# Finger shooting bows?



## myya (Feb 3, 2003)

It depends on what you want to shoot? Fun targets, 3D with some friends, competition spots, or what. What is your draw length and do you prefer a stabile bow or a speed bow?
I personaly shoot 4 types of bows. Three of them I built from parts of bows. And 1 is 98% Hoyt and 2% PSE.
The bows range from 41" axle-axle all the way upto 46" axle-axle.
1st bow) Spot competition for NFAA and FITA
2nd bow) String walking and Competitive Compound class
3rd bow) Back up for the first two (this is my pretty bow also)
4th bow) Just to to upset all the release shooters I come across that they think old junk can't shoot.

Let us know a little more information on what you want the bow to do for you!!
Yak at you soon.
Myya


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## biblethumpncop (May 14, 2004)

I have an old Oneida that is very smooth, and pretty loud- but is my barebow compound. Prior to it, my provantages were my barebow (and sighted) rigs. Find something that points well, and that fits!


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## white tail 10* (Aug 3, 2005)

bowtechs constitution and brigadier are nice. hoyt vantages also are good barebows


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

Ebay, I got a 48 inch ATA Pearson Pro Classic for $85. I took it outdoors this past weekend and it is very smooth, and gave me a 65 yard point on with three under and corner of the mouth anchor. I just look for long ATA, left handed, long draw length oldies. They are pretty cheap so you can pile them up and see which shoots best for you. I also have a Jenning Tstar XT (never been shot - confirmed - prior to my purchase) and two Hoyt Superstar Meridians. All four bows came to $455 total including shipping. I am still looking for a left handed 31 inch Hoyt Provantage. Can't seem to find one left handed. One of these days, when I am too tired to pull my FITA recurve barebow, I will invest in a Barnsdale. For now, I will shoot the Ebay bows.

My son is right hand and has TWO Provantages in addition to his own Pearson Pro Classic !!!! Life is not fair.


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## fisherking73 (Feb 12, 2011)

Bow is mainly for hunting and for 3D second.


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## bolo7735 (Jan 31, 2011)

You should look into a Hoyt Vantage LTD. Longer axle to axle helps for smoother draw and less finger pinch.


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## eric schmaus (Mar 7, 2011)

Yep, Hoyt vantage LTD. It's made for finger shooting. 45"ata with 8" bh. I love mine.


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## zestycj7 (Sep 24, 2010)

Give a Martin Shadowcat a try.41.25 ATA, I have 2 of then I shoot non-sights and fingers.
Don.


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## catkinson (Jul 17, 2007)

I used to shoot a reflex caribou pretty darn good barebow.Wished I'd kept it!


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## mitchell (Mar 5, 2005)

This is a not so vanilla question. Really good fingers shooters can surprise you as to what they can shoot. The thing that makes fingers shooting a little challenging is that there is a learning curve that is somewhat individual. The basics of shooting with fingers are pretty much the same; good form, relaxed draw hand and draw arm, etc but the choice of bow design can vary depending on how you personally shoot, and what your goals are.

Generally, most people seem to prefer longer ATA (ranging from 40” tip of cam to tip of cam up to 48”), high brace height (higher makes more forgiving), deflex riser to extend available (grip forward of or close to in line with limb pockets), and less aggressive cams.

Many of the guys who have shot fingers for a long time came up with recurves, or came up in the era that 45” ATA and round wheel cams were the norm. They seem to prefer a cam with a valley, and shoot that kind of set up very well. These guys can group well out at long distances.

Others of us came along after bows got shorter, and limbs got gradually more parallel. We have found that for shorter hunting distances, the somewhat shorter parallel limb bows can also be shot pretty well. These bows tend to be faster, lighter, and a little less “clunky” feeling to us. Also, we have found that we can draw with three under and drop a finger to hold with two fingers, and reduce string pinch allowing us to shoot the shorter bows a little better. 

There is a ton of expertise out here. Somebody will correct me where I am wrong, but hopefully this will give you some orientation.


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## Rhys A (Jun 18, 2010)

mitchell said:


> This is a not so vanilla question. Really good fingers shooters can surprise you as to what they can shoot. The thing that makes fingers shooting a little challenging is that there is a learning curve that is somewhat individual. The basics of shooting with fingers are pretty much the same; good form, relaxed draw hand and draw arm, etc but the choice of bow design can vary depending on how you personally shoot, and what your goals are.
> 
> Generally, most people seem to prefer longer ATA (ranging from 40” tip of cam to tip of cam up to 48”), high brace height (higher makes more forgiving), deflex riser to extend available (grip forward of or close to in line with limb pockets), and less aggressive cams.
> 
> ...



I am not going to correct you at all Mitchell , You have really hit the bnail on the head here , so to speak.

I have shot fingers my whole life and have shot a variety of bow lengths for different purposes. I have have a fairly long DL in 30.75" and to give you an idea of the bows I have shot in the last 5 years :
Hoyt Pro Elite - 43 "ATA
Hoyt Pro38XL ( 3000 limb ) 41 "ATA
PSE MoneyMaker - 40"ATA ( have 2 of these hanging on my wall right now !)
Barnsdale Classic X - 43 "ATA - tri star

and I currently shoot ... Elite XLR -- 37" ATA

Each one of these bows has worked for me when shooting fingers , granted a couple took a little more tuning to get them humming , but they all Rock.

I guess what I am trying to say , before I forget what I was trying to say , is choose the right equipment for the purpose, field and target shooting I would generally go for the longer ATA and hunting and 3D I can gt away with a shorter ATA ( certainly with parallel limbs).

