Breaking in shooting tabs

[bisblue]

Hey folks,
Apologies for posting so much lately but this traditional archery forum seems the best mix of knowledgeable people and not so overwhelming with people fighting that you can't make sense if anything that gets posted.

I have a black widow three under calf hair tab, that is the only tab I've really shot. It's super soft and I've blown all the calf hair off of it a long time ago.

I bought a Bateman Cordova three under back up tab, but when I try to shoot the Cordova tab, it feels like it holds the string off my face a bit, so I always shoot to the side.

How long do tabs take to break in? I noticed black widow also sells a Cordova tab that looks like the calf hair tab I like, maybe I should try one if those. Not sure if the black widow Cordova tab would be softer...

 

[Rob5589]

I'm new to single string so take that into account. I think I had the same issue and figured out I needed to trim the tab so that it just covers the tips of my fingers.

 

[Shawn Hultquist]

All I have ever used is the bateman tab I buy a large tab and shoot them a hundred times or so and they are good. the ticker the better.

 

[oldgoat]

All I have ever used is the bateman tab I buy a large tab and shoot them a hundred times or so and they are good. the ticker the better.

This^^^
Will add you probably need the next size down from what you think you need!

 

[Wrench]

I run the safari tuff. They take a few days of 50-100 arrows to get there and then stay there till you lose them. I have 2 of them and haven't needed another in the last 3 years.

 

[Shawn Hultquist]

This^^^
Will add you probably need the next size down from what you think you need!

And I’ll add that I buy them 3 at a time. I also go through the whole pile and buy the thickest ones. They last forever or until you loose one.


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[oldgoat]

And I’ll add that I buy them 3 at a time. I also go through the whole pile and buy the thickest ones. They last forever or until you loose one.


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I think we might functionally tab twins!

 

[Insomnia]

Cordovan takes a couple hundred arrows at least to break in for me. That's why I try to have two broken in tabs at all times, because a backup tab isn't really worth much if it's not ready to go.

 

[nevadabugle]

Trim it. Scissors are your friend.

 

[bisblue]

Update trimmed the tab and still have a similar sensation of the tab pushing against my face. I'll try trimming again.

Also I get the string hitting my lip using the new stiffer tab (developing a micro fat lip). I'm anchoring with my middle finger behind my K9 tooth.

 

[Rob5589]

I ripped a chunk from my bottom lip, and it freakin hurt like a mother. For me it's all about head position, not over drawing, and pulling through the shot so my hand ends up at my shoulder.

 

[Newtosavage]

BW calf hair is the only tab I've had any real luck with. That's why I shoot with a glove. I like my lips and nose to not bleed when I shoot a lot.

 

[bisblue]

BW calf hair is the only tab I've had any real luck with. That's why I shoot with a glove. I like my lips and nose to not bleed when I shoot a lot.

My current tab is a black widow calf hair with no hair left.... It's pretty dang soft.

There is a part of me that wants to order another and just use what I like, but I assume I should figure out what is wrong with my form with the other tab.

 

[Newtosavage]

My current tab is a black widow calf hair with no hair left.... It's pretty dang soft.

There is a part of me that wants to order another and just use what I like, but I assume I should figure out what is wrong with my form with the other tab.

It's not your form. Stiffer cordovan tabs all do that. It's the reason you see the barebow target archers with tape on their nose and sometimes bloody lips too. Life is too short for that nonsense IMO. I use a Buffalo hide glove with nylon tips and it's been bulletproof. Doesn't wreck my face either. Only tab that comes close is the one you're using. I've used that one too and it's at least tolerable.

 

[bisblue]

Well tried a few, cut one way down then ordered another black widow three under calf hair tab in the same size, it shot great right out of the package....

 

[Kevin Dill]

Well tried a few, cut one way down then ordered another black widow three under calf hair tab in the same size, it shot great right out of the package....

As I was reading this I was thinking "this sounds like me". I've tried a number of tabs and gloves over many years. I've burned through several hundred dollars doing so, and I don't regret it. I've confirmed my personal all-time best hunting tab to be the calf-hair Black Widow 3-under. I always keep 3 or 4 new ones around, in the package and not broken in. I find this tab to be almost perfect right from the first shot...I literally have no issues grabbing a new tab and heading to the woods.

I consider my shooting tabs to be short-term....use-and-replace items. I'm not going to shoot one until it dies. When the hair is 60% gone and the tab looks used I'm likely to toss it aside. I order them 3 at a time, or I add a couple to an order for something else. I will add that shooting higher poundage bows and skinny strings is definitely harder on tabs...a lot harder. When I'm pulling 60+ pounds on a skinny string, it doesn't take long for a BW tab to show wear. I probably go through 3 or 4 tabs in a year and I consider that inconsequential in terms of cost.

 

[bisblue]

As I was reading this I was thinking "this sounds like me". I've tried a number of tabs and gloves over many years. I've burned through several hundred dollars doing so, and I don't regret it. I've confirmed my personal all-time best hunting tab to be the calf-hair Black Widow 3-under. I always keep 3 or 4 new ones around, in the package and not broken in. I find this tab to be almost perfect right from the first shot...I literally have no issues grabbing a new tab and heading to the woods.

Makes sense

 

[Fling-One]

As I was reading this I was thinking "this sounds like me". I've tried a number of tabs and gloves over many years. I've burned through several hundred dollars doing so, and I don't regret it. I've confirmed my personal all-time best hunting tab to be the calf-hair Black Widow 3-under. I always keep 3 or 4 new ones around, in the package and not broken in. I find this tab to be almost perfect right from the first shot...I literally have no issues grabbing a new tab and heading to the woods.

I consider my shooting tabs to be short-term....use-and-replace items. I'm not going to shoot one until it dies. When the hair is 60% gone and the tab looks used I'm likely to toss it aside. I order them 3 at a time, or I add a couple to an order for something else. I will add that shooting higher poundage bows and skinny strings is definitely harder on tabs...a lot harder. When I'm pulling 60+ pounds on a skinny string, it doesn't take long for a BW tab to show wear. I probably go through 3 or 4 tabs in a year and I consider that inconsequential in terms of cost.

100% my experiences as well. I shoot the bw cordovan, and have not had to break them in if I trim them properly. The padding runs out in them after about a month of shooting, then I replace them.

 

[qwerksc]

I shoot a black widow three under tab, I also cut the rubber out of the middle. I have a Bateman and I can’t get used to it, I shot hundreds of arrows with it and put it away, just a different feel than the black widow.

 

[butcherboy]

I use a shatterproof archery 3 under. Trim it to fit my fingers before I even start to shoot with it.