finger or release aid

[iancoombe]

hi people
I just bought a pse typhoon just to try a short bow for a while. It feels good to draw with fingers but I can not get it tuned right. usually I shoot three fingers under but i am trying two under one over. any advice would be appreciated cheers Ian

[crazimofo]

it took me a long time to convert to a release aid,wish i had of done it sooner,i'll never use fingers agsin,unless i go trad....greg

[iancoombe]

thanks greg i like to shoot bare bow did you try that

[Wareagle]

Try two fingers, both under.

[Blakey_boi]

when i shot fingers i would draw with two under and one over and then when ready to shoot i would take the botom one out and end up releasing with one above and one below... I had no problems with it.

[crazimofo]

yeah i was just to inconsistent,shot good some days,now i've got all the bells and whistles,i'm on the money all the time now...greg

[RazorX]

RELEASE AID

Short bows aren't designed to be finger shot. You will get too much string pinch.

[grimmobow]

I started with fingers 3 below and was a bit inconsitant but now have gone to release aid and am not lookng back Ive found it to be a cleaner release wish id done it earlyer

[Blakey_boi]

yeah go for the reliese... it's just common sence that they will shoot better than fingers in neally all cases. When i switched my grouping was instently halved

[Bowpig]

used to shoot 3 fingers below, now have had a release aid for the past month and would never go back!
simple easy to use and a lot tighter grouping, give it a go!

bowpig;)

[Puk]

I am going back to the dark side on this one fellas. With a compound, yes, i agree, and shoot with the release, although there are some who like the "feel" of shooting fingers, and do it very succesfully. Scott Goodwin on admin is one of them, and does it work? Well, i was priveleged enough to be there when he shot his 100th pig with the bow, so it must work alright!

What i am enjoying about shooting fingers now that i have got my recurve is that it is a lot quieter than the release aid at that crucial moment, and helps to lessen the "jumping the string" that you get on everything from rabbits to Chital.

All that said, i need a LONG bow so as not to get finger pinch, and i shoot three fingers under.

Puk

[iancoombe]

seems to be a consenis here, hard to argue for fingers
thanks people

[Grunter]

As for shooting with fingers, i shoot & have seen a bloke namely "Barebow" shoot fingers & has got as good of groups as to anyone i have seen with release aid. I shoot my recurve with two below & one above. I have experimented with putting on a "D" loop onto the cuver to see what the groups would come out like just for experimental value. well the result for myself was no reall change, terrible on all acounts with the curve:P I think it does come down to personal preference all the same & what works best for yourself. I do agree that a short axle to axle bow has a lot more finger pinch & is lot easier when using a release aid that is for sure. Just my views.

[Wareagle]

Bare bow and fingers go hand in hand, I have seen some top 3D shooters use two and even one , all under.

[iancoombe]

I have tried the release aid and the arrows fly well but I broke three arrows on rocks by missing my target butt @ 10m. something about old dogs comes to mind.
cheers Ian

[Kimall]

Not sure if it is an "Old Dog" thing Ian prob just a training thing.With fingers people find it fairly natural to shoot even without be trained how to do it but this I have found is not normally the case with a release aid.If the basics are explained first up I have never seen anyone that within half an hour can not shoot half the size groups with release aid if not better.The other thing is a bad day with a release aid your groups are mabey double the normal size and a bad day shooting fingers you can miss the butt alltogether.When I shot a lot at the club I found the majority of the guys that bagged release aids had never even tried them.If you are hunting only and shoot at 20-30 yards then mabey not a huge advantage but when shooting 40-50-60 then release will win hands down.I know there ARE some that can shoot as well with fingers but I have never seen one yet.There is a reason they shoot them in a differant class because for normal people release aids are more accurate.JMHO....
Cheers KIM

[iancoombe]

I think my problem is that with the release aid I have lost my anchor point
I may just have to retrain . I really dont want load my bow up with dohickys,
I will try another hundred shots today
cheers Ian

[Kimall]

Thats prob the most common prob with r/a,that and punching the trigger instead of sqeezing the trigger.If you can mabey get more than one anchor point like mabey the string on the end of your nose or similiar.Try to get a knuckle locked in behind your jaw bone and you will get a nice stab anchor.This may or may not work for you as we all hold a bow diff and have diff shaped heads and bodies but try to get some thing that suit you and you can do the same each time and then practice that until it becomes second nature.Dont be afraid to change settings on your bow to get to that point also.I have seen guys with bows set up in a way that made it hard for them and when a small change was pointed out that would make it heaps easier they would say"but I have just got the sites set and that will mess that up".
I would work on getting a good consistant anchor without the sites on and put the peep where it works with your anchor and then put the sites on and set them up as the last thing otherwise you may tend to move your anchor around to get the right sight picture and will make it mauch harder for you.
When you said you did not want to load your bow so do you not shoot sights?If you are not shooting sights then disregard all I said about sights.LOL.
Cheers KIM

[Wareagle]

If your not using sights and peep with the release aid, I can well imagine you missing the target.

[Bowpig]

Ian, I only recently started shooting sights, peep and a release aid. It was all daunting for the first half hour having no one to show me what to do and I was going off the internet and what I had read from places like this forum (cheers blokes).

To tell you the truth, by the second day everything was sighted in and my groupings began to be my best ever. I don't shoot at a target butt every day and I have found now it is sighted in, I know my arrow will go where I want it to if I'm in the ranges I am confident with.

Try a release with your compound, I really think you wont look back.
I know I wont ! :)

bowpig

[Rock Steady]

I think my problem is that with the release aid I have lost my anchor point
I may just have to retrain . I really dont want load my bow up with dohickys,
I will try another hundred shots today
cheers Ian

Need more info iancoombe, Do you have sights, peep and what poundage?

[iancoombe]

no peep ,no sights ,no stabilizer ,bow set at 64lb @29.5ins 80% let off short valley cheers Ian

[Rock Steady]

no peep ,no sights ,no stabilizer ,bow set at 64lb @29.5ins 80% let off short valley

Ian

Any reason you do not want sights etc, a release aid really works well with a peep and sights, if you plan to shoot bare bow then IMO you are better off with fingers and no release aid, it can be very hard to find a consistent solid anchor with a RA if you have no other reference points. A rule of thumb for finger shooters with Compound bows is a long axle to axle, the new ultra short bow are very hard to tune for fingers IMO.

Just so you know I spent several years shooting that same style with an PSE Jet Flight back in the early 90's but over the years I have ended up with all the Bells and whistles, sights, peep and release aid. I found the newer compound bows are designed with sights, peep and release aid in mind. I would rather use a good recurve to shoot barebow and use the bells and whistles on the compound.

Anyway, good luck and let us know which way you decide to go.:)

[Paliadon]

I have to agree with you rock. I used to shoot bare bow for a couple of years, but wasn't getting very far in regard to consistent accuracy. The bow then went in the cupboard and there it stayed for a couple of years until I moved to Cairns and bought a release aid and acquired a sight and purchased a peep. Accuracy has improved, strength and consistency has also improved.

As they say, fingers change... A release aid pretty much stays exactly the same shot after shot after shot after shot...

[spiderbait24]

i used to shoot 3 fingers under and was a god shot with it, but when i got a release the arrow seemed to move alot faster, i belive it is because there is less friction on the string, using a short bow with fingers is not what i would sugest, the amount of presure on your fingers would be too much i think and you wouldnt get the results you wont if it is uncomfortable for you, some people say it takes to long to get the release aid on the string, but i find it to be very easy, it comes down to what feels good for you.

maybe try release and se which you prefer, but in my view release aids are more consistant.