Hunting & Fishing question about bow & arrow release

[match-grade]

Lets see if I can articulate this in a sensible manner:

I picked up a used Bear compound bow a few months ago and have been practicing at about 25 yards a few days a week. Getting better, but no robin hood yet. I started out using a finger pad type of release. The type that you slide your middle finger though and then let the draw string roll off your fingers. As I said, I was getting pretty good with it and decided to try a different approach. I bough one of the Allen thumb releases at walmart for 8 bucks. Yeah, not the best, but Archery is not a primary interest in my life yet. So noticed that immediately the arrows were hitting about 12-18 inches lower than using my fingers as a release. After some sight adjustment, I have it dialed in and my grouping as gotten much tighter than just using my fingers. What I want to know is WHY the thumb release would have such a different POI than using my fingers with the pad.

Oh, and if you are going to suggest the wrist type, don't. I have tried those in the past and absolutely HATE them. I have almost zero power on a draw when pulling from my wrist and I am sure that with a touch of carpel tunnel in there it will be just painful.

Thanks

 

[Neo]

More than likely your draw length is about an inch or more shorter with the release.

 

[Hairball]

Well, to make it as plain as possible, a mechanical release is a "set point" and using just two or three fingers will not be consistent until you have practiced for a long time. As you said, you just started so don't expect great results right away. As in any type of shooting, the short range stuff is easy, when you go back to 40 or 50 yards you will see just how "off" you can be and it will take a lot of time and patience to get where you may want to be. I do not know anyone that does not use a mechanical release on a compound. While some might, I have yet to see any. I use Tru Ball releases (Boss X and Absolute 360) and while I also have an assassin, I don't care for it very much. These releases run around 175 bucks or so but they are worth it IMO. An 8 dollar mechanical release is asking for trouble as who knows when that thing will decide to crap out. When you use a wrist strap, you don't pull with the wrist, you pull with your back and the wrist strap just anchors the release so you don't accidentally send your hand release along with the string. If you post up the specs on the bow we can tell you the correct spine unless you already have that figured out. I shoot mine in the backyard to relax as setting off the 338 might draw unwanted attention Just one word of advice, new shooters like to put as many arrows into the same spot but you will soon learn that this only causes you to lose money so only shoot one or two per spot and spread them out a little and you will get better life out of the arrow and make sure you flex check them after each shot, especially if they contact another arrow. (assuming you are using carbon)

 

[luv2hunt6]

Happy to hear about you getting started in archery. To answer your question about why you were hitting higher shooting fingers vs a release, it all comes down to anchor point. To shoot accurately with either style you have to have a set anchor point and you were probably shooting one finger on top and two below the nock, which would have your arrow in an inclined position when released. If you prefer to shoot fingers it can be done, but a release is much easier to master. I still shoot both ways and it all comes down to personal preference like so much of everything else we do. Happy shooting. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help you. Shoot me a pm

 

[avluey]

Agree with all posted - your anchor point will be significantly different with fingers, wrist, or thumb release. I actually changed the mods on my bow out when I switched from a wrist strap to a thumb release to get my anchor point back to where I was used to (it also nicely gave me a slightly longer draw length). What are/were you using for a nocking point? Am assuming you did not have a D-loop on when shooting fingers, so if you're just clipping into the string rather than a D-loop I would recommend adding a D-loop to make things more consistent. Already mentioned, but when you said you're no Robin Hood - I immediately started thinking about your grouping as well. It's fun to get your first 'robin hood,' it's not fun to get your second...I never shoot the same spot anymore so I'll never get a third. If you plan to hunt one day make damn sure you aren't shooting the same spot with broadheads as you don't even have to be shooting great groups to slice fletchings off/up. I also recommend you invest in a better thumb release. Look around on the classifieds at archerytalk.com and you can probably find a good deal on a used truball or trufire. Some archers change releases like golfers change putters. You'll have an even better chance of finding a good cheap used wrist strap release. I prefer a thumb release too, but a wrist strap shouldn't cause you any pain if you set it to the right tightness and fully grasp the release (finger behind the trigger!).

 

[Woodlanddude]

The statement about pulling with your back is true, if you are having trouble drawing with a wrist strap: 1 you are pulling too much weight on the bow for you(lower the poundage), or 2 you need to practice with it more and hone your draw muscles and technique. With the efficiency of todays compounds there is NO need to prove your manhood with bow pull weight. ANY good brand of bow will have plenty of killing power at 50 or 55 lbs of draw weight. It is like shooting a bow from 15 years ago at 65 or 70lbs due to increases in efficiency(and 50 lb draw bows killed a pile of critters then). Only add more if it still feels good for you.

If you would have problems with carpel tunnel it would be using any other style of release than a strap IMHO. My suggestion if you just don't like a strap(I like Scott brand caliper wrist strap releases), is to look at a quality glove release. Look at Winn "free flight" releases. I have killed more than one or 2 deer with both of the previously mentioned and also faired very well in indoor archery bowhunter class, so they work. Fingers on a compound takes some planning, including a long axle to axle bow, generally using wheels and not cams. Read up on Chuck Adams, he made this choice a niche among bow hunters for quite a while due to his success. He would use an archery glove if I remember correctly, though a tab could work if you are good with one on longbows/recurves already. Personally I tried it once and now would only consider use of the tab for my old Browning Nomad recurve I inherited from my dad.
Note: A compound bow needs to be set for your draw length using the release you plan on using. Different cam "inserts" will change the length. Sometimes small changes can be made by having your archery shop twist the string, but I prefer to have the right cam setup. Going from a nock point to a string loop changes it as well. Loops tend to be the most accurate and forgiving, but take some practice before knocking an arrow quickly for shot becomes fast and natural. Nock points directly on the string add some torque with some release styles and also require reserving or replacing the string every so often if you an avid shooter or practice a lot. (they will last several years still with occasional use, at which point in time most people recommend replacing a string anyway).

Take heart about not shooting the same spot on a target more than once. Once you get decent, or if you have bad luck you will hate yourself every time you robin hood an arrow that cost about 8-11$ If your target only has one bullseye marker or paint on more.

Good luck, archery and bowhunting are much fun for the buck! Practice is paramount though as archery skills must be kept honed much more so than the firearms.