Finger or Wrist Sling

Newalpost

New member
Having been instructed to relax my grip on the riser and then finding that I perhaps did this too much and dropped the bow has got me looking at slings.

I guess I'm going to get lots of different opinions but what would you recommend for a beginner - finger or wrist?

25" Recurve Riser - overall 68" - 30lb

Thxs
Colin
 

Erkat

Member
I would suggest a finger sling. But I wouldn't suggest buying one. Just get a sturdy shoe/boot lace or a length of paracord and make tie it off in a loop then just do a double loop over your thumb and index or middle finger. This is cheap and will let you try a finger sling easily. If it works for you stick with, don't spend money on a 'real' one there's no benefit in them.
 

Newalpost

New member
Now why didn't I think of that - guess my mind is too highly tuned :duh:

Off to the shed to find some.

Thanks
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Finger slings can be very nice to use; but some find they are fiddly and others say they get pains in their finger from the jump of the bow.
Wrist slings are very good to use and can be made easily. They can be adjusted very easily too.
One benefit I feel worth considering, is the way a wrist sling can allow a relaxed hand with almost no side effects. You draw and shoot and the bow jumps to the sling and rolls forwards, if you use a long rod. With a finger sling, there is a chance that the pull on the finger and thumb, can induce a grabbing action, which may go undetected.
I would say learn to stay relaxed with a wrist sling; then see what happens when you try a finger sling afterwards.
 
I used a finger sling (boot lace type) but didn't realise that it had slipped off until I saw my bow landing in the grass - not had that problem with a wrist sling (so far!!)
 

Corax67

Well-known member
I started off with a finger sling, everyone in club has, but it never really felt 'right' and I was still pinching the riser rather than letting it fall into the sling.

One of the guys lent me a wrist sling and I never looked back - for me it just works so much better and with it I have the confidence to not hold the how & let it do what it wants after release.

Cheap to make so always carry a couple of spares for people to try out.




Karl
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Perhaps that indicates that they are the best type to use. I guess they are all well beyond the stage where they might be struggling to maintain a relaxed hand.
I found that the bow reacted differently with a finger sling, compared to a wrist type. The bow stayed more upright; but the cost to my index finger drove me back to the wrist type. I now have a compromise version. IT looks like a wrist type but the cord that goes between the fingers no longer goes round to a hook on the inside of my wrist, it ends with a slipping loop that fits over my thumb. Half a wrist style and half a finger type.
 

blakey

Active member
Just watched 2hrs of the Recurve Finals | Shanghai 2015 and every archery used a finger sling. All but one of those slings was the wide bootlace style :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45tIaVzxcaE
That's also my understanding of what the top coaches are recommending down here. Obviously you can't argue with success. However I myself shoot with a wrist sling. I just find it more comfortable for Barebow. The bow has a different reaction on the shot. With Olympic Recurve and the long stab and forward roll I think you have a gentler reaction. I can't get much of a roll, so I get a big jump forward on the shot. It can be quite hard to hang onto. I find the wrist sling a lot stronger. The wrist is certainly stronger than the finger. 5 lbs suddenly yanking at your finger can be quite disconcerting. Plus I'm getting senile! :)
 

Newalpost

New member
Thank you all for your contributions. Without even trying them I think that a wrist sling might be the better option by being just a little less invasive, i.e I think a finger sling will have a noticeable feel around my fingers. I've dug out some paracord and will be making a finger sling today as its worth trying first anyway.

Thxs
 

thepensbybowman

New member
ThomVis and Geoffretired have both kind of hit on a point - by wrist sling do you mean a sling that is permanently attached to the bow (bowsling) or a sling that goes around your wrist, passes between your index and middle fingers, around the bow and then clips back on itself? Finger slings look like a figure 8 with a bit in the middle. With all of these it is vital that they are adjusted properly so you become confident in them doing what they are supposed to do - stop you grabbing the bow!
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Bow slings fit to the bow as ThomVis shows in his pics.
I guess that the first slings might have been called bowslings as a generic term. Then as other options were used, different names were given just to add some clarity to the readers/listeners.
Sometimes we might say to an archer that they might want to use " a sling". Then offer some options by a more specific name.

I remember release aids being called thumb or finger. Then wrist or hand held. Then trigger or triggerless. Backtension or hinge.
The words just seem to happen when there's a need to clarify... but who's to say which term is the correct one? Some just seem to be a better description than others; but even then it can be down to what options the archer is considering. Open jaw, closed jaw or calliper? There was a time when some wanted to know things like that.
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
Of course, there's always hybrids...
IMG_20150201_162603.jpg
Wrist to finger, in this case. You can also do that with just a bootlace, if you don't want to get creative.

One important point is to choose something that's easily replaced, like for like. It's a pain to have to get used to sonething new, just because you can't source something the same as your old one. That's what drove me to finger slings, and this latest version, in the first place.
 

Corax67

Well-known member
Perhaps that indicates that they are the best type to use. I guess they are all well beyond the stage where they might be struggling to maintain a relaxed hand.
I found that the bow reacted differently with a finger sling, compared to a wrist type. The bow stayed more upright; but the cost to my index finger drove me back to the wrist type. I now have a compromise version. IT looks like a wrist type but the cord that goes between the fingers no longer goes round to a hook on the inside of my wrist, it ends with a slipping loop that fits over my thumb. Half a wrist style and half a finger type.
It wouldn't look anything like this would it Geoff ?

This is what I use, found it less fiddly than the clip one I was originally lent - bodged my own design :)



Karl
 

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geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Hi Karl,
Yes it is the same basic design as that but the lace on mine goes from the thumb to the back of the wrist( where yours passes through the tube) I have a leather strap round my wrist and the two ends of the lace pass through holes in the end of that strap which line up one on top of the other. They have a knot to stop them pulling through the holes and that can be adjusted for amount of slack.
I find it is the best of both worlds.http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a...432&1447176023411&1447176026515&1447176029615
 

archeryal

Member
My variation is that I take essentially the paracord sling used in the video, but once I find the length I want, I sew the part that loops over the cross piece, still allowing it to slide. I make the thread a bit tighter than going straight across, allowing it to stay in a loop when I remove it.

Some people avoid re-tying the loops every time by removing one loop and placing it over the other finger until you need the sling for the next end.

Min Byeong Yeon (sp?) use a hybrid wrist/thumb sling in his win at Nimes, but wore a finger sling at Vegas.
 

Newalpost

New member
Interesting discussion, thank you.

I tried my home made finger sling and couldn't really get used to it. It felt uncomfortable and was a distraction but then I could perhaps try a thinner cord next time. Bow slings don't appear overly expensive and I may give one of those try.

Thxs
 

4d4m

Active member
To be honest I've never tried anything other than the finger sling that came with the bow kit a year ago. This is the type made from a single loop of thick round shoelace, with two pieces of plastic tube to make it into two connected loops and allow adjustment of the loops. At first I found it very distracting but now I only notice if I'm not wearing it. Using it, it still took a good couple of months to stop grabbing the bow on release.

Initially I wore it on the thumb and the two middle fingers (second and ring) because a youtube video I watched suggested that way. I found using a single finger allowed the bow to jump forwards a disconcerting distance but with two fingers that shortened the sling a little and helped. It also will act to share the load of catching the bow so is worth a try. A few months later however I moved to wearing it just on the second finger and thumb. Now I don't care how far forward the bow jumps as I have the confidence it will be caught.
 
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