brace height problems?

[corpsman89]

#3381

i recently got a new recurve, samick sage 60 lbs limbs, and in less than a week i frayed out the string from hitting my armguard. i went to the local shop for a new string and the resident pro said he didn’t see anything terribly wrong with my form. when shooting without the guard the string is hitting me high on the forearm, close to the wrist. i got a new armguard that’s much more padded and will hopefully be easier on the string, but i measured my brace height at 6 and i was wondering if bringing it out to 8 would solve the problem. i’d appreciate any advice on fixing this

[David Coulter]

#19272

I’ll pass along the suggestion my bowyer gave me. It worked like a charm.

Hold your bow in your bow hand. Hold the bow straight out in front of you with the bow parallel to the ground. Adjust the bow in your hand so the string is below your forearm. That’s where you hold the bow and if it works for you like it did for me, you won’t even need an arm guard.

I’m shooting a R/D longbow, but I don’t see it making a difference.

Best wishes, dwc

[corpsman89]

#19285

thanks! i’ll give it a try this weekend

[Charles Ek]

#19400

Forgive the question if there is no basis for it, but is this draw weight new to you? If so, it could be that you’re not coming to full draw, which could put the string smack on the armguard at the place you mention.

Your 6″ brace height is substantially below the 7.5″ to 8.5″ recommended by Samick, which could indeed be part of the problem.

[corpsman89]

#19446

The draw weight is new and my first couple trips to the range it was obvious that i wasn’t at full draw, i’ve strengthend up now, but i’ll double check my anchor point too

related to that, i know the position of the drawing elbow can affect if youre pulling from your biceps vs your back, would that play into it hitting my arm too?

thx for all the help btw

[Doc Nock]

#19487

There’s a bunch of top shooters on here & I’m not one of them…

But from reading and listening, if your Mfg gives you a brace suggestion, USE IT! That was my advice…and from my custom bowyer.

Sure you can get a wee bit more oomph outa your bow at a lower brace, but your form has to be impeccable…cause your follow thru is in question while the arrow is on the string a fraction longer.

Shooting recurves, I never wore an armguard. Old “D” shape longbows and selfbows had low brace and walloped me… my current Bigfoot Sasquatch was tuned out by the bowyer to work best at 7 1/4″ brace… I tried briefly 7 and 7 1/2″ and quickly went back to 7.25″ cause he was dead nuts right! It just shoots better, no noise, etc.

It will be interesting if more come on here to advise you to check your mfg specs and if like suggested, it’s higher brace, up it! Then see what problems you have…or DON’T!

Good luck! Wish you well!8)

[Etter1]

#19519

I have three recurves and all of them shoot better and quieter on the higher side of the recommended brace height. 6″ sounds way too low to me. I’d twist that string a bunch and re-tune if necessary.

[Arne Moe]

#21626

corpman,

6″ is WAAAYYY too low for the Sage!! Set that brace height at about 8″ and see what happens.

A good grip AND bow arm elbow rotated will also help. BUT when the string is hitting at or near where you wear a watch, it is nearly ALWAYS too low of a brace height.

[corpsman89]

#22636

Thanks for all the tips guys. Put all of em ta practice so im not sure which it was, but i went from hittin my arm once every 4 arrows to once every 12 or so. Obviously that really improved my accuracey too.

[joe03]

#41648

My Sage BH is set at 7 7/8 with no problems. 6″ way too low like mentioned above.

[WyoStillhunter]

#42678

I solved alot of problems when I learned not to try too hard.

By that I mean to stop overextending my bow arm, opening my chest too wide, and generally trying to make my bows shoot harder (with more power). I had to accept my shorter than average draw length of about 26″. When I relax and let the bow do its work everything settles down.

Now I only need an armguard to keep my sleeves out of the way but I use one all the time — “just because”.

[Abel]

#42995

My Sage 55lbs shot best at 8 1/4. I’m say 6 is way to low.

[Ralph]

#44225

Ditto 8 1/4″ on Sage.:D

[Arid zone A]

#50635

Where are you mesuring the brace height at? front of bow,belly, handle? Brace Ht. should be checked often, as strings strech. or in the case of a take down, you can lose twists when you take the bow apart. Causing different arrow flight. Then you have to tune it again. Most problems I have had with the string hitting my arm/ guard was caused by my bow arm elbow rotated to far up or out. I started shooting with my pinky curled under, between the grip and the plam of the hand, canting bow somewhat more and opened my stance up a bit. Now only use a guard for sleeve control.

[corpsman89]

#55102

forgive my lack in knowledge of proper terms, but i’m measuring from where the joint of my thumb meets the riser, its suppose to be the point on the riser that’s farthest from the string right?

i don’t remember who brought it up, but yes i unstring/restring everytime i shoot so i probably have untwisted my string some

[jason samkowiak]

#56339

Yep you are correct in you brace measuring procedure.

On almost any bow a lower brace is more likely to hit your arm.

Sounds like you are on the right track. Glad to hear.

How you hold your bow arm, how you rotate you bow arm, how you grip the bow, how you release, all can contribute to string slapping the arm. Its not something that is immediately figured out or there would not be a market for arm guard but would be sold as clothing guards for hunting in bulky clothing.

So don’t sweat it if you hit you are evey once in a while. Also once you hit yout arm hard it swells up and you will most likely hit it a ton during that session. Keep that in mind when you get a good smack and then keep getting hit over and over…swelling plays a big part.

Just know that as you come in to your shooting style and it all falls into place so will the arm smack.

As for the serving wear. If it gets bad it can easily be relaxed yourself or a shop will do it for about 3 bucks or so.

[Arid zone A]

#57220

Ok, Some great tips,,,One more,,,You can mark your arrows,when you get every thing all tuned up. I use the point on the back of the bow, on the shelf. Just place your arrow on the string, and pick a point on the bow,mark all your arrows at the same point. When I mark the arrows it is part of the cresting scheme. It sure makes for a great gage, and quick reference point.

[Col Mike]

#57631

Great advice I have a couple of shafts marked for brace height but then when you start marking them for FOC and as you start changing weight up front it can get confusing so then you start marking for 300 up to 400 up front and that is a lot of marks:shock: But it is fun! Best to spread your marks out on the arrows and make notes as to what each means otherwise you are probably changing total weight with all that ink:D Again as the dumb grunt take good notes.

Mike

[Ralph]

#58591

Mike, you seen my notes:?

I keep a little pocket tape measure handy. Then I don’t have to remember much except where I put it. 😀

[Author]

Posts