Barebow Slings or Straps

blakey

Active member
I was reading a post by Demmer the other day, who is in the seriously good basket. He said a couple of things that interested me, because I don't do either any more. One was to have a loose grip with no tension in the fingers. The other was to use a finger sling instead of a wrist sling/strap. I used to do both. Does anyone have any thoughts? :)
 

dvd8n

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
He's 100% right about the loose grip. And keep it loose throughout the shot - don't grab the bow after the release as that's just as bad.

About the finger vs wrist sling I'm not so sure. I think that's a personal choice thing. Use what works for you.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
One aspect of shooting with a loose grip( soft fingers) is that the bow, on release, is free to go where it wants to go, unhindered.Generally it will jump onto the sling. If you change your form anywhere in the bow arm, the bow will jump differently and you can detect those changes and do something about it.
If you have a tight grip, the bow hardly moves on release and the bow arm can interfere with the shot, without the bow showing much change in its reaction.
This morning I was helping an archer with his grip on the bow. He tended to grip the bow and pull it across to his right on release. There was no jumping of the bow as it was being held too tightly.
He struggled for a few shots to keep his fingers soft, but when he managed, the bow jumped to his sling. That in turn seemed to pull his whole bow arm towards the target as opposed to pulling across to the right. He could feel the difference between the two ways of holding the bow and could tell when he slipped back into gripping it.
With finger slings, some archers find the jumping of the bow makes their finger or thumb feel sore. I liked a finger sling but did find a soreness coming on. A wrist sling can be made so that it almost feels as if it isn't there. They are usually very easy to adjust for how much slack you have. Too much slack and the bow falls through the gap unless you grab the bow at the point of release.... NOT a good thing. Too little slack and the jump of the bow can be so confined that it isn't noticed. That isn't necessarily bad, but it can lead to gripping the bow even though using a sling. There is then no point in having one.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
I'm in the finger sling basket :) I would say give one a go for maybe 20 years. If you haven't got used to it give it another 20 years. Then, if you still find it awkward, try a wrist sling................ maybe :)
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Heehee. I used a wrist sling for my first 20+ years and got used to it.
I tried a finger sling and thought it was an improvement, in the sense that the bow seemed to stay upright better and there was more feedback. Eventually, i noticed my thumb started to ache after shooting and that settled down when I went back to the wrist strap, which puts no strain on any of the digits.
For those with tougher hands than mine I would say the finger sling is nicer to use; it feels more as if it's doing its job. Having the right amount of slack is worth spending time getting it right.
Would it be easier to spend 40 years in one go?
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
I can use a finger sling, but I don't like the feel of it on my thumb. It catches my attention all the time and I feel like I have to move my thumb to make it more comfortable (never works for long). So I moved to a hybrid, wrist to finger. That's working fine for me.
 
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