Form issue(elbow too high)

[Trick]

In a nut shell, I can't get my draw arm elbow down in line with the arrow. This is causing slight pressure down on the arrow and on release the arrow porpoises<sp> and the nock end of the arrow hits the outside edge of my shelf causing a nock high. While at full draw I had my wife try and push my elbow down to be in line with the arrow, but it won't budge. I thought maybe I'm just not getting to full draw. If I pull back further past my anchor it does come down but I feel way over drawn and stretched out. I worked on this all weekend and I'm about to give up and just live it. For whatever reason my broadheads hit with my field points despite the nock high. I also get a good ping noise on release when the arrow hits the edge of the shelf, which bugs the heck out of me. Anybody ever run into this and solve it?

Thanks
Matt

[Deb]

Can you post some form pics?

[az2tx]

Can you post some form pics?

x2

[Trick]

If it will help, I'll see what I can do.

[TedStriker]

This is a stab in the dark, but try drawing back with your eyes closed. Focus on straightening your arm, then open your eyes. Where's your peep? I see a lot of folks with a peep that is too low compensate by bringing their arm up so their eye can come down to the peep. Just a guess.....

[Trick]

Thanks for the reply Tedstriker, but I'm shooting a longbow. No peep here. Made me double check that I had posted this in the trad section though.

Matt

[El Paisano]

If you started out using a release that may be what has caused it. It will definitely cause shooting problems as well as a very sore finger.
Concentrate on getting the back of the string hand aligned with the string. Open up the bow hand and let the bow follow the string and it will tell you if you are torquing the string.
Form issues take time and correct repetition to resolve.

[huntinpool]

As long as you are doing the SAME thing everytime, You can tune it to shoot great however you want to shoot. The KEY is Everytime. I shoot with a high elbow from years of wheels and back-tension releases. Get a lot of ribbing for it, but I'm beating most of the ribbers. If you are comfortable and you feel like you can do it the same , just go with it.

[Trick]

El Paisano, what do you mean by "getting the back of the string hand aligned with the string."? Not sure I follow you.

Huntinpool, your draw arm looks in line with the arrow to me. If you think yours is high, wait till you see mine. As soon as I can find my card reader I'll post a pic. And yeah I shot back tension releases for many years. I suspect that has something to do with it.

Matt

[Trick]

This is a high elbow. I'm in a comfortable position in that photo. I can pull the elbow down a little but not much and I'm really having to force it. I suspect I'm putting a little twist in the string as well. Never thought it would be this hard.

Matt

[Bisch]

Well, your elbow is a little high...but... as huntinpool said above (I hate to do this and give him a bog head), if you are comfortable shooting thid eway and you can do it tha SAME WAY every time, then it is really not that big of a deal. It seemed to have worked all right on the REAL nice first trad buck you shot this year.

Bisch

[huntinpool]

(I hate to do this and give him a bog head
Bisch

..... ......

[moe monsarrat]

Anything that takes the arm out of line is less than right. A high elbow is usually a sign of being over bowed. It can also eventually cause shoulder damage. Your arrow & arm need to be one straight line. I've met many guys who have poor form, but still shoot pretty good. They would shoot even better & be able to shoot longer if they would correct their form.

[moe monsarrat]

Matt, here's another tip: when you cant the bow, you should have your head & hands canted in exactly the same degree. Don't stick your chin out to meet the string at your anchor point. Tilt the TOP of your head over to the correct degree. This will decrease the torque you are putting on the string.

[Trick]

Thanks for the input guys. Some good stuff to think about and work on. If it weren't for the fact that the tail end of the arrow is hitting the outside edge of the shelf, I wouldn't worry about it.

Yeah when I shot that buck I didn't know all this was going on, or what was going on. I noticed the wear on the outisde edge of the shelf but didn't think anything about it. I was just concentrating on shooting the best I could before going hunting. Now that I know, I've lost confidence. And that aint good.

Thanks again
Matt