Release the Right Way

At least 75 percent of all bowhunters now use a release aid for hunting, and the number is climbing each year. The majority use index-triggered releases.

Most hunters take a release out of the package, attach it to their wrist, and as long as they can reach the trigger with a fingertip they start shooting. Without realizing it, they've just taken the first step toward forming a bad habit that they will fight for a lifetime.

Bows are like rifles in that they are meant to be shot without anticipation. The moment of firing should be a complete surprise, which means you are much less likely to ruin the shot by pulling or jerking the bow.

The act of trying to consciously time the trigger pull eventually results in a condition called "target panic." Some hunters may be able to get away with this while they are young and have rock-steady nerves, but as age creeps up it becomes increasingly difficult.

You will always fight your nerves while aiming, and that's not a fun or effective way to shoot a bow. If you are serious about improving as a bowhunter, use this off-season to learn the correct way to trigger a hunting release aid.

By fine tuning the distance from the wrist strap to the trigger, you can improve your ability to make a good shot. It may seem to make sense to use the most sensitive part of your finger to pull the trigger, but the opposite is true. By desensitizing the trigger pull, you are better able to execute the kind of smooth surprise release that will keep target panic from ruining your shooting.

It is easy to feel a trigger move--and anticipate its break point--when you pull it with your fingertip, but it's hard to feel it move when the trigger makes contact farther down at the second articulation of the finger. This area is also much less mobile, which means that once you start squeezing the trigger you won't back off on it but will achieve the kind of consistent pull that produces a surprise release. You can do this by simply shortening your release aid and extending your finger a little farther forward when reaching for the trigger.

Most release aids are adjustable for length. Some have a cord while others have a threaded stem covered by a rubber tube. Some models have a screw or bolt that can be removed to change length. Shorten the release until the trigger falls right across the second articulation of your index finger when you hold the bow at full draw. This will feel uncomfortable at first, but it is correct and will soon begin to feel normal.

Instead of pulling the trigger on command, learn to make the bow fire by simply pulling through the shot while using your back muscles. Here's how it works: Reach forward and hook your finger around the trigger solidly, then squeeze your shoulder blades toward each other by tightening the muscles across the upper part of your back.

I try to feel like I am holding my left (bow arm) shoulder blade steady while trying to move the right one toward it. This causes your release arm shoulder to move enough to move the trigger the small amount needed to fire the shot.

Shortening your release and using a new style of pulling the trigger will virtually assure the kind of surprise release that defeats target panic and helps lead to a lifetime of accurate shooting.