# Back tension release



## Bobmuley (Jan 14, 2004)

blank bale, focus, create new habits.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Why are you wanting to punch it? Answer this and you can correct it. Over bowed? Not as one with the hinge as of yet? Pin won't settle leading to rushing the shot? Peep location? Form issue?

Most can be found as Bobmuley gave, blank bale, focus...so to create good new habits...


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

I'm with sonny, I need to know why you are wanting to punch it.


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## Andyrom623 (Jan 9, 2018)

I think it's from nerves, I can start off great but after awhile wanting to punch it gets worse.

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## Bobmuley (Jan 14, 2004)

Andyrom623 said:


> I think it's from nerves, I can start off great but after awhile wanting to punch it gets worse.
> 
> Sent from my R1 HD using Archery Talk forum


I've got a hinge-punching shooting companion. 297-300 Vegas score one day; 285 the next. Usually practices very well, but competes poorly. To him (and presumably for you) the score is the most important thing in the world. Even when we "work" on stuff I hear "but, look where it hit" from him...like I care. 

If he ever learns that execution is the most important thing I could be in trouble. 

Hopefully you can learn from his (and millions of others) mistake. 

Execution, execution, execution... When you do nothing but execute a shot it gives you the confidence that you need to be sure that you're gonna hit the X and anything that "misses" is still gonna catch a 5 on the blue face. With that confidence you can diminish the nerves.

Next time you get nervous, tell someone not shooting "watch me shoot"...usually it forces us to be on our best behavior form wise.


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## Shogun1 (Jan 31, 2015)

Bobmuley said:


> Next time you get nervous, tell someone not shooting "watch me shoot"...usually it forces us to be on our best behavior form wise.


Another instructional tidbit. It's another way to get someone to modify his behavior by influencing how & what he is thinking about.

I would add -- when you ask them to watch --- tell them what to be looking for!


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## Andyrom623 (Jan 9, 2018)

Thanks everyone for the advice, I'll be sure to try these at my next practice.

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## carlosii (Feb 25, 2007)

You might try a pull tension release such as the Evolution or Attraction.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

Your mind has to be clean of all the bad thought process stuff and be functioning with a simple game plan, many of us have went through this transformation and can help you do it yourself. I am one of the people that written all the stuff down, there is to much to put it in one thread like this one. You just have to do the research to find the person you want to listen to and then find his stuff.


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## gavintanouye (Oct 9, 2017)

Blank Baling is so important to build muscle memory and to learn the "repeatable shot". At first I didn't understand it but in just a week of ONLY blank baling I get it now. You want to learn to be able to repeat the same shot over and over without thinking about it. Like a machine. Only blank baling can you learn this from what I have begun to learn.


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## Bow Rider (Jan 16, 2015)

I don't think anyone has asked, are you shooting the hinge with or without the click?


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## jslane47 (Jun 15, 2013)

I punch my hinge. Why? Form. Plain and simple. Pulling with my shoulder blades/back seems so strange. I've tried it all, and I can only release the hinge through rotation via finger manipulation. So I use a thumb button and shoot quite well. No worries!


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## ropadop (Aug 22, 2002)

If you find yourself getting hung up during your shot and you start thinking “why won’t this release trigger?”, try setting the release up “hotter” so that it fires earlier. If the release firing surprises you and you are thinking “wow, I was not really consciously trying to trigger the release”, you are on the road to goodness.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

jslane47 said:


> I punch my hinge. Why? Form. Plain and simple. Pulling with my shoulder blades/back seems so strange. I've tried it all, and I can only release the hinge through rotation via finger manipulation. So I use a thumb button and shoot quite well. No worries!


And there are other ways to fire a hinge. I use a thumb release and have for the last 12 years. It was one heck of hurdle to switch and I still have issues. I had to sort out what was best for me, back tension, pulling through, manipulation of the hand and fingers, relaxing or yielding of hand and fingers. And none of these will work if you can't relax. I guess some don't understand being relaxed at full draw.
Some note that using pure back tension is best on flat ground, like Indoors. 

If you acquire Padgett's Library on the hinge you'll have some reading and understanding and then understanding what is needed and how to.

Re-run; I was dang good with a index, placing and winning in 3D, Indoor, Outdoor and Field. Switched to a thumb release more from peer pressure than anything and never have been any better with a thumb release.

