best DL is what scores and shoots most consistently over "time" and go with that...it's almost never what I thought was the best DL at first...thoughts for you anyway. Listen to these guys on here, they know some good stuff,,,but you have to try things and sort out your own game in the end. good luck to you...Ryan


Ryan, thats some awesome advice you give and it I appreciate the input you give on this forum. Its tough to keep knowledgable folks around here because of all the bashers. with that being said....I understand what you mean by the straight arm vs bent arm theory but I guess I have different past experiences. Maybe since they are "past" experiences I should call that a lesson learned. In the early part of this decade (2000-2004) I shot semi pro and did fairly well (several top 10 finishes) and I did it with a bent bow arm. Not bent to the point you see some folks but relaxed to say the least. I really liked to have control over my bow and be able to easily point my sight where I want it if that makes sense. well, after a couple years off due to my baby girl being born it was a struggle getting back into the groove and I started to see a coach (Larry Wise) every few months. He immediately took me from 28 inches to 29 and really thought I should have been longer but I just couldnt do it. My new form was picture perfect and actually felt more comfortable to me. It was until the first time I decided to take it outside on a 3-d course and shoot up and down hills that I realized it wasnt quite working. I shot the longer draw length for nearly 2 years and decided to go back shorter because I feel like I have been wasting my time shooting bad with the longer draw. Now being back to the shorter draw length I am having muscle pain in my shoulder and some tension but I am able to hold my pin steady and get good execution on the flat and up and down hills. I guess its a case of whatever works?


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## rbruhn

Old post but thought I'd share my own experience.

I was in martial arts for years when younger, and when striking we would use our full body weight while throwing our arm forward. However, the arm was never fully extended. We were taught to stand with arms relaxed by our sides, hand in a relaxed fist, then rotate your arm upward using only the shoulder. If done properly, this should line your fist up with the middle of your body, and you will have a slight, relaxed bend in your arm. This properly aligned the bones in the wrist and elbow to support each other while delivering the punch. You would never snap your arm forward more than this, thus locking an elbow or develop misaligned bones, and your body weight would be carried through to the fist on impact.

Relating this to shooting a bow, if you simply raise your relaxed arm using only the shoulder, you will see this natural bend and bone alignment. A slight turn of the shoulder, not wrist or elbow, will place the elbow crease perpendicular as nuts&bolts mention above. 

The one difference in this natural alignment is the wrist. In order for the grip to go along the meat of the thumb, the wrist bends a little. Thus, effectively ruining the bone alignment. I often wonder what it would be like if the grip of the bow actually went along with the natural alignment. A slight tilt like a forward slash / and a slight tilt forward so you did not have to bend the wrist. But then again, everyone's shooting style is different so it would probably be pointless to develop a grip like that.


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## mike 66

everybody ......... NOT everyone is built the same.  i teach straight arm here, relaxed not hipper extended or locked.. but straight. here is a simple test for everyone.. i use this a lot when i teach proper arm placement.... put your bow arm out against a wall with a bent arm. just so its barely touching it..... now close your eyes and do this again. you will find out your arm not even close to the wall , do it again 4-5 times and see what i mean.. now do this with a straight arm... same way...... now see for yourself....... its right there every time... perfect.:wink: end of story.


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## steve peterson

buy the book called core archery wrote by larry wise.steve


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## Popes

deck said:


> I need advice on my bow arm. I recently learned to shoot back tension back in early spring. I seem to shoot better and get a better release when i shoot with a strait bow arm rather than a slightly bent arm. The problem is that my pin moves around alot more this way. I think my form is ok. I have a low locked shoulder and shoot off the riser instead of a grip. I also shoot a carter squeese me for 3d. ...HELP!


When the archer raises the bow arm to ready,
If the bow arm is correctly rotated the archer will be able to bend their elbow and touch their collar bone, if the bow arm is not correctly rotated, touching at or near the collar bone is impossible. 🎯


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## nuts&bolts

Popes said:


> When the archer raises the bow arm to ready,
> If the bow arm is correctly rotated the archer will be able to bend their elbow and touch their collar bone, if the bow arm is not correctly rotated, touching at or near the collar bone is impossible. 🎯


Images are worth 1000 words.










Top photo bad. External rotation.
Bottom photo good. Internal rotation.


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