# *Outlawed: Releases & Compounds: Special Report*



## bear-of-grayling (Mar 29, 2008)

The time is August 1971 and you just recieved your new "Bow & Arrow" Archery magazine. You discover after a year of being legal, your new compound bow and release aid had been made illegal earlier that year. This "tripped out" the archery industry and the next year went forward again to become the greatest advancement in Archery for a 1000 years. Dan


----------



## loragon (Aug 1, 2011)

wow, I'd like to see the text of that.


----------



## bear-of-grayling (Mar 29, 2008)

I'll post it. Dan


----------



## Capt'n D (May 15, 2007)

How times have changed!

Darrall Dougherty


----------



## field14 (May 21, 2002)

Was shooting competitively at that time. NFAA had a mass member VOTE...and...the result of that vote was to...LEGALIZE the use of the compound bow AND the release aid! However, it was quite some time in the West before the compounds took hold. MOST of the "new release shooters" shot releases (hooks, ledges, rope spikes) with their RECURVE bows and did quite well. I witnessed Ivan Winder and several others shoot perfect 560 field scores with their releases and recurves (old face and 5-3 scoring), along with perfect animal rounds and multiple indoor 300's. I was the first FINGERS/RECURVE shooter in Wyoming to shoot a perfect 560 on 28 animal targets, and the first WYOMING State Archery Association member shooter to shoot over 500 field with recurve and fingers.
However, in many states and in the NFAA, it took a few years before the top AA "finger/recurve" shooters didn't have to compete directly against the "Hook/compound" shooters! I remember having to try to compete directly against release/compound shooters because my field/hunter scores and my indoor scores were "AA class" level, so...you competed head to head against them. I remember shooting a 548 hunter round with fingers and recurve, only to take 4th place against release/compound shooters that shot 558's and a 560! After that, it wasn't long before I took up and made my self a compound bow and began shooting with a custom home-made rope spike release to match with my home-made compound bow. Can't beat 'em, so you joins 'em.

In Ohio, until mid-year 1975, compounds/releases were NOT legal for shooting their local, regional or State level "Target" competitions. If you shot the FITA style face outdoors in Ohio...you had to shoot fingers and recurve. That changed, I think, around July of 1975, approximately.

field14 (Tom D.)


----------



## bear-of-grayling (Mar 29, 2008)

If you still have that old compound and release I'd love to add it to my collection. Dan


----------



## field14 (May 21, 2002)

Dan Dintaman said:


> If you still have that old compound and release I'd love to add it to my collection. Dan


I still have both of the releases that I made and shot back then. I also have the right handed version of the compound bow that I built for myself. However, I'm not willing to part with any of those items.
I still bring the rope-spike releases to the range once in awhile and challenge people to shoot them. Most always, NOBODY will take that challenge, so I hasta shoot those old rope spikes myself! They work fine off of a d-loop, just have to pull mostly with first finger, just like we to today with the trip gate releases, ha.
The compound? Well, it is 56" ATA, and is a shoot thru bow. Jennings limbs. Peaks at 35#, holds 28# @ 28" AMO. I shot many a 560 field, hunter, and animal score (old NFAA 5-3 scoring) with my left handed model of that bow, as well as many, many 300's on the NFAA blue face. The pictures are above. Ignore the "style" that today wouldn't be remotely acceptable...back then, that was "common form", ha. The bow had a floating grip on it, mounted on a bearing. You couldn't torque that bow if you tried...it was totally free floating. The stablizer was also "free floating" with a torque flight compensator invented and made by Jim Yochum of Sacremento California. It was a pre-cursor to the old Bear Omni-Coupler. The site is a Killian Chek-it that I still have today. NO SCOPES back then, single up pin with a level on it. Peep-site was home-made out of plexiglas. Arrows were aluminum X-7, 1816's.
field14


----------



## ohiobullseye (Feb 6, 2011)

Wow, thanks for the history and how contervercial compound bow was when it first came out. :thumbs_up

Field14, I think that is cool you still have your release's that you made and you still can use them.:thumbs_up


----------



## Unk Bond (Aug 1, 2004)

Hello All
I was one of those lucky guys from Ohio at that time. So was Vick Berger and others, holding on to the deep belief.That the finger tab was the only way to compete. 

Now some of are club members,in same time frame. Took a hunting trip to Parker Dam Clearfield county PA. Just a outstanding area to hunt, with nice cabins. Still can smell the wood smoke. And that there skunk walking beside me at night, to my cabin..
One of are party had a Jennings compound bow, and took a doe deer.Then all XXXX broke loose. Not for taking the doe deer. But having that compound bow in are group.That game warden came down on all of us. 
Even tho we had recurve bows. He was XXXX bent, to running us all out of his county. The compound archer agreed to leave. And the recurve archers got to stay the rest of the week. [ Later


----------



## bear-of-grayling (Mar 29, 2008)

That is a great bow! I also am a lefty. If you ever want to part with it please let me know. Dan ps great story about the hunt.


----------



## DonJohnson (Oct 13, 2011)

I built my first mechanical releases when that came out. I shot all the ledges and rope spikes and even made double rope releases. They were great and easy to use. I will try to get pictures as I just got all those old releases out the other day. BTW I have had many busted lips from learning to use a ledge. I was always the first one in the club to try something.

Don Johnson


----------

