HH bug got me ... Part One!

[far rider]

Thanks Rob, appreciate it.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by OPRick:
Note the back muscles - WOW...

severely pronounced deltoid/subscapularis.  far more more so due to his exaggerated forward lean into and down to the arrow.

[GMASIUK]

That's a very cool picture of Howard. Thanks for sharing Tradlongbow!

[Nate Steen .]

An interesting note:

Howard used a 'set-back' bow arm shoulder, meaning he brought it back into the shoulder joint to make it more solid.  This made for better handling of very heavy bows and less floating around of the shoulder joint.  Bob Wesley is very adamant in teaching this form also.  This set-back shoulder makes his scapula more pronounced.  Most fellas today kinda stretch out their bow arm shoulders as they push the bowarm towards the target.  

Also interesting....A local elderly friend bought some bows a few years back from Ed Hill's widow (yes he's the friend of Howard that was wrapped up in the python in "Tembo").  As this friend was talking to Ed's widow, he mentioned how he used to watch the old Hill movie shorts and commentated on Hills ease of shooting heavy bows.  Ed's widow commented that Howard had such extremely strong shoulders (in the deltoids) from pulling heavy bows for years, that as he got older, his musculature started collapsing his frame and bowed his shoulders towards his chest. She said he wasn't in any pain,  it was just a result of the muscles being stronger than his old bones could handle.  He shot a relaxed form and never 'stretched out' like a target shooter so the brunt of the bowweight was on the muscles of the deltoid and triceps....kinda like doing a one-armed push-up and stopping half-way up from the floor and holding yourself there....imagine that strength....

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
 

Originally posted by OPRick:
Note the back muscles - WOW...

severely pronounced deltoid/subscapularis.  far more more so due to his exaggerated forward lean into and down to the arrow. [/b]

Almost looks as if he has a severe deformation in his upper back.  I see he does not lean at his waist but actually leans almost exclusively at/within his shoulders.  Seems to me to be very awkward..but it worked for him - his own personal style.  

I don't intend to emulate this posture however,  I learned here that my (our) form can be okay if we have the fundamentals down.  

Again, a tip of the Mudd Flap to Sir Rob!


Nate, you have amazing insight into the life of HH.  Not a fan are you    


This thread has been most informative and inspirational!!

[SpankyNeal]

This one is pretty good too! The man was definately STRONG!!

[SpankyNeal]

Oh Man, look at that 100 pages...amazing!

[Nate Steen .]

I've been a fan for a long time and fortunate enough to meet or talk to certain people who gave me insight into certain aspects of his 'style' of longbows and shooting...plus alot of research....

Spanky, you dog....you were holding out for the top of page 100 award....lol.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

2 weeks ago I went up to Sam Houston National Forest for the day to do some scouting.  Here is a spot that I found lots of deer trax so I took a pic of My Jerry Hill bow out in the Pines of Texas.
Saw some deer, but No hogs.. Should be up there again soon for a camping trip...

Spanky, cool pic.  

Howard's bow limbs look like they taper into infinity...very thin looking!  Doesn't seem right - can this be?

I just copied and pasted both pics side-by-side.  His form exactly the same, even the cant of the bow - perfectly parallel.

[SpankyNeal]

Hey Tony, A Hill bow is supposed to have narrow but deep tips. They are the same on a Schulz, or Sunset Hill bow, and just a tad wider on the HH's and Millers that i've had, but they worked just fine. Steve Turay's are very narrow as well.

You can really see the muscles in that pic. Some of the stories about Howards strength in Craig's book are simply amazing!

Hey Nate, you know me bud...always striving for the top - with a little push now and then!      - here kitty kitty!              

I know the limbs are normally thin and deep...these look razor sharp - maybe the pic has been touched-up.

Spanky...be careful buddy, don't burn him out!
I want to see my Sunset before I expire.    

[SpankyNeal]

Not a chance Tony although he might be a little tired when he's finished!  :D   He has my list already, but it's not too long...only two on order now, and seven more after that...until I think of something else that is!      

White Dragons tips are just under 3/8" wide below the string grooves, and taper to much narrower above...very small!

[far rider]

[gregg dudley]

100 pages of this stuff!  Geez!

I had the HH bug one time, but I took a prescription strength black widow and got over it.

   

With a 100 pages, soeone probably made the same comment.........

I like the above pic. Notice that from the set back shoulder to the elbow is pointed straight at the camera. While from the elbow to the bow remains offset and flexible.  This gave him flexibility plus power alignment to the stronger muscles of the back, this is perhaps why his shoulder joints held together so well.

[tradlongbow]

Thanks Guys,

Like I said earlier, I have seen and owned a lot of books and pics of Hill, but this particular pic was the best that I have seen of Howards form closeup and the pic is clear.

Rob-
The articles that you posted from Ploem was always great stuff. I have those IA magazines at home. I hated to see IA stop printing, I thought it was the all time best magazine.


Gregg-
This Hill bug is not new to everyone, some of us have been shooting Hills for several decades. For me, I went from Hills to 21st Centuries with a Hill grip ofcourse, and I fell in love with the speed of the 21st Century. Then I went to a mild reflex/deflex bow with a Hill grip like Fred Anderson's HHC, Randy Denhel's Saxon, and Vince's Mohawk. Eventhough I enjoy shooting all of these bows, I find myself back to my first true love, the straight limbed American Longbow.

Darren

[Mudd]

Shooting my Hill and hill style bows may not be as easy as shooting r/d or recurves but the satisfaction I get from it far outweighs any and all aspects I get from shooting anything else.

I've said it before and it's still the truth.

"It's more about how the bow makes me feel about myself than how I feel about the bow!"

God bless,Mudd

[canopyboy]

Wow, 100 pages!

[canopyboy]

Originally posted by Swamp Yankee:
How in the world did anyone shoot "correctly" before the days of online forums like this...

Good question....

Let me drink on it and maybe I'll get back to you.