jam-man Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Should your elbow be facing down or straight out? I have noticed it varies some what with the top shooters? Is there one postion that is considered the correct postion or is it just what works for you? The only thing that I know for sure is don't lock your elbows, after eating Advil for over a month I figured this one out the hard way. Any advice would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Should your elbow be facing down or straight out? I have noticed it varies some what with the top shooters? Is there one postion that is considered the correct postion or is it just what works for you? The only thing that I know for sure is don't lock your elbows, after eating Advil for over a month I figured this one out the hard way. Any advice would be appreciated. Matt Burkett's "How to Shoot Faster" Volume 4 DVD addresses the pros and cons of different elbow positions. I'm not enough of an expert to even attempt to explain, but the DVD will cover that and a lot more. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 I go about as far out as I would with a bench press. NOT locked, but right to the strong end of extension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganShootist Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 This is a point that I have zeroed in on for 2008. After watching a ton of videos.. it came clear to me at a Jerry M. seminar at the S & W Indoor Nationals a week or so back. Low elbows set you up for a gun that rises... high elbows set you up for a gun that "recoils" straight back. The latter is faster on target with the second shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 If you plumb an imaginary line straight through the center of both elbow joints (perpendicular to the joints major rotational axis) the lines should intersect roughly in front of the master eye. You can get a feel for this by setting up in front of a mirror and observing the necessary alignments. Put another way; too much elbow rotation outwards over-tensions the shoulders and too much rotation downwards permits the gun to flip at the elbows in recoil. Experiment to find your individual "sweet spot." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jam-man Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Thanks for the responses. One thing that I have noticed is that when I get the correct grip with my support hand canting forward is it feels like my left arm is almost straight. Looking at the photo above of Brian he seems to be more even. Is this to do more with each shooter’s anatomy being different or should I flex my arms more to try to achieve a more equal triangle? I have done some lengthy searches concerning this subject and end up more confused. This forum as done wonders for my grip and set me on a path to clean up bad habits learned over the last couple of years. Before changing my arms and practicing dry firing to lock it in to my memory I would like to know that I doing myself good and not harm. I will definitely get in front of a mirror and experiment some. It just seems strange that so much is put in to learning the correct grip, foot stance, and even head and shoulders position and very little is ever mentioned about the elbows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Thanks for the responses. One thing that I have noticed is that when I get the correct grip with my support hand canting forward is it feels like my left arm is almost straight. Looking at the photo above of Brian he seems to be more even. Is this to do more with each shooter’s anatomy being different or should I flex my arms more to try to achieve a more equal triangle? I have done some lengthy searches concerning this subject and end up more confused. This forum as done wonders for my grip and set me on a path to clean up bad habits learned over the last couple of years. Before changing my arms and practicing dry firing to lock it in to my memory I would like to know that I doing myself good and not harm. I will definitely get in front of a mirror and experiment some. It just seems strange that so much is put in to learning the correct grip, foot stance, and even head and shoulders position and very little is ever mentioned about the elbows. Here's a way to make sure your arms are positioned correctly and for neutrality. (no gun) bend forward from the waist and let both arms dangle naturally with no tension in front of the body. Notice the natural relaxed bend at the elbow. Now preserving this bend, place your hands together as you would in a shooting grip and straghten up, raising your arms into shooting postion in front of your body. Your arms SHOULD now be in a more or less correct position, but you may still have to tweak slightly to find your true center. This is usually pretty close though. If your left arm is traightening overmuch I would say you are pushing to the left too far out of center. Body alignments bases on natural relaxed postions are more repeatable than postitons which rely on tension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 R. Thanks for the information. It was very illuminating. I will try this technique out on my Friday practice session. By any chance did you attend Nationals Limited in Barry a couple of years ago? I shot with a bunch of Canadians. It was a hoot. Great guys. Regards, Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 R. Thanks for the information. It was very illuminating. I will try this technique out on my Friday practice session. By any chance did you attend Nationals Limited in Barry a couple of years ago? I shot with a bunch of Canadians. It was a hoot. Great guys.Regards, Paul No, I wasn't there. I can almost never get that much time off from work at that time of year. I know who they were though. All good guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jam-man Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Thanks again for the helpful advice. I went to the range at lunch and tried out a couple of things. I noticed that if I keep my elbow position out, similar to the way Brian's elbow are in the above photo that I seem to me able to shoot more accurate without much effort. That being said if I turn my elbows down it seems a little quicker to get into that position from draw and the gun seems to recover a little better because I can cant by support hand downward a little bit more. I will keep working with the first position and see if the speed comes. Any other advice would be appreciated and I will keep trying to position my arms in a natural manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 I don't know that there is a best way. Live fire with Burkett's timing drills should help you figure out what fits for you, at this moment. I can cam and lock my wrist...with or without going to tendon lock...and, with or without going to a straight(er) weak-side arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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