clickers

sylvanus333

New member
if you got a good anchor point and good form is a clicker or draw checker more of a hindrance than help? i see all the top archers on u tube sometimes struggling to pull through that blade of metal then putting down and starting all over again, does the average archer shoot better using one? fred leder invented the clicker in 1957 and sold the design to earl hoyt only to stop arrow creep which was a problem for him
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
The clicker is there to set a draw length in a way, but it also helps with the final stage of the draw and the release/follow through.
Those who struggle with it, are nearly always aiming too hard and forgetting to pull through. Or they are wondering when it is going to click and forgetting to make sure THEY make it click. That state is easy to get into, if you slowly drift into forgetting to draw further.
It is better to imagine you are going to draw past the clicker. Then, once it clicks ,it's on its way.
Many archer find it works really well at first or after a while, then they get used to it and get a bit lazy with the draw process, and slowly fall into the bad habits.
 

sreynolds

New member
If you're struggling to get through the clicker, you're doing something wrong. If your clicker is properly set, you draw to your anchor and transfer, then expansion pulls the arrow that last tiny fraction through the clicker and you release. This gives you a very consistent draw length and thus consistent power to the shot. When you see a high-level archer fail to get through the clicker and let down, they have recognized that a problem exists and are restarting the shot to correct the problem. Lower level archers will often refuse to let down, insisting on fighting through the clicker to get the shot off. That defeats at least part of the purpose of the clicker. The clicker is not merely a "draw check", but a more general shot execution check. When you have been shooting just fine, then struggle to get through on a subsequent shot, you may have anchored slightly differently or you may not have completed the transfer properly, or you may have tilted your head slightly, etc., etc.. There are quite a few little things that can interfere with the process. The clicker doesn't tell you exactly what you did wrong, but it does let you know when *something* is wrong. Used properly, the clicker will indeed make anyone a more consistent -- and thus better -- archer.
 

RichParker

New member
I will go with sreynolds here.
If I am struggling with my clicker it is usually because something is 'off'. I know when it should go off in my shot cycle if it doesn't I am doing something different. Of course more often than not I persevere rather than put down even though I should know better.
For outdoors I find it invaluable as the change of distances and unit aiming are still something I am trying to get more consistent and the clicker is another reference point.
If you watch the sighted recurve field finals from Zagreb on YouTube you will see more restarts than average due to the odd angles being shot and the impact on form, with the clicker indicating to the archer something is off.
 

sylvanus333

New member
hi rich my view on the clicker is, it was designed by a pistol shooter to act like a trigger, it helps the archer release the arrow while it going backwards, why it is needed? because most archers when they reach anchor point stop pulling, allowing the arrow to travel forward the clicker reminds them to start pulling again
 

fanio

Active member
For decent level archers, the clicker is primarily a way to take away conscious decision about the exact moment of release, and only a distant second to function as a draw check. Most of the people you see on youtube are good enough to not really need a clicker for checking draw length - but they would soon suffer from horrendous target panic if they took it off and had to interrupt their aiming process to make the "SHOOT NOW" decision.
 

Dr. B

New member
Although I did struggle with pulling through the clicker, this is a combination of a couple of things mentioned above: 1. Creeping bad habits. I tended to dip my head towards the string, without realising. 2. Doing something wrong, in my case, bow arm / shoulder position I think.
Personally I find it helps my release immensely for the reason fanio says.
I found that making the concious "shoot now" decision I tended to tense up my draw hand/arm, pull it away from the face on release and have the arrows flying left.
Clicker pretty much does away with this.
 

Ar-Pe-Lo

Member
For decent level archers, the clicker is primarily a way to take away conscious decision about the exact moment of release, and only a distant second to function as a draw check. Most of the people you see on youtube are good enough to not really need a clicker for checking draw length - but they would soon suffer from horrendous target panic if they took it off and had to interrupt their aiming process to make the "SHOOT NOW" decision.
Excatly, forget about DL check....it's very minor function of clicker. It's more form check and most importantly trigger release.
If someone think clicker is not needed, they either never shot with one or they struggle with one......

And of course theory is just theory, results are important.....and I'm yet to see 1300+ recurve archer without clicker....there are 100's of them who use one.
 

sylvanus333

New member
Excatly, forget about DL check....it's very minor function of clicker. It's more form check and most importantly trigger release.
If someone think clicker is not needed, they either never shot with one or they struggle with one......

