Draw length, Draw stop

[donald.bella]

I just bought a Martin Firecat, The 29" draw length was a little short. I went to a 29 1/2" draw length, and moved the draw stop. Now I think that I lock out my elbow ensure I come to the draw stop. Now the string is hitting my arm which has never happened before. My tech question is, can I put the Draw length back to 29" and leave the Draw stop at the 29 1/2" stop, without damaging my bow? I need more distance between the peak draw and the draw stop.
I believe that I started locking my elbow because the when I start to relax my shooting stance the string goes foward.
Thank for the Help

Don

[bfisher]

You an do whatever yo'd like with the draw stop. You can take it off if you'd like. The only thing that really changes is that the bow will feel a little more spongy at the wall. In other words you'll have a little softer valley. Try it. You might like it.

That's how I shoot mine and I like the feel. Maybe that's because I started shooting compounds before the advent of solid walls and/or draw stops. Back when most bows had a valley about an inch in length.

Another thing comes to mind here. Once you draw the bow you should use back muscles to hold the bow. You should never creep forward or you'll experience just what you are now. You creep forward a bit and the bow wants to take off on you. OK, so you creep a hair. Many of us do. The cure to this is to shorten the draw length of the bow just a touch---maybe 1/4". This might be another reason you started hitting your arm. These are two common maladies of too long a draw.

Another thing that contributes to hitting the arm is improper grip.

Something you might want to read is a book entitled "Core Archery" by Larry Wise.