# How's my form



## Moebow (Jul 8, 2010)

Others will chime in too I'm sure. But your second picture is much better than the first. I'd say in picture #2 that your release elbow is pretty high (like 4" or more).

Arne


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## link06 (Mar 3, 2008)

I agree with Moebow, the 2nd pic is a lot better! Relax your grip some and try to relax your bow arm a bit. Can you lengthen your release at all? Your release elbow is definitely high.


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## Huntinsker (Feb 9, 2012)

Forget the 1st pic because 2nd trumps it. Things I see on 2nd pic:

Bow arm is HYPERextended. You want it straight but not locked out. Kind of like your knees are when you stand up straight. We don't lock our knees all day because it actually takes more muscle effort to keep them locked. You are using a lot of tricep muscle energy to keep your arm locked out like that. 

Grip has too much hand on it. You don't want any of the meaty part of your hand on your pinky finger side to touch the grip. Your whole arm should rotate so your elbow looks to your left and you hand will be on the grip more like this.








So a little change on the bow arm and a little change on the grip and see what it looks like from there. My guess is that the DL is actually pretty close. You may need a little more loop length to get your back elbow down a little but actual bow DL setting is pretty close after you get rid of that hyper extended arm.


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## Bear184 (Nov 3, 2011)

I've lengthened my release but release elbow is still high, should I lengthen d loop as well?


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## Bear184 (Nov 3, 2011)

I'll try without locking my elbow first


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## Huntinsker (Feb 9, 2012)

Personally I wouldn't lengthen your release unless you have to. You have it in the pic so you can hook your finger over it and use back tension to set it off. That's a good thing. Most people shoot with a release that's adjusted too long for them to properly use it.

Another reason your elbow could be high is if your shoulder is elevated a little. You can try this simple exercise and see what I mean. Place your hand on your face like you have your bow at full draw at your anchor point. Then shrug your release arm shoulder a little. Your shoulder goes up a little but your elbow goes up much more because it's on the outside of the arc if you will. If you think of it like a segment of a wheel, the inside edge rotates a little while the outer rim travels a farther distance simply because it's further from the axle. 

Not saying that's for sure your case but it's possible.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Bear184 said:


> I've lengthened my release but release elbow is still high, should I lengthen d loop as well?


Yes, lengthen the D loop, but do not lengthen the release. 

Make sure you can hook your finger over the trigger, then keep your finger immobile from that point on.

The high elbow reduces release shoulder range of motion and leverage to pull through the shot. You end up struggling to get the shot off which leads to increased tension and, in turn, increased motion.

JMHO,
Allen


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## Bear184 (Nov 3, 2011)

After lengthening my d loop


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## Huntinsker (Feb 9, 2012)

Not too bad there. Elbow looks to be in a good position there. You may be able to give yourself another half inch on the DL so you can get your bow arm shoulder down but I'm not sure. It looks a little shrugged up in this newest picture but you are dropping your bow arm so that changes things. I'd shoot like that a bit and see how it feels and try to get your bow shoulder lower without changing the DL. If you can't get it down, you could try the extra half inch.

Also, always remember to bend at the waist when aiming at targets that aren't at shoulder level. Even if they are just slightly lower or higher than you are, raising and lowering your bow arm will change the sight geometry you have set up and will cause small misses. Not to mention it changes your anchor points slightly. You want to keep your bow arm at 90 degrees to your torso no matter the shot angle.


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## Bear184 (Nov 3, 2011)

Thank you very much for all the help, I'll try shooting like this for a while and see how I go.


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