Ask a sampling of your hunting buddies what type of release they use for hunting and I can bet you the majority will come fire back, “wrist release”. And why not? Being attached to your wrist you always know where it is and it uses a familiar trigger finger style. It seems like the go to release for most hunters.

But there can be a dark side to these types of releases. If you’re not careful, they can be the cause of target panic. I’ve seen more wrist releases being karate chopped than any other type of release. I know, because I was one of them.

hunting with wrist strap release — Many moons ago when I hunted with a wrist strap release. After that I went on to a thumb release to attempt to solve my punching problems.

As you progress as an archer and bowhunter you start to make greater demands on your accuracy. By doing that you also add extra pressure to yourself which in turn gives rise to that inevitable devil, target panic.

It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. And when it hits, boy buddy, it can take the fun out of that ‘ol stick and string.

For me and many others it took the form of rushing my shots. I wanted the pressure of the situation to go away as fast as it could, so I’d do anything to get that arrow away from my bow.

Draw, aim (if you wanted to call it that) and smash that trigger. Take a deep breath and curse yourself as your dream buck goes trotting off wondering who in the hell let that guy buy a bow.

There had to be another way. Try as I might, I couldn’t get a handle on the situation. At the range I was calm as a bomb. In the field when the pressure increased, I exploded. I would get the pin close enough and pull the trigger.

Now there’s all sorts of ways that target panic rears its ugly head, but I knew the cause of mine. With that knowledge I knew what I needed to fixed.

In my case… slow the hell down!

So I sought out advice and watched any and every YouTube video that would pop up on the subject. Some great advice, some where the “expert” should have their video camera taken away from them.

I know in the back of my mind that I needed to make the switch over to a back tension or hinge style release, but I had been avoiding it for years. I’m a human, I don’t like change. Besides I didn’t have a good dental plan to replace the knocked out teeth I would be receiving from trying to figure out this type of release.

But if I wanted to continue to hunt and have a good conscience about making ethical shots, I needed to make the change.

I decided to make the switch after the hunting season so I would have plenty of time to figure it out.

Were my fears of the complexity of a hinge correct? Absolutely. I was as awkward as a toddler learning to walk. Everything felt different. In archery the goal is repeatability. That means that we do the same thing over and over again the exact same way, or at least that’s what we strive for.

Having a new style of release in my hand that didn’t depend on a trigger to release it was awkward to say the least. How the hell was I to know when this thing would go off? Well that is the exact reason to switch to this style of release. It caused almost unbearable flinching at first as the shot broke through, I slowly started to give in to not being in absolute control.

I no longer could time my shot to when the sight pin crossed over the vitals. I was now going to have to hold that pin where it belonged and keep pulling through my shot.

Most important of all, I couldn’t rush. I was in it for the long haul. That pin had to stay on the animal until the arrow was released. After all there was no trigger to punch. Sure I could theoretically punch through the shot by twisting my wrist, but that felt extremely awkward and was much harder to do than just going through the proper sequence.

Let me be absolutely clear however as I don’t want you to think this is a simple process. It takes time and by time I mean a substantial amount of it to get used to this type of device.

I know, I know. We live in the twenty-first century. It’s either NOW or nothing. Same day delivery, any movie ever created instantly available to stream. I get it, we’re not exactly the patient type anymore.

Consider the learning process your moment of zen. Your transformation to a buddhist like patience. Your chance to become a Jedi Master.

It will take time, but anything worth having usually does. After all, bowhunting and archery itself is a lifelong pursuit.

I’ve hunted with a release for over a year now and can honestly say it saved hunting for me. I needed that external source to force me to slow down.

If you’re suffering from the same ailments as I was, this might be your ticket to freedom as well.

Practice Hunting with a Hinge Release

Here are a few tips to point you in the right direction that I learned the hard way:

Start by using a trainer string. You can easily make one yourself with some P-cord and a dowel. After initially nearly knocking myself out from inadvertently firing off the hinge, I went back for a week or two and just used a string trainer. The repercussions were far less dramatic.
Start close once you’re ready and work your way back from the target.
Shoot from every position imaginable. Back tension devices can feel a hell of a lot different at steep angles like a clifftop or shooting from a treestand.
Don’t make it too hot at first. Allow for some solid movement in the hinge so you're not rushing through your shot.

Hopefully this will give you a little confidence that hunting with a hinge in fact can be done. Many of my hunting buddies do it and swear they’ll never go back to any other type of release aid. I can say that I am now a part of that cult.

// Fred Bohm