Please have patience with me and think about this....

[Doc]

Can't sleep tonight. Getting a little anxious about tomorrow's hunt I guess. But while I was fighting to get to sleep, my mind took off in a strange direction like it frequently does ....lol. I started thinking about right and left handed bows. I am right handed and so I use a right handed bow .... I draw the weight with my strong arm (right) and brace the bow with my left. That really made sense back when I shot a recurve and longbow. Has made sense for a whole lot of centuries I suppose.

But then along came the compound that reduced the hold weight so you don't have to draw with your strong arm. Also, the common use of sights now makes it important to hold that bow as steady on target as possible. But like everyone else, what I have found is that the bow doesn't want to hold still. The sight pin wanders all over the place. Why? ..... because I am bracing and holding it with my weaker and less coordinated arm/hand. Meanwhile my stronger arm is merely staying stationary at anchor doing nothing but waiting for that damn pin that my left arm is controlling, to hold still. Back muscles are holding the string at anchor and the strength of my right arm is pretty much wasted. So there I am not using my stronger arm for anything but a connection to the string and trying to force the pin to steady itself using my off-side arm.

Why wouldn't I really want to guide the bow and the sight pin with my naturally stronger and more coordinated arm (my right arm/hand) and let my weaker arm do the light work of anchoring and pulling the trigger. Are we now doing this all backwards and not taking total advantage of what the compound is really doing for us?

Think about it.....hasn't the advent of the compound and the sight pin actually reversed the whole concept of shooting a bow? OK, somebody explain to me where is the fallacy is in all this? Why aren't we right handed compound shooters using a left handed bow and keeping that sight pin rock-steady? Inquiring minds want to know ..... lol.

[silent death]

Lol I see you are struggling to sleep also.. the joys of hunting season

[Rebel Darling]

When I bought my compound, the determining factor for either right or left handed was my eye dominance.

While I'm right handed, I'm left eye dominant. I shoot a left-handed bow.

I can't sleep either... still trying to settle on a stand; the wind forecast keeps changing.


I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

[growalot]

Lol...I don't know. I'M left handed shooting a right handed bow...left Eye dominate so no sights..so nothing floating around. Everything's rock solid...

 

[DirtTime]

Can't sleep here either.

I can see some login in your thinking Doc. Thinking about that for a few minutes, then the same would be true for shooting a gun off hand? Using the stronger arm to steady the gun while using the weaker hand to squeeze the trigger.

 

I am left eye dominant and right handed. I have tried many times over the years to shoot lefty with no good results on paper, so no way I would try on game. So, I shoot my normal hand, but have to close my left eye.

[Doc]

Well, I am not so sold on my theory that I am going to run out and buy a left handed bow. But my mind got off on this subject some how and it makes me thing that modern equipment design has reversed some of the old principles of archery. I am sure that changing after all these years would be an ugly thing to do. After more than 50 years of shooting using a right hand rig, it would feel just plain weird to change now. But it all does seem logical.

[DirtTime]

Not sure anyone is truly rock solid shooting a vert bow. No matter what, we are still shooting off-hand. No way to use hunting sticks or an arm rest on a tree stand.

Seeing someone try to "switch hit" with a bow might make for an interesting YouTube video.

[Hock3y24]

Apparently no one is sleeping, however I think then left arm really does nothing. My pins barley wobble when I remember focus on the target not your pins.

[nyslowhand]

Lets see... determine dominant eye for LH/RH bow, lock elbow & stiff arm bow with opposite arm and draw back to determine DL, decide on an appropriate easily held draw wgt and the rest is practicing form. Don't know about you Doc, but I'd be less than ... effective and probably somewhat comical using a LH bow while being right eye dominant. Not to mention my "weaker arm" might pull back less draw wgt, so I'd have to build-up those muscles to attain a reasonable draw wgt. You're opening Pandora's box......

Only us old farts with less than ideal muscle tone would worry about this issue! LOL. Gym membership..? Maybe just TOO much caffeine before bedtime.... or a glass of wine might help.

Edited October 1, 2017 by nyslowhand

[fasteddie]

Doc --- At our age I wouldn't worry about switching to a left handed bow . I went to bed a 8:30 pm last night and got some sleep . 1st time I was able to do this the night before the season opener .

[moog5050]

I think eye dominance is the big factor.  You can learn to shoot either way.  People make the switch due to eye dominance typically.  Would you hold more steady?   No idea.  

