# MUCH NEEDED HELP! Slapping release trigger.



## bmshultz (May 5, 2008)

I have shot with a scott release for years and have been doing this mistake for a while. I'm in need of some major help. When i'm at full draw and set my pit on the target instead of squeezing the trigger I slap the trigger almost every time and that is throwing off my shot. Anyone have any advice?? Thank-You


----------



## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

The obvious easy answer is to get rid of the trigger and get a hinge release. 

But the truth is that you would be punching the hinge before too long. It's more difficult to punch a hinge, but it can be done.

The way to cure this is go to a blank bale, take your sight off and focus your mind on a smooth execution of your release for several thousand arrows. If you start aiming at holes in the bale, get a little closer to the bale. Make it smooth and be sure to follow through with your release hand. Keep in mind that the end of your shot is not the release, the end of your shot is the conclusion of your follow through.

You have to stay on the blank bale for at least a month. If you are not going to commit to this, you won't get the benefits of it. 

Then comes the hard part which is the bridge. Start close and set up a big target. An arrow that hits anywhere on the target is an X. Otherwise, don't worry about where your arrow lands. As long as you can execute a smooth shot, stay at each distance for a minimum of 3 days. Then move back a couple of yards. Keep moving back in 2-3 yard steps every three days only as long as your trigger slap doesn't show up. If it does, go back to the last distance where it didn't happen. If you have to go back too often, go back to the bale.

This program is laid out in more detail in the book Idiot Proof Archery.

Hope this helps,
Allen


----------



## da white shoe (Mar 10, 2009)

If you can't stop yourself from punching the trigger... you have target panic. Trying to time the shot to go off when the pin crosses the target is probably the leading cause of TP. You, my friend, have some work to do. 

If you had a deer rifle at the range, benchrested over sandbags and you were trying to hit a 3" spot at 300 yards, my guess is you would seldom, if ever hit it unless the shot took you by surprise. The minute you tried to control the trigger on that rifle, that 3" spot is going to be pretty safe.

Bows are different, in that we can't bench them down to shoot. We have to physically hold the weight of the bowstring back at full draw, yet we have to find a way to let the bow shoot the arrow, while at the same time introducing the least amount of influence on that shot with our muscles and minds. You can't shoot that way if you're timing the shot. Your mind is always going to be faster than your finger. The only way to do that is by using correct form, a back tension shot and a surprise release.

That's easy to say, but where do you start? For someone who has already learned to shoot a bow by using only their eyes, reflexes and a quick trigger finger, it takes a well thoughtout plan of attack to overcome target panic and learn to shoot differently. It can be done though! I was a "grip it and rip it" guy for years. I killed a bunch of stuff doing it that way too! Then, target panic took me over so bad that I nearly quit hunting with a bow. Time to change everything! I did it, all by my lonesome in the back yard... over the coarse of many months and I still do exercises every summer to keep it from coming back.

I can tell you how I did it and the things I learned along the way. You may already know some or all of this... but here goes!
How to shoot with back tension and a surprise release: 

Before drawing the bow, position your hand on the grip and start pulling with your release hand to put pressure on the string. You are trying to find the exact spot for your bowhand to be in. On your bow hand, you want to feel all of the pressure from the bow at one point on your palm when you're at full draw. Pretend there is a steel rod running parallel and exactly between the two bones in your forearm. Where that rod would exit your palm is where this point is. If you find this spot, it will help keep you from torqueing the bow handle. It will also help to negate torque and clear a path for the string if you will rotate the bottom of your bowhand away from the bow a few degrees. Once you start your draw, do not move your bow hand AT ALL.

At full draw, your release hand, as well as your bow hand, should be completely relaxed. That means that you don't want to be grasping or squeezeing the barrel of the release with that hand, or the grip of your bow handle with the other. Also, do not force either of your hands open. Your fingers should be hanging limp. I lightly touch my first finger and my thumb together around the bow handle, but some people use a wrist sling.

Use the bones in your arms and your back muscles to hold as much of the weight of the bow at full draw as you can. Relax every muscle in your arms that you don't need to use to stay at full draw. That goes for the muscles in your shoulders, torso and legs, too. Remember; tension in your muscles is what causes your sights to wobble and jump around. If you can learn to relax everything that isn't needed to hold at full draw, your sights will barely even move. It is very important that your bow is set at the correct draw length. If it is too long, you will have a very hard time relaxing fully. 

Next thing to work on is getting a surprise release. Learning this correctly, right from the start, is far easier with a BTR - (back tension release.) To make a BTR fire, you flex or squeeze the muscles of your back so that your shoulder blades are trying to touch. To find these muscles, have someone stand facing you while you pretend to hold a bow at full draw. Have them grasp your elbows and try to force you to give them a hug while you resist, all while keeping your arms relaxed. The muscles you feel in your back are the ones you need to flex to make the BTR fire. 

