[bigredhusker]

OUch.. my shoulder is really hurting.. is this normal.. I have only shot the bow for about 5 sessions. Last night when I shot it about 12 times.. about an hour later my left shoulder is really hurting... I had a neighbor give me some tips on form.. but one thing he said was to not hold my right arm fully locked.. but slightly flexed... anyway just looking for some thoughts... back to the advil for me .

 

[venatic]

Anything you over do will make you hurt. I've had times when my left shoulder is hurting after shooting too much.

 

[bigredhusker]

thanks... just a question... should I have some flex (slight bend) in my left arm when shooting? Or should it be locked... Also, how long should I lay off of the practice.. tried again today and after 8 arrows it was sore again. ... bummer...

 

[membergone]

If you are just starting again crank your pounds way down. Don't worry about "how" you are shooting, just that you ARE shooting until you get in shape.

I'd say for the average archer that doesn't shoot enough, the biggest problem out there is "over-bowing" or trying to shoot too many pounds. Crank it down if that is even a remote possiblity.

As for your elbow, there's a commonly held belief that a flexed bow arm is good. But there's a whole hail of a lot of top shooters that can prove that theory wrong. Lock it down, unless of course it causes you problems.

 

[JMAC]

Originally posted by DShootnstGentemn
As for your elbow, there's a commonly held belief that a flexed bow arm is good. But there's a whole hail of a lot of top shooters that can prove that theory wrong. Lock it down, unless of course it causes you problems.

I have a hard time seeing how your elbow would NOT bend if you were gripping the bow correctly. I don't think I'd be able to lock my arm out with the way I've been taught to grip the bow.

Well, I guess "correctly" is subjective.

Carry on.

 

[coyotehunter]

i don't know jim ,but i was taught you don't grip your bow it just sits there in the palm of your hand with no fingers touching.i know the pain your talking about though.what i do is shoot one set of arrows and then relax and smoke a cig before i shoot again.in that time period it losens up and i can shoot for about an hour before it starts hurting again.

 

[Thayer]

I would recommend lots of stretching on that shoulder before and after shooting...probably a form of tendinitous...

Shoot with your arm tight or not...figure out what works for you...it is all different....

teachers sometimes fail to see a student that can achieve with other teaching methods...

happens all the time....if you are going to shoot competively..then you will find your holding will need to be very consistent to shoot good groups...like where you want to nick that quarter at 20 yards...if you are not worried about a quarter's dismemberment...then do what is comfortable and let her fly. OFTEN!