My bowhunting career began like a forest fire. It started hot and then got bigger and hotter. I was winning 3-D archery tournaments and putting aluminum and carbon arrows through the lungs of animals.
I knew very little about archery and bowhunting at the time. A local pro shop set up my Mathews Outback, and my buddy gave me some tips about form and aiming. I was shooting a standard five-pin sight and T.R.U. Ball’s original Beast index-finger release. The process was simple. If the target were 33 yards, I would hold my 30-yard pin a touch high, level my sight bubble, aim, and shoot. My arrow hit where my pin was.
At that time, I had no idea what a movable sight was, and aside from watching the pro class at archery tournaments, I was unfamiliar with handheld releases. I didn’t care about those releases. My release was simple and allowed me to pull the trigger when I was ready.
Right before the beginning of my fourth fall as a bowhunter, something happened. One day, I was shooting with a buddy. We were joking back and forth about who was a better shot. We started putting money on who could hit the most 12 rings out of 12 3-D targets. By the end of that round, I couldn’t put my pins—any of my pins—on the target. When one of my pins hit foam, I would send the arrow. That fall was a painful one.
Target Panic & Release Choice
I battled target panic, which comes in all forms, shapes, and degrees, for two years. Finally, I made the switch to a hinge-style release. I spent two full months shooting a blank target face at 10 yards. The goal was to learn to crawl into anchor, stay strong in the front and firm in the back, let the pin float while I aimed, and let the release fire the bow.
After two months, I was firing strong shots. I had zero anxiety because I hadn’t shot at a dot, scoring ring, or an animal in months. By the time fall rolled around, I hunted with my hinge release. It was awesome. I went 9 for 10 on big-game animals with one clean miss.
The following year, I lost my release on an elk hunt. The hinge-style release had no wrist attachment, and it fell out of my bino harness. After purchasing a new hinge, I had a rutting bull walk past me at 22 yards, hot on a cow. I stopped him with a single mew. As I pulled through my hinge, the bull walked off. I needed the shot to go, but didn’t make it happen.
The following year, I had a whitetail buck—a legit Booner—stop behind a doe at 35 yards. Again, he walked off when she did before my hinge fired. Then, that spring, I missed a turkey at 22 yards with my hinge. The bird was bobbing and weaving around the decoy, and when my hinge broke, he slid left.
A Time & Place For Hinge and Tension
There is a time and a place for hinge and tension releases. Because the releases have no trigger to punch, archers/bowhunters learn to draw, crawl into anchor, and aim, aim, and aim, until the release fires the bow.
I shoot my hinge and tension releases during late winter and all summer. During August’s second week, transition to my index finger of choice.
Why?
I knew I had target panic. I addressed the problem and fixed it. Target panic sucks, and I keep those demons locked up by shooting a hinge-style release throughout most of the year. I even use the hinge to hunt with when spotting and stalking mule deer, pronghorn, sheep, etc. I know my shots will be longer, and because I’m stalking an animal that isn’t rutting and hopefully doesn’t know I’m there, I have time to push and pull and shoot a strong shot via a surprise release.
Why The Index-Finger Rules
If you have target panic or tend to miss animals or wound them often, a release with a trigger—index finger or thumb—is the worst trigger in the world for you. Only you know the degree of your target panic and your ability to keep your composure when the moment of truth is on the line.
Everyone gets nervous during the moment of truth. However, if you’ve trained and done your due diligence during the offseason, and you can keep it simple and put your pin where you want the arrow to hit, aim for two or three seconds, and trigger the release, an index finger is the best bowhunting release there is.
The difference between a good shot and a bad shot is between two and three seconds. Think about it and be honest with yourself. How many times have you sent an arrow, missed or made a wounding shot, and said to yourself: “I should have taken another second or two. My pin was there, but then I punched it.”
If you can put your pin where it needs to go and aim while you pull the trigger in a controlled fashion, you’re going to kill lots and lots of animals with an index-finger release.