Not an expert , just my 2 cents .

Rhys


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## fisherking73 (Feb 12, 2011)

thanks that gives me hope lol. I like shooting my matrix, actually just tweaked a few things yesterday. Raised the QAD rest a little and raised the nocking point. Also bought a shooting glove and started shooting 3 under. It just feels soo different than with release or split. I naturally draw back and drop the third finger, don't know why it just happened. I don't know exactly what finger pinch is or does (I picture it) and I really can't see i have it. If I do it does not hurt or bother me. After these adjustments, it seems like there is no porpoising and no more bumping into the riser. Gonna shoot a couple more sessions and see what happens, I would really like to keep the drop away rest if possible. It is for hunting and 3D later on, so I am really not looking to shoot more than 30yds in the near future, 20 yds for hunting max for now as I am pretty confident inside that range. Still open to any more input or leads on any advice on instinctive finger shooting with shorter compounds. I know the Fitzgeralds do it and Wells does it, but not alot of info I can find specific to shorter bows.


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## mitchell (Mar 5, 2005)

Rhys,

I am still rehabbing from a rotator and bicep ligament repair, which is torture. However, I have a brand new Elite Tour sitting here ready to go, which I have not been able to shoot yet. How do you like that XLR for fingers? I thought about trying to find one, but heard the cams on the Tour were smoother.

Fisherking73,

I have hunted with a QAD and fingers for a couple of years. I bare shafted out of it and got my shafts to fly well, so you should do fine with it if your shafts are matched to your bow.

Since you are just getting started, you might want to play with different anchor points. With two under you can put the index finger in the corner of the mouth, or you can put it at the base of the nose, or at the top of the cheek bone, or a bunch of other places. The higher you get it, the smaller your gap will be. Even if shooting somewhat instinctive, most people seem to see the shaft under the target and gauge the shot elevation that way.

Finger pinch occurs when the angle of the string is so acute that it is hard to release the string smoothly. You sort of feel like your fingers are tangled in the string. Or possibly, you find you are erratic and inconsistent because you are not consistent in the "loose".

Your choice of glove or tab also impacts all of this. You just have to play around with some of it to find out what you prefer.

Luck to ya.


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## Rhys A (Jun 18, 2010)

mitchell said:


> Rhys,
> 
> I am still rehabbing from a rotator and bicep ligament repair, which is torture. However, I have a brand new Elite Tour sitting here ready to go, which I have not been able to shoot yet. How do you like that XLR for fingers? I thought about trying to find one, but heard the cams on the Tour were smoother.
> 
> ...


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## mitchell (Mar 5, 2005)

Cool idea. I have been shooting a 65% let off in a New Breed Cyborg so I'll be real curious to see how I like the Tour.

I do really like the binary cam system for fingers.

Thanks for the idea.


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## bolo7735 (Jan 31, 2011)

FisherKing doesn't feel finger pinch because his fingers gets numb. lol


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## martinman1969 (Feb 7, 2010)

martin shadow cat


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## fisherking73 (Feb 12, 2011)

bolo7735 said:


> FisherKing doesn't feel finger pinch because his fingers gets numb. lol


LOL prick! Just one finger.


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## minnie3 (Jul 28, 2009)

please excuse my interruption, but can somebody please explain a binary cam system, which mitchell really likes for fingers. thanks, and happy shooting.


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## mitchell (Mar 5, 2005)

Not sure if I can completely explain it, but I can take a stab and others can correct me.

First of all generally, for me, I found the one cams to be tempermental for fingers. I owned a Mathews Ovation, Conquest (two sets of cams), and a couple of Drenalin LDs. I liked them all. But I never could keep from getting feather wear on a flipper rest, and had a hard time keeping my bare shaft flying well. I think for me, it may have something to do with level nock travel and being almost anal in my expectation.

I found the two cams to be much easier to tune and match a shaft for fingers. For a long time a two cam type design (or cam and a half) had three tracks (not sure if its spelled tract, or track) on the cam; one to feed the string, one to feed the outgoing cable, and a third to feed the incoming cable. This requires the cam to be a touch wider. It also affords the luxury of making adjustments to cam lean with the yoke system.

A binary cam system is designed so that the incoming and outgoing cables run on the same tract. So if you look at the cam from the string side of the bow, you only see two tracts. Also, these designs do not use a split yoke, because the cables are mirrored and run on the same tract. 

The good side; they seem to me to be easier to tune. The bad side; if you have cam lean, it can be harder to fix.

When I mentioned binary, I might have better said all two cams, although I have found the New Breed binary to be one of the best finger shooting bows I have owned. I have since become very interested in the Elites, so I will be anxious to shoot the new Tour to see if it is similar. It has a good profile for what I am looking for in a fingers set up.

Examples of the binary are Elite, New Breed, and I think Bow Tech. You could probably look on their sites and get their sales pitch for more or better info.


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## straight2it (Nov 30, 2010)

Z7 extreme all the way. There is a guy on youtube who is awesome at finger shooting with the z series bows


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## straight2it (Nov 30, 2010)

Or you could buy a recurve!!


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## NeilM (May 22, 2006)

My understanding is that Binary cams have the two cams more or less 'locked' together, so that once correctly set and timed they will stay in sync, until you change the cables, when they may need to be set again. Binary type cams tend to be fast and quite aggressive, which I like but not everyone can get on with them, as they are pretty unforgiving.


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