Nothing beats being familiar with ones equiptment,last year I noticed some cracks in my limbs acouple of weeks before the wisco opener. Had to rent a bow since PSE wouldn't be able to replace the limbs in time for the season. Practiced hard, killed the buck you see in the picture. Practice ,practice ,practice. I shoot in my back yard and try to throw 30 arrows 5-6 times a week. As far as drawing your bow without an arrow nocked,an accidental release could be disastrous for the bow. You could get the item I saw at the pro shop. When they test the draw length they have an item that doubles as the release but only has a hook with no trigger no way to release it. I'm sure your pro shop can get you one