Index-Finger Release Pros
- Attaches to the wrist and is hard to lose
- Not as expensive as hinge, tension, and thumb releases
- Multiple styles and makes
- Has a trigger that allows for surprise and controlled release
- Simple setup
- Easy to use
Index-Finger Release Cons
- Some cheap, janky models out there
- Terrible choice if you have target panic
- Has a trigger that can be punched anytime
As you can read, there are more pros to an index-finger release than cons. Once I learned to execute a controlled release with my index finger, I stopped hitting animals four inches high, three inches back, etc. I can settle in, execute a controlled release.
Do I still miss animals from time to time or make a wounding shot? Yes! In archery and bowhunting, perfection is unattainable, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. I have had years, this last fall and spring, for example, where I fired nine arrows at big-game animals and four at turkeys and made 13 perfect 10-ring shots. All were with an index-finger release. All but two were controlled releases, meaning I put pressure on the trigger but knew when I needed and wanted to add the last bit of pressure to trigger the jaw to open. The other two—one pronghorn and one turkey—were pure surprise releases. The bot animals were relaxed, and I continued to push and pull, staying strong in the front and firm in the back, until the shot broke. You can fire an index finger just as you would a hinge or tension.
My Three Top Index-Finger Release Choices in Order
#1 Stanislowski Solex Clicker Index
The purpose of a “click” when shooting a hinge-style release is to let the shooter know pressure or rotation is being applied to the release, and that the release is about to break. For many shooters, this “click” is a calmer. They want to hit their click just as they climb into the anchor and begin the aim process. The “click” helps many archers with their overall control because it is an audible sound that tells the brain: Hey, you’re almost there, keep pushing and pulling or rotating and fire a strong shot.
I don’t like a “click” when I shoot a hinge-style release. The “click” is distracting and makes me jump. However, when I started testing Stan’s new Solex Clicker Index, I loved the audible click.
Even with target panic behind me, I still tend to execute my index-finger release shots too fast. With my hinge, my shots break between five and seven seconds. With an index finger, using a controlled release, that time shrinks to between three and four seconds. Sometimes, though, I can still get punchy and send index-finger release shots between one and one-and-a-half seconds and two seconds after getting my pin where I want it.
I discovered the release click feature, which is adjustable, helps ensure I aim a touch longer and fully settle my pin on target.
The Stan Solex Clicker Index is also adjustable for head length via a nylon cord strap. For those who prefer a little travel (movement before the shot breaks), the Solex allows for adjustable travel.
Setting the release to your liking is ultra-simple, and I love the short, straight black trigger. It feels slim in the second knuckle of my index finger, and the open-hook jaw ensures fast and easy release hook-up.
#2 Spot-Hogg Wise Guy Rigid BOA
Spot-Hogg’s Wise Guy is hard to beat. It’s a bit on the upper end of the index-finger release price point, but it’s worth it. I prefer the Rigid head attachment bar. The bar is adjustable for head length and angle via a single set secrew, and the BOA strap eliminates buckle posts, which wear out holes, and loud Velcro. Tighten the BOA wheel to your desired setting, and when you want to take the release off, pull up on the wheel.
The Wise Guy has one of the lightest from-the-factory index-finger trigger settings I have tested. However, you can stiffen up the trigger; tension is adjustable. Spot-Hogg doesn’t believe in trigger travel (neither do I), so there is no travel adjustment, but you’ll love the longer, perfectly angled brass trigger. Like all of my go-to index-finger releases, the Wise Guy sports an open-hook jaw for right-now D-loop attachment.
#3 Scott Ghost W/NCS Strap
Scott makes great releases, and concerning index-finger builds, the Ghost W/NSC Strap is my favorite. The release hits a phenomenal price point, and concerning buckle-straps, Scott’s design is my favorite. The buckle strap is comfortable and durable.
The nylon cord is adjustable in and out via two set screws, and I love the small, compact open-jaw head. The release is ultra-light, and the short, straight trigger is slightly angled forward and knurled for positive index-finger contact.
Designed to reduce torque, True-Center pull maximizes shooter accuracy. The release does have adjustable trigger travel.
READ MORE HERE: Bowhunting Tahr In New Zealand’s McKerrow Range
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re looking for a new index-finger release for this season or want to go the hinge-to-index route, it’s not too late. The September elk rut and November whitetail rut are still on the horizon. Keep shooting that hinge and developing muscle memory, and when you make the switch to the index, you’ll be highly lethal.
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