# Teenage Archery Flicking / Snapping @ Trigger



## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

It's difficult to improve your shooting or get over bad habits when there is a target to shoot at. This is the principle behind shooting the blank bale. Taking the target away and getting very close to the bale, allows the archer to focus on the specific part of their form that needs work.

In this case, your niece should shoot blank bale until she executes a surprise release on the subconscious level. However, it's difficult to get young archers to spend enough time on the bale or to follow it up with a disciplined bridge. Actually, it's difficult to get archers of any age to stick to the bale & bridge training. It can be boring. If you can't get her to shoot the bale, you might try large targets at close range. It's not as effective as blank bale, but it can help.

Good luck,
Allen


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## LittleCizur (Jun 25, 2012)

Luckily for us, my parents (her grandparents) own a farm and have large round bales we can shoot without a long walk. Sounds great. Thank you for the information.


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## [email protected] (Aug 3, 2010)

When she committs and starts her motor tell her to follow through to conclusion which when established will keep her mind on target not the squeeze as you are telling her.Do not keep telling her to slowly squeeze that is bad advice.A slow squeeze 1st becomes a controlled punch, and then a full on flinch which is where shes at right now.Follow Allens advice and ingrain the release into the subconscious no targets and then the Bridge work.She has some work to do but you can help her build a solid shot sequence.Good Luck


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## Rugby (Feb 13, 2003)

Does anyone know why she might be snapping at the trigger?


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## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

:shade: yes.... shes is doing a drive by...shes saying to herself ... im on .. im off .. im on ....IM OFF....  IM BANG then she punches it...shes trying to time her shots .. ITS A FORM OF TARGET PANIC.... she dont trust her release.... get her over this as fast as you can... or it will get real real bad..... shorten the release aid so its not on the tip of the finger... get the trigger ON the second joint... not a hair trigger but crisp.make sure the release aid trigger is opening as soon as the trigger moves NO slop... make her lay the finger on it as soon as she hits her anchor. but forbid her to move it.. make her tighten up the back just a little to set it off.. its like someones is pulling on her elbow.. while shes is squeezing her shoulders in her back together...... no movement of the finger.... get her on the bail to start this right away....and keep her there till she does it right..MAKE SURE the release aid fits and works right.. if not get one that will.


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## Ray Ray (Aug 1, 2005)

mike 66 said:


> :shade: yes.... shes is doing a drive by...shes saying to herself ... im on .. im off .. im on ....IM OFF.... IM BANG then she punches it...shes trying to time her shots .. ITS A FORM OF TARGET PANIC.... she dont trust her release.... get her over this as fast as you can... or it will get real real bad..... shorten the release aid so its not on the tip of the finger... get the trigger ON the second joint... not a hair trigger but crisp.make sure the release aid trigger is opening as soon as the trigger moves NO slop... make her lay the finger on it as soon as she hits her anchor. but forbid her to move it.. make her tighten up the back just a little to set it off.. its like someones is pulling on her elbow.. while shes is squeezing her shoulders in her back together...... no movement of the finger.... get her on the bail to start this right away....and keep her there till she does it right..MAKE SURE the release aid fits and works right.. if not get one that will.


This! ^ She needs to have her DL correct also for this to work. She needs to learn BT befor she goes into full blown TP.


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## Moebow (Jul 8, 2010)

ALL trigger style release shooters READ AND RE_READ Mike's advice above!!!!!!!!!!! When your mind recognizes that you are on target, there is NO way you can trigger the release fast enough to still be on target when it actuates (don't care how fast you think you are). Larry Wise gave me advice once that has stuck with me, "The finger tip is connected to your brain and the second joint of your finger is connected to your back." Get that release shortened up so it will lay in the second joint of your finger then just increase back pressure until it goes off. You can NEVER think, "I'm on! Shoot now!" 

This approach has helped EVERY trigger release shooter I've worked with (including thumb releases)!

Arne


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## Rugby (Feb 13, 2003)

Would a fix for this, using the pin as the trigger to release, be to let the subconscious look after the sight picture and the conscious get involved with shooting the bow?


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## Moebow (Jul 8, 2010)

Rugby, Lots of theories on this but in my book, YES! Look at the target, let the pin float on the target but run the shot sequence with your mind. The shot goes off as you execute your form NOT when you think, "I'm on target."

Arne


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## Rugby (Feb 13, 2003)

I agree Moebow. The sight pin should not be used as a trigger. 

I was wondering if by shifting the conscious mind away from the sight picture and involve it in shooting the bow would eliminate the need for what many say is months of blank bale shooting?


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## LittleCizur (Jun 25, 2012)

I'm struggling with the whole idea behind back tension on a wrist release. I myself use an Insatiable 3 and Black hole releases, both of which require back tension to shoot correctly, so I am familiar with the practice. But, in my mind - back tension will move the wrist, hand and fingers at the same rate - and since the release is literally connected to these parts of the body, it moves along with them. In order for a typical trigger style wrist release to fire, you need to move the finger at a different rate than the wrist, therefore standard back tension is not enough. You still need to squeeze the trigger at some point through the back tension pull.

I can have her rest her finger on the trigger and then squeeze her back, but at this point, all she is doing is stretching back the string and not providing any additional tension to the trigger itself, as it's moving along with her wrist, her hand and the release.

