Release to fingers

[lamudslinger76]

I have always shot with a release, but I would like to try shooting fingers. Whats the best way to go about this? What can I do to not form bad habits? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[snowman69]

well the first thing is you will have to adjust your center shot more than likely your nock point and ,more than likely your rest, I use a wb and shoot fingers and it actually works great I have no arrow flight problems and good broadhead flight. Eastons tuning guide is a good help for the technical side, form is basically the same except the release which is a lot more critical now.


You must refuse to hold the string. You must be able to fully relax your hand to do this as you continue to apply back tension. Once you do this, the string will suddenly slip through your fingers without your knowing it's going to happen. Never try to fling your fingers open.


Begin by hooking deep on the string with your fingers, making sure that the back of your hand is as flat as possible. Don't try to hold the string with the end of your fingers thinking that it will slide off better that way. It won't. You can't physically relax the muscles in your hand when it's `cupped.'

Pull through the shot with your back and elbow as you aim and begin to relax the back of your hand. Within about four seconds from the time you begin to relax, your fingers should suddenly refuse to hold the string any more. The string will fly out from under your fingers without your having to consciously open them.

If you can't get the feel of relaxing the back of your hand. Try practicing by letting go of a full can of paint (lid closed, please!). Once you've done this for a while, try it on your bow string. Just pull back about an inch and let your hand relax. When your hand is flying backward and inward from the bow you've got it made. Check out the attachment.

[Sniper151]

You will need to change your rest to from a launcher style to a magnetic or spring loaded model. A good cushion plunger will also help to fine tune a fingers setup.

[Bulzeye]

What kind of bow do you have now?
You can shoot fingers with anything, but your fingers get pinched between the arrow and string when you use a short ATA bow. Mine is 36", and I have some pinch. Some fingers guys like ATA more then 40".

The longer ATA bows will also be, by nature, more forgiving, and I think they may be less prone to torque probs.

One nice thing about fingers for hunting is that as long as you have your bow in your hand and your shooting glove on, you can shoot in mere seconds, without having to first link up your release to the string.

[Arthur P]

You can even forget the glove and still go hunting, especially with a compound. You're not going to shoot enough arrows in a day of hunting to wear out your fingers, even with a 60 pound stickbow (unless you're hunting rabbits during a population explosion!). But releasing from a holding weight of 20 pounds or less with a compound? Piece of cake. I know some guys who prefer to shoot bare fingers because they've got so much better feel and control of the string. But that's beside the point.

To add to what snowman said... The deep hook he mentions is having the string in the creases below your fingertips. Also, I have to reinforce his comments about relaxing the hand. It is very important. The main thing to remember about shooting fingers is the release is a non event. You do not 'release' the string. In fact,you do not do anything at all! Think about it. You're already doing something, holding the string back. To release, you simply allow your fingertips to relax and let the bow take the string away from you.

I've heard several people say they shoot fingers with whisker bisquits and do okay. I'm not going to dispute them, because I've never tried it and I've never actually seen anybody doing it. On the other hand, I've also heard several people say they shoot well with fingers using launcher rests. I've actually gotten to shoot with a couple of guys like that and, I tell you for certain, they've not impressed me with their skill at all. I've outshot all of them on the target course... and that's even with me shooting barebow and them using sights. Get a good flipper rest/cushion plunger combo from Golden Key Futura or Cavalier.

As for tuning, I hate paper tuning in the worst way, but that goes doubly when tuning a bow for shooting fingers. Don't waste your time with it. Bareshafting is a far better choice for a fingers shooter, IMO. I hope you've downloaded the tuning guide at eastonarchery.com because the bareshaft part of it is all you need to know.

It might sound complicated, but it's really not. After all, people have been shooting bows with their fingers since the early Stone Age, at least. It's just something that takes a bit of time and patience to develop the feel for. You might even be one of those who can shoot better with fingers than they can with a release. You'll never know until you give it an honest try.

[sho-me_bhntr]

Having went through this very process last season, I can attest that bare shaft tuning is the way to go. The flipper rest w/ cushion plunger is certainly the "standard" (tried and true) rest when shooting fingers. I personally shoot a WB as do several of my hunting partners with no problems. At first I was a little skeptical that the WB would work with fingers, but after seeing a few friends shooting tight groups with fixed bladed heads out to 40 yds, it convinced me real quick! I made the switch and haven't looked back. I'm loving it!

Don't get discouraged when you first start shooting large groups with fingers. It does take a while to master the technique of releasing the string and getting a consistently smooth release. At least it did for me. I would suggest using either a glove or tab when you first start. It does aid in a slick release. Just my $.02.