kansaswiderack

I am still having some problems with my release. The arrows are not kicking, but once in awhile it feels like the string sticks to my fingers and I pull away from my face to release thus causing a left hit. I am shooting a hoyt aspen which is 43" ATA. I believe the letoff is 65%. Since changing to the higher letoff I have gone to drawing with 3 fingers but dropping my bottom finger off prior to release. This seemed to cleanup initial problems I was having. I shoot a very soft glove as I like to feel the string as much as possible. In a group of 6 I will usually have 1 or 2 arrows hit 6" left at 30 yards. Any suggestions?

Arthur P

Yep. Several.

RELAX!!!! You might be getting a little hyped to make the shot and telling your fingers to let go of the string, but your internal fire control system knows the sight picture isn't quite right. Let the shot happen, don't try to make the shot happen.

If you aren't shooting from the wall, twist up your string and lengthen your cables to shorten up the bow's draw length a little bit. You want to settle into your anchor just barely off the wall, then you will come into the wall as you apply back tension for your shot. You need that extra little bit of tension from the wall to help get your fingers off the string.

Get rid of the glove, especially if it's grooved where the string rides. That groove will hang up the string. Gloves are okay, if you can find one that won't take a groove, but a tab will give you a more consistent release. You like to feel the string, so go to a thin cordovan leather tab. You might have to get the leather and make your own.

Use talcum powder on your tab (or glove) to cut down the friction. You can get a powder tap to hang on your belt. It's a leather pouch with fabric on the front side and a plastic flap covering the fabric. When you need some powder, you just raise the flap and tap your tab/glove on the fabric and you're ready to go.

55#recurve

With a compound, I always loved using a Black Widow tab, They are thin but very smooth, and releases become very consistant. Later on I moved to a cavalier tab with a chin plate, as I always shot with an under the chin anchor. This made me even more consistant, and I got to the point with a compound that I had a static release, where my fingers let go and my hand stayed glued to the anchor point. I now shoot Olympic style, with a clicker and I always practice for a fluid release. I think your best bet, is to do a little bit of blind shooting, the finger release is not something that should be forced. What should go on in a shot sequence is constant back-tension, put the sight on the mark, keep up the tenion in the shoulders, and relax the back of the hand and the string will rip out of your fingers and your hand and arm will travel back along your face or neck. Try to keep as much of, if not all of the tension away from any part of your arm, as arm tension is a killer and causes rotten releases, because tension in the arm travels up and down the arm and into the hands. The tension in the hands makes it very hard for you to relax them, and can cause hang ups on the string. Trash that glove and get a tab, I tried a glove once and I got alot of hang ups do to grooves created by the string. Don't shoot from the tips of your fingers. Always let the string hook in your first joints, reason for this is to take tension off of the hands that would be there if you are shooting the string off of the tips. One finger is always a straggling on the string so the way you have allowed the bottom finger to relax out is good, it will cause the release to be cleaner, and can be done the other way around with the two bottom fingers on the string and the top one relaxed off. I prefer to have my bottom of the three relaxed though.
Good luck, and good shooting.
Dylan

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kansaswiderack

Thanks author and 55. I can see a lot of things that I am doing wrong in your responses. I will try to incorporate, but it sounds like to much to think about at one time-kinda like golf. I have tried a tab in the past but didn't give it much time. I've shot with a glove so long that it just seems natural. I will dig one out of storage and give it a fair shot. Thanks again.

kansaswiderack

Author & 55-Just had another thought on the finger tab. How do you size them? In the past I have always bought XL tabs and gloves. Is there a point at which the glove should extend to?

55#recurve

Print this reply out, and get out a highlighter.
Do one thing at a time, and when its done highlite it so you know you have or are working on it. Good shooting.
Dylan

>>>>--------o--> about finger tab sizing, I usaully use a medium, I have a medium/small build and my hands follow suit.

Edited by - 55#recurve on 02/20/2002 14:02:27

Ossage

55,

I get how one does a surprise release with back tension when shooting a FITA recurve, pulling through the clicker, but what does one do with a compound that does not have one, and can't for the sake of argument.

blueeyesqq

I used to have the same problem as You and the glove. I found the more i shot the more it would it would hang up. what my problem turned out to be was that i would get a groove in my glove and it would flow right off my fingers.
i then turned to the tab abnd i got much better groupings with the tab. the problem i had wiht the tab was i couldnt to from truning my string. so no i shoot with no glove or tab it took a while to get fingers used to that. Im not saying to go to just fingers i think that the tab would work best for you. Also like the other said need to relax your fingers.

55#recurve

Ossage, any release should be treated the same whether it be, mechanical or human aided . I would think that anyone shooting archery is always looking for back tension, backtension is a key for any clean release, whether it is a suprise or not is up to the person making it. You don't need a clicker to create suprise, that is what the wall of compound is for. The clicker is only a drawcheck, you can pull through the clicker as much as you want, but if you have tension in your arms, hands, it doesn't really matter how much of a suprise it is, you will hang up on the string or pluck. Tension is the biggest thing in archery I would think from learning by coaches. How to place the tension and take the tension away from certain area's of the body. If anyone has ever watched one of best shooters in the world, whoever they may be. I will bet you that they don't shake one bit (Recurve,Compound) that or those person's have learned to place the tension, to shoot within themselves(subconcious muscle memory).
I am not a person to talk about being the best, I have a far mountain to climb, before even thinking of being among them. Going a little off topic, I hear the phrase alot "Perfect practice makes perfect". But nobody will ever attain true perfection or we would have 1440 all over the place. There are good shooters and great shooters. What seperates the two groups is, good shooters know what they have to do to shoot great. Great shooters know themselves, their equipment and shoot great (No tinkering).
Our nervous system controls our body through super speed signals, our brain sends the signals,(conciously,unconsiouly). Walking is natural, you want to shoot within yourself have to let your brain make archery like walking, something you don't have to think about and just do it. Thats my thoughts. Good shooting.
Dylan

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Arthur P

Don't know what happened, but I haven't been able to get back on the forums since that last post I made.

Tabs are intentionally made oversized so you can trim them to custom fit you and your preferences. I like to cut mine back to where the material of the tab only extends about 3/8" past where the string lays. Having the very tips of my fingers exposed allows me to be really consistent with my anchor and it gets rid of all that extra stuff that can go flapping around, making noise, dragging on the string and slapping your face.

Some folks cut their tabs even shorter than I do, some leave a little more meat on 'em.