This is going to be something that could help her out tremendously - I just need to figure out how a trigger release works with back tension. As of right now, there is no back tension being used to fire the release, only to hold back at her anchor position.


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## [email protected] (Aug 3, 2010)

Do not use the sight pin as a reason to commit.You are reinforcing her mind to do a drive by when pin is on target.Pin on target is calibration just a step in your sequence not a reason to commit.Your putting the cart in front of the horse. Get her on the bail with no sights and me personally i would get a hinge, resistance release,or a carter index set very heavy.You are going to need to set up completely new shot sequence built from ground up.To put a band aid on this and keep shooting targets is gonna make it worse.Try to keep it fun short small bale sessions with lots of encouragement.


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## LittleCizur (Jun 25, 2012)

I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that I am reinforcing a 'drive by' shot. That is what I am trying to avoid. I would love to get her into a Carter hinge style release, but those are neither necessary for a 13 year old (or target shooting in general), nor are they reasonable for a 13 year old on an extremely limited budget. The thought that a hinge release is a MUST in order to shoot correctly is ludicrous.


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## LittleCizur (Jun 25, 2012)

Thanks for the help everyone.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

A wrist trigger style release can be shot with back tension. Bernie describes one method in his book. Like Moebow posted, make sure it's short enough so she can curl her index finger and set up with the trigger in the second joint. The finger doesn't move, but use the back to pull and relax the hand a little so the release slides down and lets the trigger move into the finger. The sliding is only a small amount, maybe 1/8" or so, but the key is that the finger doesn't move.

A hinge release is not necessary to shoot well. Dietmar Trillus, Michael Braden and many others proved that. It helps, but is certainly not necessary. A few things that IMO are necessary: blank bale & bridge, a written shot sequence, good coaching, (fortunately she is getting from you), a bow that fits and the most important thing, keep it fun.

One thing that I've seen several times is that when a wrist release archer tries a hinge release, they also get better with their wrist release. It doesn't seem to matter if they stick with the hinge long term, but if they spend time with one, they become better archers.

Good luck,
Allen


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## [email protected] (Aug 3, 2010)

You asked if you should use the pin to trigger her release.That concept will make her keep shooting drive byes.Pin on target is just that it has nothing to do with committing to the shot.Thats why I said that.Now I also didn't say she needed a hinge but I do think if its a trigger release you should get a quality one that can be set heavy enough with no creep. I apologize my error is what not you who suggested using the pin.


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## LittleCizur (Jun 25, 2012)

Aread: Thanks for the input. I'm sure now that her release is too long. She was told by a local pro shop to position the trigger at the tip of her finger, which I disagreed with, but figured they knew better than I, as I've never used a wrist release. I also believe that she is strapping her release too tight to her arm, which is preventing any type of movement in her hand / wrist, even when applying extra tension. I'll loosen it up a bit, pull the trigger back further into her palm and get her in front of a hay bale right away.

[email protected]: I'm not sure were I said "use the pin to trigger her release". I would NEVER make an archer determine trigger pull based on the pin alone. If one of my comments came off reading that way, I apologize. It was not my intention. My idea is to have her hover the best she possibly can upon the target, then apply back tension to release the arrow - but slowly without any twitching, tugging and/or jerking. Smooth and steady.

As was said above, she is suffering from a form of target panic, and my best bet at this point is to completely remove the target altogether and just focus on back tension and proper finger placement on the trigger and retaining a consistent anchor position.


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## GWFH (Jan 22, 2006)

LittleCizur said:


> I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that I am reinforcing a 'drive by' shot. That is what I am trying to avoid. I would love to get her into a Carter hinge style release, but those are neither necessary for a 13 year old (or target shooting in general), nor are they reasonable for a 13 year old on an extremely limited budget. The thought that a hinge release is a MUST in order to shoot correctly is ludicrous.


Fwiw, a longhorn just went for $30 on classifieds......there was a zenith about the same price.
not arguing your position, just letting you know that you can find these proven tools at a very reasonable price
A hinge alone will not fix the problem but it will force you to fix all the things that are not allowing her to trust the bow


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## wacker stacker (Feb 2, 2006)

I introduced my 9 year old nephew to shooting last week with an Atomic I picked up out of the classifieds here and he does the same thing. Out of control punching and creeping up as he does it. No matter what he can't control it. It drives me crazy and frustrates me!


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## oldschoolcj5 (Jun 8, 2009)

good info here ... for all ages!


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## lv2bohunt (Jun 1, 2012)

I coach a team of youth. There are 25 of them on our team and range in age from 11 to 18 years old. Every one of them go through the very same thing(punch the trigger) at one point or another. Something that has worked for me is to have them draw to anchor then actually talk them through a release. I have found that telling them to squeeze just doesn't work I have to talk them step by step. Their teenage brains are wired in such a way that they need instant gratification and punching the trigger is what they do when they get the pin "on target". To them the aiming sequence is simply holding the pin steady on a target. They need you right behind them telling them each step right through the trigger going off. Teens have a hard time going through all the steps of a well executed shot. They just want to hit the bullseye and they usually focus way too much on the target, trigger control is secondary to their brain.


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