Dels 100# Elm Warbow

[Del the cat]

@ Cameroo:-
Dunno much about Elm, but from what I've read, the sapwood performs the same as the heart wood. But it's nice to have a layer of it just for the look of it.

I think I'm overstretching to try for 32" draw, or maybe my technique is just pants.
My pec is suffering for it... maybe I'm wearing my bracer in the wrong place?
You can see the line of the bruise is moving back from the first time I shot it, maybe it will be missing my pec completely soon....
(those of a squeamish disposition look away now... )
Del
(Well it is Halloween  )

[Archeress]

ummm.hmm..well yes of course.. um..i cant do that..well i could but it would be the last post i ever put here lol.  Well i have a couple mammories but have never managed a bruise there.

[Del the cat]

ummm.hmm..well yes of course.. um..i cant do that..well i could but it would be the last post i ever put here lol.  Well i have a couple mammories but have never managed a bruise there.

Maybe I'm taking the shooting "IN the bow" a bit too literally. Even with a lower poundage bow I'm struggling to get 32" draw.
Maybe we get a bit obsessed by draw length, after all the Mary Rose Arrows were certainly not all 32", plenty were just 28".
I'll have to settle on what is a comfortable sensible draw length for me... prob 30"
Del

[Archeress]

True Del.  i watch some archers draw warbows seemingly effortless.  i have to put a hell of a lot into it.  As a result my tech goes out the window a bit. I have bitten my arm on numerous occasions due to straightening it to stop my arms from collapsing.   I have to naturally lean forward to clear the balloons anyway.  true on arrow length..32 is something we all aspire to but depends on how we are built.  I average 31 on the 110.  i am ok with that.

[WillS]

Mark Stretton and Joe Gibbs are the two guys to watch for technique tips with this exact issue Del.  They're both fairly short, so the 32" draw is a challenge.  To get round it, you have to stick your arse RIGHT out, until it feels very daft, and bend right over at the waist.  Point your belly at the floor, and you should find your chest caves inward getting well out of the way of the string.

It's one of the little things that makes a huge difference that is very hard to pick up at first.  It also engages the shoulder and back sooner, allowing the poundage to be moved away from the arms which is crucial on bows that are pushing 150# so for your 100# bow it should work beautifully.

There aren't many videos of Mark, but I'll try and find a clip of Joe shooting from behind him so you can see the posture.

[WillS]

Not a great example, but here's Joe breaking another record...

Note the arse sticking out, and the back concaving, pulling the chest inwards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN2jAsE9ics

[Heffalump]

That's a fab picture Del.....better get a couple of inches of duct-tape across that nipple though fellah, or the next time you see it it could be stuck to the target! 

Seriously; it's almost impossible to assess what you might be doing wrong from one picture, but from what I understand, I'll bet my metaphorical broadhead that you need to keep more weight in the front leg, stay pushing forwards and lean into the shot more. This will ensure that your shoulders and back are really working, otherwise its all arms and they're nothing like as strong.  It's so tempting to take your body backwards with the string thinking this will help the length of your draw, unfortunately you're also taking the bow back with you so this doesn't really add anything to the equation.

Important to remember we're not talking about a rolling loose here  so step forward, turn it out, keep your weight in the front leg, stick your butt out and lean into the shot more. I reckon lack of lean is primarily where your "moob" is coming into play!

Hope to see you on Sunday for the roving shoot with the Finsbury Mark 

Happy shootynge! 

[WillS]

Leaning forward/backward probably isn't going to make a huge difference to the chest position.  You're spot on about leaning back being the wrong way to do it, but rolling loose or not doesn't matter, as the basic technique still requires the chest to be well out of the way.

You can shoot at a flat trajectory at a target 20 yards away and still need to point your belly at the floor and bend your spine backwards if you wanna keep both nipples

[WillS]

Here we go, this is the vid I wanted to find.

This is shooting at a close target, so no distance shooting or rolling loose here.  If you pause the video at 51 seconds, you can see Scott, Steve and Mark all adopt the bend-at-the-waist position.  Bum out, shoulders back, spine curved as much as possible. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oubMkIOpNKU

This is the key to getting chest out of the way, while retaining strength and stability.

[WillS]

In fact in that video, Scott (two to the left of Steve in the red cap) has such a flawless technique. 

[Del the cat]

Good vid. I see exactly what you mean.
Another thing is I probably cant the bow a bit too much which doesn't help.
I'll prob shoot some more this afternoon... with maybe a newspaper down my shirt 
Del
@ Heffalump
I've got the Yew Warbow on a long string, pulling the tips down to about brace height... it's taking 140# to get it back that far .
But of course once a sting is on it that poundage dissapears and becomes the starting point of the draw weight (effectively zero! All very confusticating...).
Pics on the blog later today...

[WillS]

I had the exact same problem with canting!  I found it much more comfortable to cant a longbow when shooting target, so with draw weights of around 40 - 60lbs, and going from that to war bows took a long time to break the habit of canting!

It does feel very odd bringing the lower limb around in front of you, so with that plus the odd body posture it all takes a while!

[Heffalump]

Already salivating at the thought of that bow Del......I'll look at your bowyery bloggings later today 

Please be careful with her  ......now I've seen your pictures of the stave and the tree she originally came from, I'm already feeling an emotional attachment to that piece of timber. I suspect that, rather like pins a voodoo doll.....if it explodes on the tiller in Harlow, I'm probably gonna collapse in pain 15 miles away in Cuffley 

[Heffalump]

Correct me if I'm wrong folks, but is Del the first guy ever to get his tits out on PA?!    .........

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