Fingers or Release Aid for Hunting?

Fingers or Release Aid for Hunting?

At first blush, it would seem that a mechanical release is superior for hunting (except for back tension releases). It is always more accurate to squeeze a trigger or press a button, rather than let the bowstring slide from multiple, quivering fingers. It is no accident that the best scores are invariably shot with release aids in competitions.

The seeming superiority of release aids is spotlighted by tournament success, and by release-aid manufacturers who glowingly advertise their wares. It is also true that the average beginner can become accurate more quickly with a release aid than with fingers. Not surprisingly, an estimated 75 percent of bowhunters shoot with some sort of mechanical release aid.

When out in the field hunting, however, the advantages of release aids becomes very questionable. Some of the most successful archery hunters still pursue game with fingers wrapped about the bowstring, and this is not a haphazard choice.

Here's a look at fingers versus release in serious hunting.

A finger release is more difficult to perfect. It is tougher on muscles in fingers, wrist, and forearm. But it is faster to use in lickety-split, field-shooting scenarios. Unlike a mechanical aid, there is no "fumble factor" with fingers when the shooting chips are down.

Often, animals unexpectedly move across narrow shooting lanes, allowing only two or three seconds to draw and shoot. Fingers let you get the job done; a release aid would require a few seconds too long.

In tree-stand or ground-blind hunting, deliberate shooting with a release aid is normally possible. On fast-moving, ground- level shots, fingers are more fluid and more effective.

Release aids occasionally fail in hunting situations. They occasionally freeze up in subzero weather. They jam when dust and grime are excessive. Once in awhile, they break. By comparison, fingers never break, jam, or freeze. Simple and dependable can be better in hunting.

A bow shot with fingers is more quiet than one shot with a release aid. Remember: Animals, unlike targets, can hear the shot and duck the arrow. A hard-jaw release strums the bowstring like a guitar pick, whereas the softer flesh of fingers mutes bowstring-releasing vibration. On skittish creatures like Whitetail deer, this can make all the difference between shooting success and failure.

Release aids also tend to wear out the bowstring faster, and are more likely to break as archers draw on animals. However, a tied-in string loop prevents this problem and also helps to dampen extra shooting noise associated with a bowstring release.

What about the accuracy superiority of a release aid? In my experience, an accomplished finger shooter can group arrows well enough to bag animals out to 40, 50, and occasionally even 60 yards. Groups will never be as good as those from a skillful release-aid user, but arrow groups alone do not bag animals.

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