# How do you grip your release?



## archeryshooter3 (Apr 12, 2011)

How deep does everyone hold their release and why? 
I have mine as deep as possible between the 2nd knuckle and 3rd knuckle.


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## LMacD (Mar 16, 2015)

Between the second and third knuckles, with the upper part of my fingers roughly 10 degrees downward in relation to the back of the hand when I draw. They likely flatten a bit afterwards, but I'm honestly not certain. The handle sits mid way between the knuckles, so not especially deep.

For me, that hold is firm enough to allow for additional relaxation though the shot - a la GRIV's method - but relaxed enough that I'm not overly tense at full draw. Also, the "grip" feels strong enough to avoid having the release slip out of my hand, even if I'm sweating buckets. I shoot with a short valley and low let off, so it takes very little creep to drop out of the the valley, and so far - touch wood - I've never lost control of the release.


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## jhinaz (Mar 1, 2003)

Deep....like wearing brass knuckles, but with a relaxed grip. I know I'm in the minority but that type of hold seems to work the best for me, especially when shooting heavier draw-weight for hunting. - John


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## montigre (Oct 13, 2008)

What is the reason behind your question? What are you trying to accomplish with your shooting pertaining to your release grip?


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## archeryshooter3 (Apr 12, 2011)

Mainly I'm just looking for a cleaner, more consistent release. I have trouble being consistent with my pressure and rotation. Sometimes is goes off quick other times it takes forever. I'm unsure if it's how deep I hold the release or if it's in my thumb pressure.
View attachment 2454946


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

It isn't a matter of depth, but a matter of repeatability....consistency.... If having a barrel/pulling post, adjust it so it repeats in the hand or if not a lot of positions available you have to learn so it goes in the hand the same way each and every time and without thinking if possible.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

I use the j-hook grip where my release is between the first and second knuckle but the release is touching the second knuckle but not in the knuckle. I like to have people look at jesse broadwater as a good reference to how I do it.

Unfortunately you are going to have to take a step back for a few weeks if you want to make a switch to a good j-hook grip that I described above. The first thing you need to do is set the hinge very very slow where it can't fire and then just practice drawing the bow with the new grip. Then use my hinge setup routine to set the hinge speed to your new grip.

The biggest mistake people make is trying the new grip with the current speed setting and being scared of the hinge either firing or not firing and producing way to much stress in the process. By doing what I described above the transition can be a smooth one and in a week or two you will be up and running.


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

for a most consistent release you want your draw hand relaxed...this generally means don't "fist" the release.

How Padget mentions "j hook" is what I'm working on. For a while I was "in" the 2nd knuckle which gave me a nice anchor but was inconsistent in how I released. Now wit using a "j-hook" method my release us much more consistent....just going to take a while to get accustomed to the new style.

What he says about resetting your release is accurate as well. I did his method when I was using the fire when you let go of the peg/barrel and it worked wonders.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

Cool, I have shot both ways for years setting up a hinge where you can let go of the thumb peg completely and agressively and stretch the hand a bunch from the position that you drew the bow and for me this just never produced the best shooting. 

For me coming to anchor and very smoothly releasing the peg as I settle in on the spot and then running my engine is what has given me the best shooting. I learned this lesson when I decided that the pin wiggle as I released the thumb peg just wasn't something that I wanted in my shot. So this lead to months of training myself to have a seamless transition from being on the peg to being off the peg and once you learn to do this without any funny pressure differences in the fingers your pin will not wiggle or jump during that transition. 

In fact this summer I have been coming to the 12 ring and settling into it and then beginning my pressure release of the thumb peg and about half way through it I start my firing engine and then as my thumb leaves the peg I am already half way through it and get a very smooth release.


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

archeryshooter3 said:


> Mainly I'm just looking for a cleaner, more consistent release. I have trouble being consistent with my pressure and rotation. Sometimes is goes off quick other times it takes forever. I'm unsure if it's how deep I hold the release or if it's in my thumb pressure.
> View attachment 2454946


The amount of finger curl around the handle, controls if your release fires quickly, with little effort...TIGHT finger curl results in a shorter total spread distance.
The amount of finger curl around the handle, controls if your release takes forever to fire...getting tired, running out of air...finger curl changed, no longer tight, and results in a longer total spread distance...release SEEMS to fire heavier than normal.