Getting that $%^&*#@ hinge to go off is something of a hold over from both the index and thumb release. Yeah, you want that $%^&*#@ hinge to go off now just like a index or thumb release. Get over this and things go so much better.

Along with getting the $%^&*#@ hinge to go off is/was the dang pulling post isn't where it should be. I've got custom pulling posts for 5 hinges and this is had made strides in getting down the road to being more at one with the hinge. Okay, busted my hand years ago and though it looks normal maybe it isn't. 

Right now I'm having sort of fun at the local Indoor range. I lay out all my releases and start shooting. Stan Shootoff, TRU Ball 3 finger HT, TRU Ball 3 finger HT set to click, Scott Advantage, Stan Deuce (2 finger), TRU Ball 2 finger HT set to click and my go to Stan Jet Black. 

The click. Some sears with clicks are okay and others suck. The Scott Halo I owned had the most atrocious click ever I encountered. Like Padgett noted, it was like "pulling out of ditch." I could have turned the moon, but then the Halo was too dang heavy (solid brass). 

The click again. I get to shooting, switching hinges, and I can relax right through the click like it isn't even there. Doesn't matter with the HT 3 finger or 2 finger. I just get a smooth relaxing of hand and fingers and don't stop at the click  

Size matters. A medium is a tad too small for me. After I got the Stan Jet Black (large) things went easier. The TRU Ball HTs are in large. My Scott Advantage is right at being too small, but I can get along with it. My medium Zenith Comfort 3 was too small and it got sold.


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## Andyrom623 (Jan 9, 2018)

Bow Rider said:


> I don't think anyone has asked, are you shooting the hinge with or without the click?


I shoot with the click.

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## mseganti (Sep 15, 2017)

The hinge release will take more time in most situations to go off than say a thumb or trigger, you can try setting it up hotter if you’re comfortable(hotter is when it goes off a little earlier in the releases rotation) I had the same problem when I switched to a hinge, but you just have to make sure you’re using back tension and not just pulling it backwards, when you shoot focus on to touch your shoulder blade closer to your spine, obviously they won’t touch but that tip helped a lot


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## KalinC14 (Aug 30, 2017)

My first handheld release was a Stan element. This taught me how to pull to get the shot to go off. I have now switched to a Stan sx3, and I have only punched it a couple times. When I pull, the shot goes off, when I don’t, it doesn’t. I think that if you shot a pull through release for a while and then went back to you hinge you will be doing well. Hope this helps


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## lees (Feb 10, 2017)

I agree with Kalin, in that learning a tension-style release might be a good thing to try. I wouldn't normally recommend switching without having some idea of what it is you need to change that requires the new release aid, tho, but punching is almost 98% guaranteed to mean you're command-releasing. The true fix for which is the surprise release. 
So I would say something along the lines of have a go with learning the surprise release and a tension style like the Element is one of the easiest ways to do that. Or putting it another way, I wouldn't spend money on a tension-style release unless you also plan to relearn how to execute your shot with a surprise release. 

I first learned the surprise release with a Carter Evo and even shot it as my main release for several years. I now shoot an index-finger release using the same method (plus a finger pressure technique on the trigger to enable a surprise release that mimics the behavior of the Evo when pulling through the shot)....

lee.


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## carlosii (Feb 25, 2007)

I use a Tru-Ball HT with a clicker. I'm not sure what makes it go off because I draw, get on the target, wait for the click, then concentrate on aiming. Then it goes off. Don't know if I'm punching or not.

I take GRIV seriously when he says, "Don't overthink it. You might just outsmart yourself."


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## Bow Rider (Jan 16, 2015)

Andyrom623 said:


> I shoot with the click.
> 
> Sent from my R1 HD using Archery Talk forum


With the click, Once i'm on target, i find the click, hold it on the edge, then expand until it releases. If it's taking too long and I feel the need to punch it, I (carefully) let down and start over. IMO the best way to correct a bad habit is to refuse to do it. If I feel a bad habit creeping into a shot, I stop the shot and start over.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

Over the years of my hinge shooting I have went through many levels of understanding, right now I have a three step process that I am using that allows me to come back and settle in and fire my hinge easily while feeling solid. 

Those three steps are so important, for over half the time I have been a hinge shooter I only had one step and with hinge shooting that just isn't enough and you end up forcing yourself to draw the bow on the edge of firing and this freezes up your hand so that it doesn't want to move and allow the hinge to do its job because you are afraid of it firing. By having a few simple steps that are built into your shot as you come to anchor you can transition into execution and get the hinge right on the edge so that it fires easily without that fear.

