# Review of the KIS shot trainer



## Ryp (Mar 28, 2017)

I recently posted this as a comment on a post from the infinite curve’s fb page where he asks about the aforementioned shot trainer. It was meant to be a few sentences, but... yeah.

Anyhow, since I put in the effort, I thought I would share it with you all.

REVIEW BEGINS


I have one and use it actively to do late night and early morning training. 

It attaches to your bow in two places. One, at the plunger holes (both holes to provide stability for the device, though I think it would work OK with single hole risers), and two, at the string. You will need to remove your button to use it, but if you use a stick on rest, it will probably not require you to remove it to be used. Wrap around rests will need to be removed. All other equipment is compatible, though the device itself acts like a front stab, so I don’t attach any while using this device. Initial installation and adjustment takes around 20-30 minutes, but removal and re-installation should each be able to be done in 5. I would use an old string with it as the plunger rod is attached to the string and will likely cause a wear spot on the serving, though my string is doing pretty well with 5 mos of use.

The trainer allows you to go through the entirety of your shot cycle minus the arrow, but INCLUDING coming through the clicker and release with FULL FOLLOW THROUGH. The pneumatic plunger that attaches to your string and prevents dry firing serves as the arrow, and has a magnet at the end which activated the clicker simulator in the bulbous portion of the trainer. Quite clever actually. The clicker distance is reasonably easy to adjust, and once locked, will not shift on its own.

Honestly, the best way to use the trainer IMHO is to attach it to a backup or cheap riser, use a old or cheap pair of limbs, and leave it strung and hanging on the wall to allow for pick up and go repetition training.

Will this absolutely replicate your competition bow in feel? No. But it does come close, especially if you fiddle with putting some weights or stabilizers in the various available spots on your riser. The sensation of drawing the plunger rod back and releasing DOES very much replicate the feel of my (admittedly shoddy) shot cycle. The one significant difference is that the plunger rod is MUCH heavier than a competition arrow so the forward impulse of the bow post shot is magnified... almost to the point of being uncomfortable to your fingers in the sling. I have gotten used to it, and it no longer bothers me, and it has not caused any lasting discomfort.

If you are thinking about using this device to repeatedly attach and remove from your primary bow every time you wish to train, it may be more of a pain than it is worth. In fact, that was my own original intent, but that plan quickly got discarded as I use a Gabriel GUX3 wrap around rest. 

I now have it semi permanently attached on aforementioned backup riser and it allows me to “shoot” and work on the feel of my FULL shot cycle anytime and anywhere I want. It takes me less than a minute to put on my chest and wrist guards and put on my sling and start training. When I’m done, it takes even less time to put it away. 

I have even recently paired it with the Mantis X8 device to provide visual feedback of my shot cycle, though the jury is still out in terms of how useful that device is to me. A stand up mirror is a better partner for this trainer IMHO.

I like this device for what it is. It is NOT a one for one re-creation of your competition bow. It is, however, a reasonable enough facsimile to allow for effective repetition training, and it will NOT hurt your bow. I, in fact, have just purchased a second one to create a trainer bow for my 10 year old son, who also shoots OR. 

It is spendy, but for me, it is a better simulator of the full shot cycle than the rigid form master that I had been using.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your training in our COVID restricted times.











I have never felt
So free, as when trapped between 
My bow and its string


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## Ryp (Mar 28, 2017)

My set up.











I have never felt
So free, as when trapped between 
My bow and its string


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## Piasecznik (Sep 30, 2016)

Interesting. I can't find any information anywhere about what draw lenght are possible with that device. Quite important information to be neglected.


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## EDUSAN66 (Jun 18, 2017)

I think no problem with the draw leght. There is a 2" enlarger too.
Great device to shoot at home to train form and release. 
I have thousands of shots and I am completely satisfied with it.
It aids with a recurve scope to deal with target panic.


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## ahw (Dec 4, 2019)

Ryp said:


> The *pneumatic plunger* that attaches to your string and prevents dry firing serves as the arrow, and has a magnet at the end which activated the clicker simulator in the bulbous portion of the trainer.


I have one of these. It's not a pneumatic plunger. There's about a less than 0.5" long spring in the front that brings the plunger to rest at the very end of the stroke.
This is the main gripe that I have with this particular shot trainer: 

 it doesn't "absorb" the energy over the entire stroke, only the very end
 By "absorb", it's redirecting the energy back into the bow, and consequently back into your hand
 For the draw weight I'm using, there's an unpleasant amount of handshock at the very end despite using a sling.