To aim, reach full draw, line up your bubble level, pick the right pin and center it all in the peep. Next, move your whole upper body to get on target. You don't want to just move your arm up and down or side to side. That introduces torque. At full draw, your upper body and arms should at all times form a perfect T shape. When everything is lined up, start consciencely relaxing muscles. Hold the bow back with your back muscles. Start with relaxing your hands and work your way up your arms and through the shoulders. When you've shot this way enough, you won't have to even think about this step. Then go into aiming mode. Your full concentration switches to the spot and only the spot. The pin is blurry and it will still seem to float around the spot, but you need to forget about the pin. You will naturally try to keep it on the spot without even thinking about it. You should be focusing on the spot and nothing else. Keep your concentration while slowly squeezing through the shot, making sure to follow through after the release. The first few times the bow goes off, it will scare the heck out of you. Keep at it! You will get used to it and it is important to never be able to anticipate the shot. No cheating! Focus... concentrate on the spot you want to hit and just squeeze through the shot. 

When you "follow through" after the bow goes off, people say you should try to keep the pin on the target or keep aiming until the arrow hits. I've always felt that that was a bad way to describe it. You can't keep aiming or even see the pin once you shoot. What I would say is... keep your T form until you hear the arrow hit, do not drop your bow arm or move your head, stay relaxed and let the bow go where it wants to with out grabbing it. Good follow through takes practice.

For the switch to an IFTR, (index finger triggered release)... 
You need to touch the trigger with the 2nd pad back from the tip of your finger. Don't use the tip of your finger. It is too sensitive and easy to move. To do this, you may have to adjust your release to shorten it up. With some releases you will have to keep the strap very tight and with others, not so much... shorter models are made just for this reason. The aiming process and shot sequence are exactly the same with a BTR as it is with an IFTR. Put as much pressure on the trigger as you can without making it fire and then squeeze just your back muscles until it goes off. In hunting, sometimes we need to be able to time the shot or otherwise shoot quickly and a BTR is no good in that situation. An IFTR can be shot very quickly while still using back tension... if you practice it. 

It's tempting to just go right out and try all of this on a target at 20 yards, but DON'T DO IT! When you start trying all of this for the first time, it is very important, and it will speed up the learning process... if you completely illiminate the aiming part of shooting the bow. You need to ingrain the feel of the shot process so that it becomes automatic... as in, the term "muscle memory." You do this with your eyes closed at first. Work on relaxation and a surprise release before you ever have to worry about aiming. Your target needs to be at the same height as your arrow. I hang my target from a rafter and stand close, so that the tip of my arrow is about 3 feet away from the target at full draw. After you reach full draw and have lined everything up, close your eyes and think through every step of the shot. 

When that feels VERY comfortable, move to a blank target that is 3 yards away and start shooting with your eyes open, but use no spot and try not to aim for a spot on the target... in fact, it would be better to just take the sight off your bow for this step. When you are so sick of doing this every day that you are ready to hang yourself, (like 3 weeks later), move to 5 yards with a big spot and try it all while aiming. When you can do this, every time, without loosing your concentration, you can then work your way out to longer and longer distances. If you ever feel like your slipping back into anticipating the shot or doing something else wrong, don't be afraid to get close again. Don't cheat here! You are building a new foundation and any shortcuts you take right now will come back to haunt you! Guaranteed!

When I was faced with target panic, I realized that I was going to have to change my thinking. I had always felt that "I" needed to be shooting the bow. Instead, I came to the conclusion that I needed to let the bow shoot itself! The philosophy you want to have when shooting a bow is to think of yourself as just a bow shooting machine. You have to stay out of the way to allow the arrow to leave the bow with no outside influences working against it... namely, YOU! After all, if your bow was being shot with a machine... the arrows would all be going in the same hole! Just that little bit of attitude adjustment was all it took to get my mind right! You will know you are doing it right when your arrows keep going dead center even when you think the pin was not on the spot at the time your bow went off. Kind of like some kind of Zen-master ninja... no kidding!

Most people can get away with using muscles and mind to control their shot... for a while. I did it for years and I considered myself to be an above average shot. But, most people that have shot that way for a number of years are also heading for some kind of target panic... mild or severe... and usually they have had some form of it for quite some time before they even admit that there's a problem.

Now, after learning this technique, do I kill every buck, bull and tom by shooting my bow exactly like this? No. Not exactly. Sometimes you have to time the shot or shoot quickly. But I will tell you this... the basics of aiming and firing are always there. Now, if I'm hunting and need to shoot quickly, I do not punch the trigger like I used to... I just use a quicker squeeze! After shooting like this for some years, my concentration and focus seldom abandon me in a hunting situation. 

Learn this and I promise you, you won't be sorry. It will absolutly cure target panic if done properly and it is the correct way to shoot a compound bow with sights anyway. I just wish I had known all of this when I was just starting out. As it turned out, I had to go through 5 years of "target panic-hell" before I learned for myself!

Good luck and let me know how it goes! 
Zane


----------



## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

that was a good post white shoe,:wink:


----------



## da white shoe (Mar 10, 2009)

mike 66 said:


> that was a good post white shoe,:wink:


Thank you, sir!


----------



## bmshultz (May 5, 2008)

Closed


----------