TOTAL spread distance, is what I call the distance between your release elbow and the throat of the grip. If your fingers are curled around the handle, LESS tightly than usual, your release elbow is a tiny bit farther away from the riser.


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## montigre (Oct 13, 2008)

nuts&bolts said:


> The amount of finger curl around the handle, controls if your release fires quickly, with little effort...TIGHT finger curl results in a shorter total spread distance.
> The amount of finger curl around the handle, controls if your release takes forever to fire...getting tired, running out of air...finger curl changed, no longer tight, and results in a longer total spread distance...release SEEMS to fire heavier than normal.
> 
> TOTAL spread distance, is what I call the distance between your release elbow and the throat of the grip. If your fingers are curled around the handle, LESS tightly than usual, your release elbow is a tiny bit farther away from the riser.


This is not correct. The amount of grip one has on their release has more of an effect on the amount of tension in their hand and forearm. If not consistent, this, as is true with any release positioning, can influence the apparent speed of the release (the release speed does not change). It is the amount of tension present in the hand and forearm that dictates if one's release is likely to hang up or not.


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## DedDeerWalking (Dec 10, 2009)

I actually moved my release deeper towards my palm. I am now in the second knuckle and I love the feel. My anchor feels strong and my shot I happening with less movement. 
Do you all think that hand size has anything to do with preferred release grip. I wear medium gloves and this feels much better for me.


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## montigre (Oct 13, 2008)

No, not really. I'd say that a person's preferred archery game has more to do with it. Most of the spot shooters I know (regardless of their hand size) hold their handle more toward their finger tips. There is less of an emphasis on speed, so their draw lengths tend to be spot on and they leverage their release positioning to gain pinpoint accuracy at the longer distances. 

Whereas many of the 3D shooters I know shoot with their releases deeper in their hands--likely due to shooting with a lengthened draw length and heavier draw weights in order to coax more speed from their setups for the unknown games. Long and heavy would naturally make a shallow release hold more tenuous and less comfortable.


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## Lazarus (Sep 19, 2005)

montigre said:


> This is not correct.


Imagine that. :embara:



montigre said:


> The amount of grip one has on their release has more of an effect on the amount of tension in their hand and forearm. If not consistent, this, as is true with any release positioning, can influence the apparent speed of the release (the release speed does not change). It is the amount of tension present in the hand and forearm that dictates if one's release is likely to hang up or not.


Precisely this! ^^^

Can't ad anything to that.


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## Mahly (Dec 18, 2002)

Release position will effect release arm position as well.
Either way, changing the grip throughout a tournament will change how the release goes off. Consistency is still key.
Pay extra attention to how the top finger/s sit on the release. If I ever notice my Thumb trigger being a little "slow" it is almost always because the ring/pinky are not on the release as deep as I normally shoot. 
I personally have size XXL hands, and opening the hand too much will effect my release elbow position negatively. 
I have my releases in the 2nd knuckle, not fisting, not really j-hook. But that's me and what works for my physique.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

To add to my earlier post I would suggest shooting with a soft hand and actually setting up your hinge speed with the soft hand. This goes along with montigre and her comments.

A person that is afraid of their hinge has way to much tension in the grip and forearm and any softening of the hand is a bad thing to them so they stay tensed up. 

By setting the hinge speed to the soft hand you can then relax the forearm each shot with no fear. This allows you to be very consistent every shot with no weird tensions n in the fingers at all and produces much better execution .


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Copied and enlarged picture...Just observations. Seems like tension in those knuckles and fingers. There is a thumb barrel or post and the thumb is sideways on it. It would appear that the release is quite twisted which would torque the d-loop. Unknown, it could be the d-loop is half slipping off the hook instead of the hook letting go... Seems only the knuckles of the hand align to the jaw line.


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