[grampy]

I slept like a baby last night, headed up the stairs at 9.  Doc, I kind of got used to having my sight pin "float" around the target. But thanks to good form and a well tuned bow, I hit where I'm "aiming". I try to keep everything loose, because the more you tighten up and try to hold steady, the more ya torque the bow and you shoot worse.

[Moho81]

Man you guys should try a couple of beers or a tall glass of whisky to help you sleep! 

[growalot]

coffee cup of cereal I use honey oats with almonds and milk...eat this half hour before bed...you will sleep like a baby all night...heard it on tips for your life radio...dang if it doesn't work...

BTW ....rob there is and it's called the Steady Ready, Knight and Hale originally made it...

Edited October 1, 2017 by growalot

[wolc123]

Since the crossbow became legal in 2014, I no longer hunt with a vertical bow, but back when I did, I addressed the left/right issue by practicing drawing and slowly unloading, alternating left/right with one of my old bows.  I always work out in the mornings before work anyhow, so I just added the bow in place of something like dumbell curls, doing 2 sets of 12 reps, left and right, starting about April every year.  I used an old back-up bow for this, to eliminate the wear on my hunting bow.  It was an old compound with only about 25 percent letoff, while my hunting one was 65 percent.  6 or 7 months of that, prior to hunting season, kept both sides equally developed.  Practicing more with my hunting bow (all right handed), the last few months and thru hunting season, still led to some lop-sidedness and some  occasional elbow, shoulder, and back pain. 

I am happy not to have to deal with that anymore, now that I am in my fifties, thanks to the crossbow, which draws symmetrically, using both arms and shoulders, with the rope pulley device.  My elbows, shoulders and back seldom cause me any pain any now, like they did back in my forties.  The crossbow is almost like a "fountain of youth" in that respect, reversing or eliminating  the aches and pains of the aging process.   Mine has a low enough draw weight that it is not too much struggle for me to load it in a pinch without that pulley.  So far, a second shot has not been needed, but if it ever is, I could do it faster without the pulley.  I am also fortunate to have access to some good hunting in the northern zone, so I only have to wait until mid-October to start using it.  

So far, all of my crossbow hunting has been from blinds or stands that are equipped with good rests, so all shots on deer have been similar to bench-shooting a rifle, enabling me to strike on or very close to the individual hair that I aim at.  My entry-level crossbow is also narrow and not overly front-heavy, like some of the higher-end models.  I am looking forward to a little still-hunting and off-hand shooting with it this year, both up in the northern zone in a couple weeks and in the cornfields of home, starting in early November.  I have practiced some of that off-hand shooting with it, and can hold a 2" group at 20 yards.  That is considerably farther than I could shoot in the corn.    

So the bottom line here is that there is now an easy solution to your issue.  You just have to pick up a better weapon for an old guy.  How are your elbows and shoulders feetling now ?

Edited October 1, 2017 by wolc123

[Buckstopshere]

I grew up...as a right-handed shooter for many years. But too many softball games...I played centerfield and was proud of my ability to throw from the outfield to the infield. Cold shoulder...stretched tendons. Also I shot a 70# recurve and long bow. Any wonder the shoulder started aching...not just when I did things, but when I slept on it. So I made the switch...lefty...shot competition indoor leagues...got a couple trophies...left-handed. I noticed that my body is now left dominant...after growing up right dominant. So it is a kind of a balance. JMO but I think when we get older we need to do things with both sides to stay balanced. I think about that all-the-time when I am shoveling, raking, sanding, painting, lifting, etc. I try to use both sides equally so one side is not throwing me out of balance. I will be 70 in Feb. and I can climb up a tree like a squirrel.

[DirtTime]

16 hours ago, growalot said:

BTW ....rob there is and it's called the Steady Ready, Knight and Hale originally made it...

Just looked this up growie. You are right! I guess you can buy them at Wallyworld :

https://www.sierratradingpost.com/knight-and-hale-steady-ready-shooting-rest~p~1864f/reviews/

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Knight-Hale-Steady-Ready-Steady-Rest/6561082

 

LOL! Seriously? If the day comes when I can't steady my compound, I will stop hunting with a vert bow.

 

I am not laughing at you growie, just the pure ridiculousness of the damn gadgets and contraptions people come up with.

 

 

[growalot]

I didn't think they made them any more. Ten point had a cross bow stick called Steady Eddie I believe...