Get rid of it, and shoot like Dietmar Trillus.
If I get rid of it, I will shoot like Dietmar Trillus? It's gone dude!! A persuasive argument I think. :mind-blow
You have two options;run or fight.
Seriously, I have suffered similar problems and still do to some extent.The evo type simply makes me wonder when I will draw hard enough to get a release. Usually it is too late.
I feel it is all to do with KNOWING that you are working towards a release, as opposed to hoping it will go for some reason.
I tried a hinge release. You know it is going to activate because you can feel the handle moving.
That gave me a lot more confidence. For the first time, I had a release aid that I KNEW would activate if I kept feeling the handle move.
It's like the clicker user who thinks they have a mm to go and never get there.
Compare that to the clicker user who KNOWS beyond any doubt that they are pulling the point through.
Getting relaxed because of the hinge, has allowed me to make the thumb trigger type work better,too.I guess it could do the same for an Evo type.
I would not want to advise you to buy a hinge in order to find out whether or not it will work for you and the backstrap. I would advise you to ask yourself how badly you want the backstrap to work for you and what you are prepared to do to reach that end.
A very thoughtful, perceptive, and considered response, as usual for your good self Geoff! Your points relating to the subtle, but perhaps important, difference between a pure tension activated release like the backstrap/evolution etc. and the hinge type, is well taken. I have had vague thoughts along the same lines. As you know from previous conversations, I have indeed been afflicted by target panic in the past. Somehow, in recent years it has not been a major issue (I admit to the odd flinch occasionally but I don't let it worry me!
ptimist
. You use the words "confidence", "knowing", and "relaxed" also, which all refer to some extent, to the mind - and I do think target panic, and related conditions are very much a mental issue, albeit with very physical symtoms. My improvement in recent years has I think been down to better mental control, and perhaps this is a better area to look at for me than a purely physical solution like changing the release aid. At the moment, I think my "condition" is under control, though I suspect, like an alcoholic, once you have TP it is always there in some way!
You ask what I am prepared to do to make the most of the backstrap release and how badly I want it to work for me. I think I would need to embark upon a pretty major program of practice to achieve anything good, with a greater time input from myself, BUT the thing is I feel I could perhaps spend such extra time better by just improving my existing technique and practicing more in general. When I got the Backstrap, I was probably hoping for an easy improvement (or relatively easy anyway) and maybe I should have known that life isn't like that - you generally have to work to achieve things. So the answer is no, I don't think I'm prepared to do the work with the backstrap, although I may increase my workrate at archery practice in general. Thanks for asking the question though as it helps me to put my thoughts in order.
Firstly (in my opinion) you are not looking for a total surprise release where you do not know at all when the release is going to go off, you will have some idea of when the release will go off as you will have put yourself in the position that it will go off.
When shooting you must match the pressures front and back. For most people this translates into applying a slight push with the front hand as though you are pushing the bow into the gold. You do not want to push too hard or your front shoulder may begin to raise which will cause all sorts of problems.
Once you are pushing towards the gold I like to think about pulling my elbow back in a straight line from where it is held at full draw. With a trigger release this will cause the shot to go off within a couple of seconds, but i never know exactly when, so i only begin this movement once i have settled on the gold.
When shooting an evolution i find that sometimes the shot simply will not go off, and this is ALWAYS due to not applying enough pressure on the front, I can easily make the shot go off by beginning to push with the front arm, however this will result in a bad shot as the front arm moves, so i tend to come down and reset the shot pushing with the front arm.
If you do apply front arm pressure and you still can't get the shot to go off the spring tension may be set too high. Get yourself a set of bow scales and measure your bow to get the let off weight. Then measure your release and set it about 1 - 2lb heavier than the let off and try again.
Thanks for your thoughts NT, some useful stuff there, and not just in relation to using the release aid either. I will read through your advice a few times and may have at least a session or two with the Backstrap with these in mind, before making a final decision. I suspect it will still be to get rid of it if I'm honest, but I don't like to jump into decisions such as this. I agree with what you say about the surprise not being exactly what you're after - this is quite a subtle area to talk about, but I tend to go along with what Alistair Whittingham has to say on the subject.
Get shot of it, the demons are in :devil:
gre:, it's just not for you, I have not read one positive comment/aspect in your opening post about your time using the backstrap.
That's true - you're probably right!
Sell it.
Just look how many top target compounders using any kind of backtension release aids at competitions.
Sure, Gellenthien using Scott Longhorn and he is rotating his hand instead of increasing tension in the muscles in his back.
The Evolution and the Bacstrap are good fun to play, but when it comes to serious results, just don't try to rely on them.
Thanks for that Fletchett, it gives me confidence that if I do decide it has to go, that I can still improve and achieve things with my archery. I have heard about the hand-rotating trick, and why not if it works I suppose. I was originally considering that the backstrap would be primarily a training aid for me, and I would still use a trigger release in competition. What I did
not appreciate, or expect, was that I would find it so un-usable in practice too! Ho-hum... Strangely, I find it easier to shoot the back-tension increase way with my trigger release i.e. let finger rest on trigger and extend - the release goes off no problem. Although as I say, I don't generally shoot this way really.
Cheers to all of you in fact for taking the time to reply to my question! :beer::beer::beer::beer::beer: