[rooterpig]

You guys ever give any thought to string hand finger tension?

 

[Gurn]

Dont know If I understand. Can ya tell me what your thinkin.

 

[rooterpig]

Trying to grasp the string with a "relaxed" hold. No muscle tension , just trying to use the fingers as a hook. Hoping to get more consistent arrow flight.

 

[Gurn]

Well I think I understand. The best explanation I think I've heard was from old G fred. He said the hand is just ah hook. Pulling the string the hand should just be straight and relaxed like you was carryin ah paint can. All the pull should come from your back. Is that kinda what your talkin about?

 

[rooterpig]

Yeah that's is it. For me it is a hard idea to fully understand. You relax the "hook" to much and the arrow is gone. When I get it to work , I get real good arrow flight.

 

[Gurn]

Dont really know how ta help ya except ta say pratice makes perfect. I think you know the feelin and understand the concept. Just keep workin at it. Wish I could do more ta help.

 

[Coalsmoke]

Zen and the art of archery. Your mind is at rest while your body is straining. Be the arrow. I read all the books years ago. What it finally came down to with me is using a deeper grip on my fingers. This is possible because I use a damascas glove.

I concentrate on hitting my anchor (middle finger in the corner of my mouth), getting that last little bit of pull with back tension, and then simply relaxing my fingers to release the string. On a good release my draw hand ends up with the tip of my index finger touching my right ear lobe.

When it all goes right I get perfect arrow flight and a good hit. When it goes wrong......well you know.

Good form, practice, and the consistency that comes with practice is the key.

I apologize if I have wandered off topic, but those are my thoughts (opinions).

 

[Gurn]

Thanks for your input I was kinda at ah loss explain what I feel when I shoot.
By the way. They aint no wanderin off topic police round here. ;D

 

[Dave Bulla]

I believe the back of the hand should be relaxed and you only hold tension in your fingers like a claw.

I also have best control with a deep hook.

It allows me to relax the back of my hand better and I believe it naturally aligns everything from your elbow to the bowstring. I've had the deep hook explained to me as being better because you actually get a cleaner release. I would have sworn that a fingertip release would be cleaner but after some study and a lot of listening to shooters way better than me I think I understand the deep hook theory. In a nutshell, if holding with fingertips, when you decide to relax, the string starts moving forward but your fingers are still against the side of the string as it goes by. With a deep hook, when at anchor your fingers are held where the tips are pointing backwards a bit or at least 90 degrees to the string. When you decide to release, the string trying to go forward actually "flips" your fingers forward out of the way and you get a cleaner release. There are a lot of guys who have put a lot of time into figuring this stuff out and used slow motion photography to analyze the shot who say this is what happens. I'm just taking their word for it because it certainly worked for me.

 

[rooterpig]

Thanks guys.

 

[Coalsmoke]

I have been back and forth and struggled with releases, anchors, grips, etc for years. One thing that finally helped me with arrow flight more than anything else is shooting wood shafts with big feathers. I use the big banana cut feathers in all white. They will correct a lot of release flaws.

 

[SeanT]

What is a "Deep Hook"?

 

[rooterpig]

A deep hook is when you hold the string in the first joints of your fingers. The finger tips are sometimes pointed back at the shooter.

 

[SeanT]

The ones closest to the knuckles?

Never thought of that - will give it a try. Thanks.

 

[Coalsmoke]

I have found it helpful. Like I said in an earlier post, I shoot with a damascus glove. It would be difficult with most gloves or tabs.

 

[rooterpig]

Sean t, use the first joints from you finger tips, the ones closest to your finger tips.

 

[Coalsmoke]

I grip the string with my hand angled to the string (kind of). The string is in the first joint of my index finger and the second joints of my middle and ring fingers. I anchor with my middle finger in the corner of my mouth.

It may be weird, but it works for me.

 

[SeanT]

Thanks - can't wait to try it!

 

[ClintV]

Deep hook (bare fingers for clarity, don't try this without a glove unless you are really tough or have fingers made of iron ;D)

It's kinda hard to hold the string with one hand, and the camera with the other, but you get the idea. The back of the hand, the wrist, and the forearm should be in a straight line, 90 degrees to the string.

 

[Gurn]

Ah pictures worth ah thousand words. Thanks.