I'm not sure as to why 'string feel' is a good thing. My Barbee and Bateman tabs get broken in to a point where the string is grooving into my fingers and I am often guilty of plucking. Thick tabs do feel odd but it seems that once you quit thinking about it, they are fine (Black Widow for instance).

I was just online shopping for tabs and just had the bright idea of sticking some fuzzy Velcro to the back layer of the tab to pad my finger grooves a bit (the side that is against your fingers).

Still feels like a Bateman, just a little more comfy

I like thin tabs myself, like cheap jack Neet hair tabs. They don't last long like a nice cordovan. But I just can't get past the lack of contact with the string, on a heavy tab. I'd shoot bare fingered but I'm too much of a weenie. lol

This padded Bateman still has a lot more string feel than my Black Widow. I've had weeks when I got obsessed with my 60# bow and bruised my fingers. I am a musician with arthritis developing so I have to be a little bit careful

Bob, ..I had friend who always shot his compound bare fingered. Over time you can make your fingers like leather. Mind you he was a man among men with huge hands. Sandy

Looks like a good idea. Think I'll try it.

I have used a cut piece of inter tube from my bike works good for padding.

Awhile back when I was shooting a lot my fingers got so sore I could hardly shoot. I inserted another layer of thin leather in my Bateman tab and that immediately fixed the problem.

I make my own tabs from seal pelt. I back them with one or two layers of leather from an old coat which I glue together with contact cement. Sandy

I spent years hitting punching bags and bags of gravel and doing knuckle pushups on concrete, and pounding my hands against wooden kung fu dummies. It was stupid.

Yessir John, I have a friend who shot with bare fingers until he damaged the nerves and couldn't shoot anymore.

Anyway, everyone is a bit different for sure. I have a Rick Barbee tab and still using as it is, but I shoot 45 to 50 pound range bows so the pressure isn't awful. I also have an old Neet tab that I still use. Here's what the old tab looks like and it still works great.

I have arthritis and very bony fingers. Some guys have huge fingers with lots of meat for padding. Either way padding is a good thing. I often make my own tabs and they are probably thicker than most folks would want them.>>>-----> Ken

I almost always pad mine with a little fuzzy side of velcro. Works great.

Another thing you can do is pad each finger at different thicknesses to make the fingers engage the string the way you want them to.

Rick

I make my own tabs, I may give that a try. Thanks Rick.

I like super heavy padding. You can't really discuss this without bow weight in the picture.

Thanks Rick!

I was just adding velcro to two tabs I got from you and now I don't feel 'guilty" :) The Barbee tabs feel so compact compared to Bateman.

Thanks Rick, I will give that a try. >>>------> Ken

Rick, that's genius....I just added a 2nd layer of velcro on one of your tabs just under my first finger and it is much better. My index finger is a little messed up (crooked and doesn't bend as well) and the extra padding evens out the load nicely.

Thanks Rick! As usual your insight into minute details is incredible.

It's impossible to please everyone with tab thickness, but if you build them kind of moderately thin, and in a way that easily allows for added padding, then no one can complain. 8^)

Rick

some don't want to feel any string at all. different strkes?...ron

I like a multi-layer tab myself, Widow super leather is my favorite. Nerves in my fingers are super sensitive and with a good bit of shooting I'll be releasing before I hit anchor from the discomfort. Wish I could find another Back 40 Ultra Tab, that was my old go to, they went out of business though.????

I use the leather faced one from 3 Rivers. It is two layers and stiff as a board when new. Once it breaks in I will sometimes pad it with a very thin soft piece of leather.

I just padded my old black widow tab, man what a difference

Riverwolf ×2

LOL, never built a glove Ralph, but for the right price I can build just about anything.

8^)

Rick

I have an issue with my trigger finger where it contacts the nock. So I pad the little tab on my BW split finger tab. it still hurts but not as much. I also have started to use nock inserts in my carbons so I can use the Bohning nocks which for whatever reason feel better.

Interesting with a lot of ideas to consider. This may be a bit off topic but...

