From trigger-style to hand-held release

[BigPaGuy]

If you have made the switch from trigger-style release to a hand-held release, what was the main thing that helped you make the change? What influenced the style of hand-held that you went to? How long did it take before you felt comfortable and settled with the hand-held?

 

[Wilderlife]

It depends what you're trying to solve or fix.

I used to shoot a wrist rocket at first because it's just what came with a bow I bought. After I took a big break from compound archery and came back it was obvious I had target panic, but maybe a more accurate way to say it was just that I never got taught to fire the release properly. Very light, shot anticipation, etc.

My main motivation to go to handheld releases was because I wanted something that wasn't stuck to my wrist so it wouldn't get in the way while out hunting, but also felt comfoertable to use. My original wrist rockets weren't particularly comfortable.

I've shot a few buttons but don't own them anymore. I own a couple of resistance releases that I shoot well and enjoy from time to time. For the most part however I'm a hinge man and have gone through quite a few over the last 18 months or so.

If you're deep down the TP hole, a new release might help it a little bit but it'll end up getting bad again. The problem is most likely with your mental game than a particular release style, however, different styles of release may help someone get on top of their mental game.

 

[Zac]

Losing the hand held, or not having a great place to carry it. I think for hunting it makes no difference.

 

[jstanton007]

I've been considering the same thing. I haven't gone down the rabbit hole too far yet to even understand the differences between types of handheld (thumb, hinge, etc.) I have shot Scott releases for almost 20 years now. My current, and has been for a while, is the Scott Little Goose. I can sometimes rush the shot, and I know I do, so I have been wondering if a hinge or thumb might help with that.

 

[Cameron.25]

I developed target panic so I decided to kind of reset a few years ago. I switched to a thumb release with a matching back tension that I used first before switching to the thumb button permanently. It helped me but I was shooting slightly worse for a couple months than I did with the index prior to developing the target panic. I have wrist lanyards on my thumb buttons and keep a backup in the pack when hunting. I did drop one once in the field and had to use my back up for a stalk, but luckily was able to backtrack and find the one i dropped later.

Unless you're having an issue I dont see a good reason to switch from an index tho

 

[ZDR]

I made this change a few years ago and used YouTube videos primarily to learn to shoot a thumb correctly. Mainly George Ryals and John Dudley. Both helped me build a good foundation. I realize Utube influencers are not a popular answer, but both of the above helped me tremendously.
I prefer Carter thumbs, but also have a TRUBall goat that works really well.

 

[Wilderlife]

It's worth making the point again that a new release won't necessarily solve problems. A button, hinge, or tension release, provide options with how to fire, but if you are deep down the target panic road, you need to make commitments mentally to shoot any release you have with proper technique. Some just make it harder than others, like a hinge or tension release. It's easy to get punchy with a thumb button.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I wanted to use a handheld release so I could clip it to my d loop when hunting out of a treestand. I couldn’t get the control shot like I could with my wrist strap. The handheld caused me to punch the trigger more and was nowhere near as accurate with it as I am with my wrist strap release. I went back to my wrist strap release and haven’t looked back.

 

[JK47]

I thought about trying a thumb release, but I have an anchor that I don’t think would allow me to. The first knuckle of my index finger has a home under my earlobe. So I just opted to get a good index release(Spot Hogg Wiseguy) as an upgrade to my cheap ones. I like it. But, I have some buddies that shoot handhelds and will probably borrow theirs to try out and see if I actually can shoot them better or not.

 

[Muddler]

I felt like I was getting too punchy with my wrist strap trigger and was looking for better groups.

Started with an SX3 thumb and now have a resistance and hinge. Maybe took a couple of weeks to get used to it. I mainly shoot the resistance and use the thumb once in a while to stay sharp with it; both go in my hunting pack. The hinge is a relatively new addition..still getting used to it.

For me personally, I'll never go back to a trigger.

 

[silasbowhunter]

The main thing I wanted to change was to get back to a surprise release.

I went to a hinge release with a click. Then to a Scott release where I can set the click as close or far to the shot as I want and then I bought a thumb release that matches up my anchor and POI very close. Also never punched myself in the face although I was nervous

I was about 40 shots in before it became second nature. I’m around 700shots now am pretty much to the point where I don’t have bad shots, just shots that broke when I wasn’t aimed in the center of the dot with my float if that makes sense.


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