And of course theory is just theory, results are important.....and I'm yet to see 1300+ recurve archer without clicker....there are 100's of them who use one.
thanks for your views, i was talking about the average club archer 2nd and 3rd class ,can i say when used correctly it only helps with vertical placement of the shot not the horizontal path, compound archers dont use a clicker because they have a draw stop, your anchor point is your draw stop , with top form, back tension etc i think a clicker is a mental hindrance, its not cool to shoot without a clicker thats why i use one
 

Ar-Pe-Lo

Member
thanks for your views, i was talking about the average club archer 2nd and 3rd class ,can i say when used correctly it only helps with vertical placement of the shot not the horizontal path, compound archers dont use a clicker because they have a draw stop, your anchor point is your draw stop , with top form, back tension etc i think a clicker is a mental hindrance, its not cool to shoot without a clicker thats why i use one
I don't think 3rd or 2nd class archers have top form.....if they had, they would be top archers ;) I can assure you, clicker make your group size smaller in all direction if used properly.

I hear very often this argument: with proper form and timing and etc. you don't need clicker.........so why all people with proper form using one?
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
The clicker threads always bring out the "two sides" onto the battle field.
A clicker is one of the cheapest bits of kit. Perhaps its humble price tag brings about the thinking that it can't be all that good. Would you pay ?1200 for a bow and try it for a few shots, decide it's not working and leave it at home next time?
I often hear newer archers saying that a clicker would be just one more thing to worry about. They say they have enough to remember already.
I believe it takes away two things that many struggle with." Is my draw length changing shot to shot?"
" When do I let go?" That's an impressive list for such a small outlay.
It is a mental hindrance IF you are thinking about it going off when you shoot. If you have the clicker in your mind, you are not letting it do its job.You are hindering it. The clicker should be treated like the longrod. Fit it, and let it get on with what it was designed to do. Do we ever wonder when the long rod is going to roll the bow forward; I think we just let it do its job, while we get on with ours.
 

joetapley

New member
The reason an archer aborts a shot doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the clicker. It's just when holding the arrow point under the clicker the mental "abort" signal starts flashing. In my case the most common reason for aborting is that the grip on the string doesn't feel right either finger position or pressure distribution - no option but to start from the beginning or "damn the torpedoes full steam ahead".
 

backinblack

Active member
thanks for your views, i was talking about the average club archer 2nd and 3rd class ,can i say when used correctly it only helps with vertical placement of the shot not the horizontal path, compound archers dont use a clicker because they have a draw stop, your anchor point is your draw stop , with top form, back tension etc i think a clicker is a mental hindrance, its not cool to shoot without a clicker thats why i use one
Hi Sylvanus,

If you have issues with using a clicker, it is because you haven't got used to it yet.

There are a number of threads on this subject, most of which get fairly heated fairly quickly but I think that you should take it that, if every single elite archer (with form far better than us mortals) uses one, and they do, then it has to add something beyond being purely a draw stop.

Learning to shoot with a clicker is a bit like beginning again, but if you persist with it it will become natural and won't be such a mental hindrance.

Don't do something just because you think that it is cool: if I could get a ten every shot by standing on one leg and barking like a dog I'd do it but it wouldn't be cool.

Best,
Backinblack
 

Dr. B

New member
What does being cool have to do with it?
As backinblack says, all the top archers use them, and they don't do it to look cool.
Club archers can struggle with them, but even at my small club I think out of the top 3 or 4 archers (probably bowman standard) only one doesn't use a clicker.
Out of the rest of us mediocre archers, though, very few use a clicker.
 

little-else

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
[/QUOTE]all the top archers use them........
Out of the rest of us mediocre archers, though, very few use a clicker.[/QUOTE]

Cause and effect perhaps?
I am one of those few mediocre archers that does use a clicker. I havent got the technique right yet but it does reduce the effects of a couple of my faults and cannot see why many people wont go with them. I can say that my shooting has improved drastically this summer and part of that is down to using a clicker. Some of it is just part of the psychology of preparing yourself to release an arrow and as it shows up some of the faults I bet many people want to bury the evidence of faults in the back of their mind. Out of sight....
 

chuffalump

Well-known member
" Is my draw length changing shot to shot?"
" When do I let go?" That's an impressive list for such a small outlay.
Surely the answer is 'yes' if my group is spread vertically and when I am happy with the position of the sight on target? :D

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
and as it shows up some of the faults I bet many people want to bury the evidence of faults in the back of their mind.
I think that could be correct. I also feel, that some put on a clicker and expect it to "do the work", in the way a longrod can reduce groups from the first fitting. " If it doesn't work I will take it off."
 
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