Trufire Sear hinge release - my thoughts

jonUK76

Member
I purchased this as used from an eBay auction at a very good price. They are still sold, and the retail price of a brand new one seems to be around the £140-£170 range at the time of writing.

The Trufire Sear is a "back tension" hinge style release from US manufacturer Trufire, who are part of the Feradyne group of brands. It is a conventional hinge without a safety. It has a fairly unique four position sear which allows you to set it for four different "clicker" settings - 1) Fast 2) Medium 3) Slow 4) No Click. It is convertible from 3 or 4 finger configurations - when in a 4 finger configuration, the angle of the pinkie finger extension can be adjusted over quite a wide range using a set screw. The sear can be adjusted a certain amount to make the release "hotter" or "colder" - more on that later. The release body is constructed from brass, with anodised aluminium and steel components. The head includes a magnet to help reset the hook after firing.

I should say that this is my first hinge release - up to now I have only used thumb trigger types. I have in recent months been suffering from some form of target panic where I essentially can't hold the bow on target without punching at the release. I wanted to try this as part of attempting to retrain myself not to do it.

On first receiving the release I noticed the two sear adjustment grub screws looked well worn, and one was rounded out. Oh dear. I considered complaining to the seller but then thought with the low price I actually paid, and the fact that I thought I should be able to fix it, I decided against it. These two grub screws clamp down on the sear to hold it in place, and on inspection not only did the heads look worn, but tips that clamp onto the sear also looked like they'd seen better days. There are lots of complaints about this on US forums like Archery Talk. I worked out that the screws were 6-32 UNC thread, and ordered some slightly longer, high quality replacements. The new ones I ordered are hopefully harder wearing, and being deeper, shouldn't round out so easily. I don't see myself regularly needing to adjust the sensitivity on this release. I've set it fairly "cold" for now, and perhaps as I gain more experience I might want to change that, but once dialled in how I like it I expect not to touch it too often.

What I like
- Looks nice - the paint seems to be high quality and the release has a nice weight to it. The anodised sections give a nice contrast to the black paint.
- I like the hinge concept - despite it being a little scary at times. I've found it useful for working on my issues.
- Comfortable to hold. Seems to suit my hand shape well.
- Personally I like the clicker concept - I find it reassuring to get a bit of feedback before it is about to release and prefer the fast setting - I'm aware many do NOT like clickers though.
- Overall I feel I can shoot well with this release, although my intention at present is to use it in combination with my usual thumb release (a Carter Just-B-Cuz) to try to get over my "punching" issues with the thumb button.
- Mechanically very simple.

What I don't
- Sear adjustment mechanism - supplied grub screws were obviously soft. Surely it's possible to design a system that doesn't rely on directly clamping the sear with grub screws?
- The 4 position sear offers less "hot-cold" adjustment than a conventional half moon. It's possible to only have the sear partially clamped with the grub screws, which makes me uneasy.
- Probably quite expensive for what it is at full retail price.

Some pics







With 4 Finger handle fitted


The offending grub screw (replacement on right)
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Interesting post Jon.
I tried a hinge in order to overcome the same sort of target panic that you have been suffering from. I believe there are real benefits to be had from using a hinge. The aspect I like best is the way it can be set " cold". The delay that occurs between reaching full draw/anchor... and the actual release point, can be used to our advantage. I know for certain that it will go off. I do not know when, so it will be a surprise release. A real confidence boost for a TP sufferer.
 

jonUK76

Member
Thanks Geoff. It is surprising the difference it can make. While during my worst periods I've been unable to even get the pin on the target with a trigger, with the new release I've been practising holding the pin over the target and pulling through in a controlled manner. As I've discovered it IS possible to "punch" release a hinge; by consciously rotating the hand to release, I've found myself doing it once or twice, but it is much more difficult than punching a trigger and usually results in a very poor shot. It's also possible to actually punch yourself in the mouth if you don't draw correctly (fortunately, I've avoided this so far ;) ). I've found practising with a lighter draw weight bow (around 40 lbs) useful too - I'm less anxious about it going off during the draw.
 

seanplod

Member
I have just started to use the true fire myself. It is my first “back tension “ release ( don’t want to into the whole debate about the fact it is not back tension but a hinge etc……)

here are my conclusions so far.
I agree with the afore mentioned issues around the tiny, tiny grub screws to secure the sear try as I might I can not ever get sufficient clamp that eventually the sear slowly rotates on its own to the point that I cannot get it off. I have followed the same line and purchased a whole new set of stainless steel grubs to replace those original ones.
I used to always shoot thumb release and doing so with a command release as I never suffered with target panic. My natural process is very quick anyway which suited the command release. However I found I had reached a plateau where my scores had peaked and stayed relatively constant. I took the decision to try hinge release to try to extend to the next plateau. Once I got used to using this release aid I tried with all options ie hot click medium and no click. eventually settled for hot click and set it very hot to suit my quick process. The strange thing that has happened overtime is that I have fallen into a hybrid release action . So to explain this I found my score took a huge leap using a method of drawing, rotating until the click aiming as you would with any back tension release and rather than try to keep a slow rotation to achieve a surprise release I hovered on the gold and rotate the final millimetres quickly which achieve a a lovely clean release which achieves a good accurate shot ? I tried really hard to achieve the full surprise release but my head just wouldn’t agree with me !!! I do very occasionally get a plucked release but this is very rare. So rather than keep pushing to get a full surprise I have decided to just go with it. I have achieved my aim of increasing my score so much so I am now regularly beating long established club records.
Essential I have not shot any other back tension so cannot directly compare but apart from the initial teething issues I have to say a am very happy with the release aid
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
I think that a hinge release can allow the archer to trigger the release without being aware of how that final second or so is progressing. It isn't a waiting game hoping it will go. It is more like aiming more steadily is allowing the archer to ignore the release; knowing that it is going to go anyway. Wondering if a release is going to happen is not a good situation to be in. Deliberately making it go can often lead to issues as the focus tends to move to the release while the aim may be partly ignored.
 

Howi

Member
Used a Carter back tension(hinge) release with safety for years and liked the predictability of the release.
After many other releases of all types I have now settled on two I like to use most, Carter evolution (Quite old now but very reliable), and a Tru ball back tension (sear) release with clicker. At first I did not like the idea of a clicker, but was soon won over. I takes some time getting the release set up so that when I am comfortably at anchor the clicker goes off, only relies on a small predictable movement to then trigger the release.
We should really pick one particular release once we have decided on type, and stick to it, unfortunately, being human, we don't :)
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
We should really pick one particular release once we have decided on type, and stick to it, unfortunately, being human, we don't :)
I like that idea. I have fallen into the trap of wondering if there is a better one around and buying one to find out. I think it is a sound idea to settle for a good one and work on getting it to work. Sometimes I have tried different settings on the release aid and never settled for any particular setting. Bad! I should have set it at a sensible place and learned how to make best use of it like that. I have had a long brerak from shoting and on return have decided to leave things as they are. It is easier to make such a decision after a break in shooting. It allows me time to see how silly the constant changing has been.
 
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