Picked up the new bow today. Got it all set. Came home and shot husband's arrows. Got string bite bad. I have a goose egg on the fleshy part of my arm not to far below my elbow. Went and got an arm guard. Husband thinks I need a shorter draw length. I will be practicing for a few days or so before I actually go out in the stand. It will be nice if it actually gets a bit cooler around here. The forecast is for mid-high 70's this week.
Your holding the grip to tight, causing that problem. Was the bow fit to you? Who set it up? Uou should have had your draw length measured before buying.
If this is your first experience with archery you probably should sit this season out. A few days of shooting is not anywhere near the level of experience someone should have before heading out in the field to hunt. Sorry to tell you that, but it just is not ethical at all. The animals you will hunt deserve more. Most responsible archers will shoot thousands of arrows over many months before ever heading out to hunt. Just read in another thread that your first bow was coming in on the 2nd of October and you were going to pick it up and take your first lesson. Next, you said you would be in the stand hunting on the 4th. Believe me, 48 hours of owning a bow does not make someone a bowhunter. Please reconsider for this season. Enjoy shooting your bow at targets for now and welcome to the site.
The first rule I tell people is to let the grip rest on the pad of the hand near the base of the thumb and make an "okay" sign with your pointer finger and thumb. The second rule I tell people is to turn the elbow out so that the crease of the arm is parallel with your bow string (when not pulled back) rather than facing upward. You don't want your arm locked, you want it slightly bent. This will prevent string bite. Hope that helps! Good luck and I hope that goose egg goes away!
I have to agree with Fletch, being new you may want to sit out this deer season. Its not right to wound or mame an animal even accidentally. But i would recomend picking up some small game heads and going out after cotton tails or groundhogs ect. Great skill builder! Only a couple days practice is asking for a problem. Have you practiced shooting from a stand or shooting down hill? Your point of aim is different than that of shooting on level ground with your target. My neighbors think im nuts but i get on my roof and shoot targets in my back yard
Why do we have so many people come on here and ask questions looking for good advice then get pissy when it's not what they want to hear? Or have jerks stirring trouble because they also have no respect for other more experienced hunters or the animals they shoot at? It's too bad respect and ethics can't be bought at the store.
Well that was a can of worms I opened up. To reiterate- I bought the bow from a local bow shop. Had to have it ordered. Spent 2.5 hours getting it fitted and set up just right. Adjustments may be forthcoming. I am not a completely new hunter. Just new to bows. I scratched my plan to go out this week. I can get lots of practice in and even take a trip through a 3d course. Final decision may not be made until I see big improvement. My grip may well be the problem. I've had to make grip adjustments in my handgun shooting.
Good call. You really do need to be proficient before attempting to take game. I am not trying to lecture you at all. Just giving advice from over 30 years of experience. That does not make me an expert in any way, but trust me, the advice is good. The last thing you want is to have a terrible experience with your first bow shot deer. You need to be 100% confident that you are going to kill anything that you shoot at. Good luck with your archery experience.
You have just proven to the world that you are one of our newest and most ignorant members. Congratulations. Now, crawl back under your rock and keep the moronic comments to yourself dumbass. I have bow hunted twice as many years as you have been alive.
@Crossbow Jared: Go back to trolling youtube you'll blend more with your kind. Agreeing with Fletch, I have been target shooting for two years BY CHOICE because of my OCD in wanting a perfect shot everytime and having confidence that I will make a clean kill my first bow shot. That and trying to get my starter sight to work perfect for my eye sight (blind as a bat).
I have to agree with fletch on this one... I had gotten my first bow around November last year and have not put it down since. I practice and practice and then practice some more and I'm still nervous that i might mess up some how. I understand that what i am practicing for is to take down a wild animal and I take that very seriously. Yes of course something could happen (Murphys law) and things do happen but you want to put in as much time and practice you can till you attempt to take an animals life. I wish you only the best and i know that you will love this sport because there is nothing more satisfying and relaxing then shooting a bow. I just hope you put common sense before buck fever. best of luck to you.
Common sense is my middle name I'd like to think that I would follow the best practices for a clean kill and not get buck fever.
That's good to hear then welcome to the sport and let us know how practicing is coming... as far as the grip this could be a big factor in your string slap on your arm. Another factor could be your draw length being to long. Now with the grip like many of people have said I'll try to make it easy to understand. The way I look at it is imagine you are holding an open tube of toothpaste and you don't want it to squeeze out of the tube. Instead of squeezing act like you are pushing against a wall with your palm and the bow riser is pushing back against your life line on your palm. Now with the draw length too long what can happen is your pushing so far out with that hand on the grip that your elbow will lock out and therefore get in the way of the string even if you aren't torquing the grip... so maybe go to a bow shop and get your draw length checked out and go from there. Let's try to eliminate the possibilities Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Got my grip fixed Went to the bow shop and got some coaching. Also got a small decrease on my draw length. For some reason it made a big difference in picking up my sights quickly. Practicing every day for now. Take my boy out after school and we both practice. No more welts.
Sounds great! Yeah, after shortening mine a little by changing releases, I haven't had string slap like I used to. Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2
Great! Have fun, lots of it! Like i said, maybe hold off on the big game for now, but seriously consider some small game hunting! Alot of people think only of deer, elk, moose, ect...... big stuff. I have more fun rabbit hunting eith my bow than i do with anything else! And it makes you a damn good shot! Be prepared to bust up some arrows though!
Almost forgot. I'm doing pretty good groups at 20 yards. They are high right but we're holding off on adjusting the pins until I get more shots in.
