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Get A Grip

How you grip your bow and how well you duplicate your grip from shot to shot has a direct effect on overall accuracy. 

By Michael Corrigan

Your bowhand is the first part of your body to make contact with your bow before the shot, and the last to remain in contact after the shot.  

Even more important is the fact that your bowhand is the only part of your body in contact with your bow throughout the shot. Although the lapse in time from the moment the bowstring is released until the arrow clears the arrow rest is very short, the interaction between your bowhand and the bow handle can be very significant. How you grip your bow and how well you duplicate your grip from shot to shot has a direct effect on overall accuracy.  

Tournament archers often exhibit a methodical obsession with consistent bowhand placement.  Many can be observed scrutinizing their bowhand placement before each shot. Conversely, too many bowhunters hardly give bowhand placement a second thought. That’s a pity because proper bowhand placement can lead to a noticeable increase in accuracy. A close examination of the relationship between the bowhand and the bow handle reveals much.

Upon release, the bowstring and the arrow travel forward, while the bow’s riser is forced rearward (toward the archer). This follows Newton’s Third Law of Motion—for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The rearward force is transferred directly into the bowhand. Proper, repeatable bowhand placement is crucial. If the riser moves in any direction during the shot other than straight back, the result is torque. Torque (a twisting force applied to the bow handle) will be transferred to the arrow through the bowstring and arrow rest. Torque remains an issue as long as the arrow is attached to the bowstring. All else being equal, bow handle torque typically results in left and right arrow impacts at the target.  

Most tournament shooters agree that shooting with a relaxed bowhand is the best path to repeatable accuracy. An open hand is employed by some to counteract the subconscious reflex of “grabbing” the bow handle during shot execution. However, a “stiff” open bowhand is difficult to reproduce shot after shot. An utterly relaxed bowhand is much more repeatable. I have demonstrated this on numerous occasions while assisting others through the bare-shaft paper-tuning process.  A persistent tail-left or tail-right paper tear that cannot be cured through adjusting the arrow rest is often alleviated by simply relaxing the bowhand.  

What does a relaxed bowhand look like? Raise your bow arm parallel to the ground, then open your hand and stiffen your fingers as if leaning against a wall. Next, totally relax your hand and let your fingers go limp. Note the natural tendency of the fingers to partially close. Notice also how easy it is to reproduce this relaxed condition.  

The other key component is bowhand placement on the grip. When your bowhand is positioned properly on the bow’s grip, the knuckles will be at a 45-degree angle to the vertical bow handle. To facilitate this, rotate your bowarm elbow outward about 10 degrees in the direction away from the bowstring. This hand orientation promotes contact between only the muscles that make up the ball of the thumb and the rear bow-grip area.  This in turn directs the force exerted by the bow handle through the wrist and forearm bone.  

Position the bow handle on the thumb side of the hand’s lifeline.  This places the centerline of the bow handle directly in the middle of the muscles that make up the ball of the thumb. At full-draw, the force the bow exerts on the muscles will cause the thumb and other fingers to collapse and cradle the bow handle. A torque-free grip configuration is achieved in this way. In addition to the relaxed hand technique, some tournament shooters like to tuck the third, fourth and fifth fingers between the bow handle and the palm of the hand. This technique further reduces the possibility of grabbing the bow handle and exerting torque into the shot.  

Is a high-wrist or a low-wrist grip better? For some years, a high-wrist hand position (where the top of the hand is in line with the top of the forearm) was considered by many to be a superior grip orientation. The argument being that a high-wrist hand position afforded minimal hand-to-grip contact. However, this method also requires the use of many additional muscles and promotes additional tension in the bowhand. Tension in the bowhand often translates into an unsteady sight picture. Preloaded muscle tension in the hand can also trigger involuntary muscle activity at the shot, in the form of flinching or grabbing the bow.  Most tournament shooters therefore now choose a low-wrist hand position. Using this method results in more skin contact with the bow handle, but it is much easier to duplicate and it allows the muscles in the hand to remain relaxed throughout the shot.  

What about wearing gloves and obtaining a proper grip? I am an advocate of head-to-toe camouflage while bowhunting. This includes gloves. Since I wear gloves while hunting, I always wear the same gloves while engaged in target practice. There is debate among tournament shooters as to whether wearing a glove will increase overall accuracy or not. On one hand, wearing a glove does make it more difficult to visually critique bowhand placement prior to the shot. On the other hand, wearing a glove prevents a sweaty bare hand from torquing the bow during the shot. I have experimented with and without the use of a glove, and have noticed very little difference in overall accuracy. However, I am convinced that the type of glove material matters greatly. Under no circumstances do I recommend using gloves equipped with plastic or rubber grip surfaces, even though they are often marketed to bowhunters. Gloves equipped with tacky gripping material on the palm or fingers can actually promote dreaded torque. Cotton knit gloves and those made with synthetic material such as polyester seem to work best for me. When the weather is warm, I particularly like to use thin stretch-fit gloves such as those produced by Primos. Fleece gloves work well for me when the temperature dips.

Grip experimentation and an objective look at resulting accuracy can help you discover which grip method works best for you. One grip does not fit all. K

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