If you're looking for this style of shot trainer, I'd recommend trying to find one of the old vibracheck shot trainers. These are actually pneumatic and truly dissipate the energy through pushing air out of the cylinder over the entire stroke of the bow.


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## Piasecznik (Sep 30, 2016)

Are you sure it can accomodate 34-35 draw lenghts? 2 inch enlarger could be not enough if it say 30" without it.


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## "TheBlindArcher" (Jan 27, 2015)

Non OR question, will this work on a lower poundage compound as well? My max competition DW is 45# and I was just curious.


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## Ryp (Mar 28, 2017)

Whoa...

Did not expect any follow up on this somewhat esoteric piece of kit.

I stand corrected on the spring vs pneumatic mechanism, thank you. . That does explain why I could never get a feeling of pneumatic shock absorption. I thought I had a bum trainer. 

It does have some hand shock, and it can be annoying, but not a deal breaker for me, but my DW on the setup that I have it mounted to is 36-37# measured at full draw, and that may limit the energy that is returned as shock. I imagine that if you mount this on a 45-50# bow, the returned energy may get quite uncomfortable.

That shock and sense of returned energy is also why I chose to put a pair of Uukhas on the setup. I had started with a pair of standard wood/carbon limbs, but the sense that this trainer retained a significant amount of energy made me wonder about the shock effect on limb longevity, so I put the “monolithic” layerless limbs on.

To answer the question about draw length... I don’t think that this trainer, even with the provided length extender, will be able to handle much more than 30” or so. My draw length is about 28.5”, and I’m using the extender. I played around quite a bit to get a combination of accurate feeling on the clicker drop and to get the device to cushion the “arrow” with the spring. Having set all of that to my liking, I can see that there is maybe about 1-2” of adjustability left in my setup to go longer.

I think this device was made primarily for the asian / Korean market, so I don’t think that it was designed with a 32” DL in mind. Also the intended market also may have been more for the juniors, as without the extender, the max DL is probably 26-27”.

Hope this helps. I’m still using mine while trapped at home, but I’m itching to get back out and shoot my really rig.


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## Ryp (Mar 28, 2017)

Oh yeah, to the question about compound...

I can’t see why this would not work for a compound, but I would caution against putting it on one that is more than 40# or so as the delivered energy for compounds is so much higher on a pound of draw weight basis. I would worry about the “arrow” rod hitting the end spring so hard that it would break it.


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## ahw (Dec 4, 2019)

It does work with compound. Here's a video of a guy shooting with it-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA5vXxv_pKc

For the draw length question:
The length of the inner rod, fully extended is just shy of 28", but this is 28" measured from the back of the KIS trainer. 
There doesn't seem to be a set position for the trainer, so you just slide it backwards in the clamp so the back of the trainer is about an 1" or so off the string. 
That way, you're getting 28" of extension from the undrawn string. This should be more than enough length since draw length is measured relative to the grip/plunger hole.


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## Piasecznik (Sep 30, 2016)

Thanks Ryp for DL insight.


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## shootalone (May 18, 2021)

Hi, I am reading a lot in this forum about trainers for train at home in this pandemic situation, and I was looking for the Kis trainer for months, but it is worldwide out of stock... I asked to some shops and they said that they are waiting for the new edition of the trainer, but a shop of my city said that it was discontinued... And for days I was looking for alternatives, and I discovered this trainer:






TEC-HRO shooting equipment | Schiesssportzubehör







tec-hro.de





I think that is very similar to de Kis. The principal difference that I can see is the clicker system. What do you think about it?


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## nex667 (Sep 1, 2018)

I bought the Tec-Hro shot-trainer when it was in beta state back in Feb. I like it. Installation was easy and the shot feeling is very close to a shot with an arrow. The first setup took some time (around 20min I guess), especially the the clicker timing needed some tinkering. Once the shot trainer is set up it is easy to reinstall (maybe 5min) if you mark where the holder was attached to the riser (I marked the back of the riser on the holder) 

The downside was the lack of feedback, I could only tell by feeling if my shot execution was consistent or not. To get a more objective feedback I bought a bodowmeter.

Even though I am sure that a good form leads the good results and I try to focus on my form during training, the lack of an flying arrow when using the shot-trainer helps me to focus even more on my form rather than results.

Beware that Tec-Hro gives up the archery section (the partner who managed the archery section leaves the company and the other partner is no archer). When the stock is sold out there won't be new supply coming in. Support was promised for all archery products for at least one year.


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