My son and I recently picked up recurve shooting. We were sharing a RH Sage, and figured out he's crosseye dominant, and I was able to trade for an old Ben Pearson Spoiler LH for him. He'd only been shooting right handed about 2 weeks when he switched. Right off the bat he's had a hard time keeping the arrow on the shelf - never had that problem shooting RH. He's intentionally compensating now, and its not dipping as much, but his flyers are almost always attributable to the arrow slipping out on the shelf.

Don't know much about bows, so I figured I'd compare the bows to see if there is anything to tweak there. The shelf on the Spoiler is rounded on the inside of the L, while the shelf on my Sage is squared. It also has a felt(ish) pad that covers the entire inside of the L. My thought was to inlet the Spoiler's shelf so its squared, and put a new rest & plate on it. Would this help him keep the arrow on the shelf? Or is this simply a form issue? And why would it be different switching from right to left? Should I be careful of anything? Can I take too much off? All I really want to do is turn the arc into an 90 angle.

Hope this is the right place to ask these questions. Thanks for your help!

It's a form problem, not a shelf design problem.
The rounded shelf is better due to less contact with the arrow so keep the rounded shelf.

His left hand is not as coordinated as his right so he is curling his fingers in as he draws, thereby flipping the arrow off the shelf.  Have him concentrate on letting those fingers relax except for that last digit. Cant the bow a bit to the left also.

Is he using tabs or a glove or bare fingers?  A tab may help him here as well.

Give that a try and let us know.

Good shooting!

CJ

As captain said the rounded shelf is more desirable.
He just needs to work on the form till his muscles get used to the new work load. Keeping even pressure on the fingers, not twisting. Trying to keep the elbow in line with the arrow, a high elbow will torque the fingers on the string.

I use split fingers mostly because I'm feel I have more control with the arrow.

In NASP training they teach 3 fingers under for the very reason that there is less torque on the string and the kids have less trouble with the arrow coming off the rest.
Ron

That's one reason why I switched to using 2 fingers under, I kept torquing the arrow off the shelf. I can't my bow RH to about 2 o'clock and shoot with 2 fingers under and the arrow never loses contact with the shelf. I've got more control over the arrow that way and my groups improved by at least 50% when I switched. Keep the elbow directly in line with the arrow, but as Mac said you don't need the elbow pointed skyward, just keep it flat in line with the arrow. Like Terry's form clock shows and practice duplicating that form, the better grouping will follow suit.

Chap, make sure he's using a deep hook, all the way to the crease of the first joint, at least. Pulling off the shelf can usually be traced to trying to pull with the finger tips.

If he wants to shoot split finger the easiest solution is to get him a no pinch tap.. The BlackWidow tab is such.. and there are a couple of others..

When I first started shooting trad I switched from left handed to right handed and had the same problem for a week or two. I figured out the cause was twisting the string as I pulled the bow back. I had the string too far out on my fingertips as I was pulling. I dont think his problem has anything to do with the shelf being radiused though.

one of the byproducts of a deep hook, like Don said, is a twisting tension on the string, if your nock is a snap on, then try this...nock an arrow then show him that by rolling the string the arrow will go that way that you twist. when he starts to draw have him place the string on the second joint instead of the first, then as he starts to pull let the string roll down his fingers and settle into the first joint. this has the effect of tensioning the arrow into the bow. someone may want to argue this, but it has never affected my accuracy, and i have never had a problem with arrows coming off the rest. it has helped my kids, too. i can even cant the bow in the open direction and not worry, usually.

also, everyone above is right its not the radius, but you might try inclining the shelf slighty from outside edge up to lower towards center. (keep the radius) this will help keep you on the shelf too, as the arrow will have to move up hill to come off the shelf.

Wow, appreciate all the feedback folks! I'm learning a lot reading through this. We picked up a no-pinch tab, and that's helped alot. We've been shooting split-finger so far - we might try 2 or 3 under this weekend just to see how it feels. Thanks again!

Mahalo, Chaps