When Wingshooter (Roger) came out with his wrist-assisted Talon tab, I, of course, had to try one. His tab is designed to take pressure off the fingers. It's a great thing for (some) guys that suffer from arthritis or injury.

Now, I've been a long-time sufferer of target panic and found something very interesting. Immediately, I found I had more control of my shot with his tab. For me, there was a direct correlation with pressure on the fingers and pressure in the mind. The more pressure I took off my fingers the more control I had over my shot.

So.... after shooting his tab for a few weeks, I thought I'd pad my homemade tabs and see if it helped. I keep some pieces of leather and deer hide around all the time to make my tabs, side plates or whatever.

Anyway... I cut a couple thin pieces of deer hide to match my tab and used contact cement along the back edge and put them inside my tab.

Just like using Roger's Talon, I had immediate results; less pressure on the fingers = less shot anxiety--for me anyway.

Jim, 2 questions. Don't you like a vertical strip on your tab to square it up with the string each time. Or is there something I am unaware of? I ask once before but it was late on the thread and I don't think you came back to it. How does that Talon Tab take pressure off the fingers? If it don't hook to the string someway it seems like you would still have all the bow weight on your fingers,even haveing it connected to your wrist. Tab connected to wrist but not connected to string??? I guess I just need to get one and see.>>>-----> Ken

The Talon has a ridge on the end of it. Pressure from your fingers keeps it on the string. The weight of the draw however, is on your wrist. The Velcro on mine was scratching my hand up and needs a little modification. But it does teach you to keep your hand straight and relaxed

Ken, no I don't have any strips that do that. Interesting though.

JSD just answered about Talon. You can adjust it to take as little or as much weight as you want off your fingers.

thank you for this thread

I got it now. I wasn't aware of the ridge to hang on the string. The string get over the ridge clean enough? To tell the truth,I just put a wrist strap on a regular tab and there was nothing to take any weight off the fingers. Duh. Thanks guys.>>>---->Ken

Ken,

The ridge doesn't "hold" the arrow. It doesn't work like a ledge.

If you shorten could shorten the strap on your tab, you could see what we're talking about. With Roger's tab you can put virtually all the weight on your wrist.

If you buy high quality tab they will not groove on you. Shawn

Shawn, Im going to try the new "Yost Archery" barebow tab. Every body and their brother uses Batemans...mine dont have an actual crease in them at least...just no rigidity

Bumping this for Darkarcher

HOLY SMOKES!!!!

Now these are the kind of threads that i like to see. Outstanding!!!

I've never had a tab, that didn't get a groove eventually, and I've had at least one of every kind out there. That includes cordovan leather, and molded teflon, which were two of the toughest & best.

That is, except for the ones I build for myself. Mine will get a fold, but it isn't a groove for the string to hangs in. The fold serves as a locator for the string.

This tab has thousands (lots of thousands) of shots off it, and it shoots as good today as it did the day it was built.

By the way. I have two padding layers of fuzzy-v on this one. One stuck to each side of the leather backing. Comfy little booger it is. 8^)

Rick

Very helpful...Thanks Guys. Started with my tab last week off and on.

Don't want to hijcak, but I have a tab-related question.

Ihave two Bateman 3-under tabs. The older one is thinner than the newer one. Part of the reason due to wear/compression/being broken in. The other reason is that the two layers are just THINNER on the old one, compared to the newer one.

Question: Does tab thickness contribute to left/right arrow impact?

My observation is that the thicker, newer tab places the arrow impact about 4" to the left from the THINNER tab's grouping (about 20 yard shooting distance.). I am right handed (tab in right hand). Same arrows, same tip weight, just THICKER tab with more LEFT arrow impact.

Is it me? Or is this real? I've shot another tab (one piece silicon plastic model, 3-under), and that moves arrow impact even further left.

Any thoughts on this? When I saw this thread, I wonder if anyone who has padded their 3 under tab (making it thicker) experienced anything like this.

Thanks in advance, but apologize for potential misdirection on the threads.

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