"relaxing your fingers"

[jayman448]

simply put, i cant do it! "simply relax your fingers/ back of your hand" evades me. pluck every shot and im smacking myself in the nose with the bow string lately. so two questions. how do i "simply relax my hand" and what may be causing me to smoke myself in the face now all of a sudden?

[tallpine]

As far as smacking your nose, you are leaning your head in too much, your shoulders need to be aligned with the target and your head should be aligned with your shoulders.
With good back tension and a relaxed bow hand it is physically impossible to pluck the string. If you will do a Google search for back tension you will find a lot of good articles that will explain it far better than I can.  When I learned proper back tension my accuracy took a huge leap   

[jayman448]

Ok. So here is a side question. Has anyone ever found that maintaining proper form gets in the way while hunting with long self bows? Like while in thicker brush or trying to shoot from kneeling?

[PAHunter]

I hit my nose when leaning my head in (collapsing) to much.  To correct I focus on drawing with perfect erect form and then doing the necessary head adjustment.  That usually quickly fixes it.

As far as plucking goes, luckily I've never had that issue. However the best advice I've heard is:
1) Best option: don't think of the release at all just let it happen (what I generally do)
2) It's like holding a bucket of bricks, just let go
3) think of relaxing the forearm not hand

As for transitioning from "proper" shooting form to hunting form I'm currently working on the same thing.  The way I view it the bow and arrow is a simple thing at some level.  pull it back and it launches an arrow straight every time where it's aimed.  So it's us that muck it up.  As long as I have a good linear (push pull - no torque) draw and the arrow is under my pupil, it will go straight toward the target.  What I generally find is that the more away from an ideal shooting position I am the shorter my draw usually is and less my gap is.  So basically if I"m kneeling or sitting or have a huge cant I get the arrow under my pupil and reduce my gap a bit.  I still let the rest of my body get into proper shooting form as much as the situation allows.

A lot of people will say hunting is different from target shooting and form doesn't apply.  I don't agree at all.  "good" form is all about consistency.  And what is taught as good form will produce the most consistent results.  But you're exactly right that concessions need made to adapt it to hunting situations.  I'm figuring all this out too but that's my 2c. 

[Pat B]

You have to be sure you have plenty of clearance around your bow before shooting. Some bows might not be appropriate for certain hunting situations. A long bow might not be practical in a heavy brush situation unless you can cut away some of the brush for bow clearance.
 I've hunted with bows from 47" to 70", mostly from trees but with the longer bows I made sure there was plenty of clearance anywhere there might be a possible shot.

[hedgeapple]

something that might, also, help with the "plucking" issue is to make sure the back of your hand is straight in line with your arm.  If your wrist is bending/cocking then you're drawing with your wrist.  Drawing the string back using your wrist will make much more difficult to "relax" your finger for the release because you also have tension in your wrist.

[paoliguy]

There was a post recently that talked about focusing on releasing by relaxing just your third finger and the other two will just naturally follow. I can't remember who it was (maybe Crooketarrow). I've been trying it and I think there is some merit to it, you might give it a try and see if it works for you.

[jayman448]

Ill try to align my wrist and try that third finger thing too. I have such a pluck on my third finger that i get string burn and blisters through a shooting glove

[arachnid]

I'm by means an expert but my release improved dramaticly since I started using Jeff Kavanagh's method of having a secondary anchor point. I draw and anchor with my middle finger in the corner of my mouth, and the release by simply pulling my hand back, touching my ear with my index finger. This gives me a clean release without plucking the string and it keeps my draw hand inline with arrow.
Just my 2 cents...

Dor

[Chief RID]

My release has improved recently because it was talked about here to take a deeper hook. I also opened my stance a little. Seems to have opened things up for me. As far as the length of a bow for hunting. I can hit my bottom limb anytime I do not pay attention in hunting situations. Checking the draw is something I do almost without thinking when obstructions are present. Shooting in cramped quarters is good to practice with your hunting bow, just like you do with the clothes you will be wearing.

[ptaylor]

Jayman - I practice 2 ways. I will shoot arrows with a focus on form in an upright, unobstructed place. Then I do some shooting from kneeling, sitting, crouching, heavy brush shots to mimic hunting conditions. As it gets closer to hunting season I mostly only practice the "mock" hunting shooting positions.

OP - Maybe your bow weight is too much? When I get tired, and the draw weight is heavy for my arms, then I occasionally pluck the string. That's after shooting all day usually, like at an organized shoot. Then I know I need to take a break and let my arms relax.

[crooketarrow]

 Plucking the string is easy fix.  When you release,release letting the third figger lose first. The other 2 figgers can't help but to do the same thing. Your release is the same smooth release every time.

 I've used this release for over 20 years. If that third finger down burns your releaseing correctly.
 You can't help up releaseing the same every time.

  HOWARD HILL RELEASED LIKE THIS. If you don't know anout HOWARD HIIL You get a bad release . PROMASS YOU try it. I've killed 40 bucks so far with a self bow releaseing like this on every one.

[jayman448]

 I've used this release for over 20 years. If that third finger down burns your releaseing correctly.
 You can't help up releaseing the same every time.

  HOWARD HILL RELEASED LIKE THIS. If you don't know anout HOWARD HIIL You get a bad release . PROMASS YOU try it. I've killed 40 bucks so far with a self bow releaseing like this on every one.

why should you get string burn on the third finger if the third finger releases first? shouldnt the pointer be more prone to a burn then?