wihunter402

I am thinking about trying a back tension release. I would like to try this during the off season and see how it goes. What would anyone recommend for practice and hunting? I do have a problem with target panic now and I would like to try this and see if it helps with it. Money is an issue but I also am willing to spend a little more if one is really that much better for what I want.

Thanks.

Ossage

Back tension release is mostly a way of shooting a release, not a release itself, though obviously there is a category of triggerless releases that are called BT releases.

The only real requirement for using BT to shoot a release, safely, is to have a release with a hair trigger that takes only a slight tough to fire, and yet is mechanically bombproof, not hanging by a thread. Examples are the scott li'l goose, or standard scott wrist model. Various Stan, Carter, and True fire T-handle releases. I don't know what is still made, but any T-handle Stan should be a lifechanging experience, and cheapish, though unsuited for hunting.

The way it work is you get to full draw, and position your release in such a way that simply pulling back further triggers the release. The best money you can spend is on a video that demonstrates this process, the Robbin Hood video on releases shows a whole slew of different kinds of releases being properly used. Riveting it isn't, but you will know releases when it is over.

Target panic is caused by having several mental processes collide in your head at once. BT releases conbine pulling through the shot with firing the bow. One less cause for TP since the release is "automated". However, you can still juggle something like "aim", "Hold", "Man this bow is heavy", "when is it going to fire?", and have TP all the same. You need to organize your shot process to beat TP. Which is why people sometimes use a BT release, "cure" TP, only to have it return later.

bkalbach

i've always preferred to draw, anchor, settle pins, touch trigger. each one a definite action. the "not quite knowing" when it's going to go off doesnt sit well in my head. if your bow shoulder isnt in the exact same position every time you will get different release points (you might not be anchored). also the reason i dont shoot well with a clicker on a target recurve bow.

Rick James

Actually you don't want a hair trigger on a BT release. Most people inluding Larry Wise will tell you that you should set it so it needs quite a bit of pressure to fire one so that you almost begin to question yourself on (when the hell is this thing going to go off........thwack.....oh, there it is )

I would highly recommend TRU Ball's Sweet Spot if you want to try backtension. It has a safety on it, so you don't have to worry about it going off during the draw while you are still learning. I actually have 3 different releases I shoot backtension with. I have a TRU Ball Sweet Spot Ultra 4, TRU Ball BT Gold Ultra 4, and a TRU Ball Ultra Xtreme thumb trigger. I practice mostly with the 2x hinged releases, and this last season shot competition with the Ultra Xtreme, I also hunt with the Ultra Xtreme. I plan to shoot all competition in the 06' season w/ backtension releases, however will continue to hunt with the Ultra Xtreme, I don't suggest shooting a backtension release while hunting because sometimes timing a shot for a certain split second is very important when in the woods.

Do yourself another favor..........buy Larry Wises book called Core Archery. It is the best read I have found yet on backtension and it is only $12.

gibblet

yep, better yet get yourself to one of larry's core archery classes. he's going to be in my neighborhood again shortly. you can check his website at larrywise.com for info and to get the book. larry is a super guy and if you can get a group together interested in bt he'll come teach. there is a lot more to it than a hair trigger and pulling. in actuality, when executed properly, your release elbow moves perpindicularly to your arrow. i would not suggest to anyone to go buy a bt release and start winging it. larry's book is very good, and a shooting workshop is even better. and larry will tell you, it takes about 10 months to become proficient. he advised me to start with a 3 finger and drop to a 2 finger when i was ready (harder to cheat). i picked up my 2 finger yesterday after 6 months of work. i shoot a bt ultra gold 3, and a bt ultra 2, and for hunting a tru-ball sabretooth. the advise given above by osagge sounds somewhat similar to michael braden's method - except the hair trigger - but it is not back tension.

Ossage

"almost begin to question yourself on (when the hell is this thing going to go off........thwack.....oh, there it is ) "

That is exactly what you don't want or at least anything past the "almost..." part of the above. If you have to think about your release, you just lost about 90% of the reason for a BT release in the first place, and you are grooving the root causes of Target Paninc.

The video I refered to is with Wise and Ulmer, they both prefer the very sensitive Stan releases, that are covered in this video, though they make it abundantly clear you can get the basic result with a ton of different formats. The Stan is hair trigger to the max in the best sense of the expression "hair trigger". There are a lot of more modern releases than the stan. but learning the stan is about the best release training you can imagine. If you have heard better archers refer to objective as a "surprise" release, there is a reson for it. It comes as a surprise. If you aren't holding on to the bow with a wrist strap or finger pressure, your bow will end up on the ground 10 feet in front of you!

I probably shouldn't have used the expression "hair trigger" since, for some, it refers to a trigger that is too light by definition, and often unsafe. But that isn't the only meaning. As I mentioend above, there are bank vault secure releases, that can't missfire, but are a hair's breadth from the tripping point. If you have to go on a five mile walk to find the sear disengaggement, it won't work as a BT release. Crisp like a very fine glass rod breaking.