1. Gripping the hinge exactly the same every time with all fingers 100% equal pressure during drawing the bow. 

2. As you come to anchor and settle into the shot you release the thumb peg and give the holding weight that the thumb was holding over to the index finger, you should feel the hinge rotate as you give it over. This is "Safety Slack", If you squeeze the index finger into the release as you release the thumb peg and you don't allow the release to rotate you are totally screwing yourself. You have to learn how to leave the index finger neutral and allow the thumb to give the release it was holding over to the index finger.

3. Collapse the Thumb, If you leave the thumb stiff out in nowhere land you are freezing that side of the hand. If you collapse the thumb over to the index finger or middle finger of the middle finger the thumb side of your hand collapses a little and rotates the release a little. 

So, Once I get to anchor and settle into the shot I am ready to release the thumb peg. at this point I know that I have two small amounts of rotation that I am going to give to the hinge as I release the thumb peg and then reach over and touch my thumb to one of my finger nails. This has a couple of really positive attributes, first of all I am so freaking confident that I am totally safe drawing my bow and I don't have to worry at all about misfires. Second the two steps of releasing the thumb and then touching one of the finger nails gives me confidence that I am going to be on the edge of firing so that my efforts to execute can be nice and subtle and the arrow will be on its way.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

To me there are two kinds of shooters, shooters who can rip a bow apart and generate tons of force and retain a nice float and shooters that need to be very subtle.

I am a very subtle shooter, I have shot both ways and shot well but overall when I really pull into the wall very hard to execute I am not as good. My best shooting comes when I am strong into the wall but I dont add a bunch of pressure into the wall. The problem always was setting up a hinge to promote a subtle approach means that you have to set it so fast that you are totally scared of it firing as you draw or even start to let go of the thumb trigger. The first thing that I stumbled onto was the Safety Slack and this really helped me. Safety Slack was the only thing to assist me for years and then I figured out the collapsing of the thumb as the second part of the puzzle.


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## dk-1 (Aug 9, 2013)

To the OP, try this... When you set up for your shot before drawing, relax your bow hand and start staring down the X/spot. Keep this focus throughout the shot until you complete your follow through. Come to anchor and get settled in with your pin/dot close to where you want it. Now, maintain that focus on the X/spot and further relax your bow side starting with the bow hand. Keep your focus on the X/Spot and the next thing you know the arrow is gone.


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## easton400 (Jun 17, 2007)

I have currently switched to a Scott Longhorn Hex to learn the effects of a surprise release and have felt that, but I can see this is going to help but I am practicing with just a string that's set at my draw length and been doing this for about a week. Have tried a few shots with the bow blind bailing and it feels good to get that surprise release. Now my question is how long should I keep at it with string until I switch to completely bow only blind/blank bailing. And just an FYI I have struggled with TP, not really punching but command shooting, and not being able to take more time aiming. And yes I do aiming drills just not as much as should!


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

easton400 said:


> I have currently switched to a Scott Longhorn Hex to learn the effects of a surprise release and have felt that, but I can see this is going to help but I am practicing with just a string that's set at my draw length and been doing this for about a week. Have tried a few shots with the bow blind bailing and it feels good to get that surprise release. Now my question is how long should I keep at it with string until I switch to completely bow only blind/blank bailing. And just an FYI I have struggled with TP, not really punching but command shooting, and not being able to take more time aiming. And yes I do aiming drills just not as much as should!


You switch over any time or do the transfer, string one shot, bow one shot. Both the same, stay with the bow. Just let the shot happen. Want it to go now is something you don't want. Took me a year get things sorted out, but then I shot a thumb release for 10 or 11 years and it was hard getting my thumb out of the way, just one of my problems...


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## Alex_Holliman (Nov 18, 2008)

To the OP, What is your bow setup? I’m just curious what your holding weight, let off, and draw stop type is? 

I can’t give you any help on hinge technique, other than to take some time and read up on it by some of the posters in this thread. This is a ton of valuable information out there.


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## mfisher1 (Feb 5, 2018)

I find relaxing the hand as much as possible helps. Awefully hard to punch the release when your release hand is relaxed. It also helps to not worry at first where the arrow goes. Try closing eyes at first


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