Just a question,who shoots which and why.Iknow a dynamic is all the rage and its what i use.But thought a static might reduce plucking the string.I know a lot of people will say you can't use back tension with a static release but i don't know how many of us truly use it any way. Paul

I use static, get bad arrow flight when I use a dynamic release.

Before there is any bashing going on, pay attention to the segment when all of the "masters" are being shown releasing an arrow, back to back. About half of them use dynamic, and about half use static.

Its like split or 3 under. Whatever works

Ive found just the opposite if I shoot with a static or dead release I pluck alot more then pulling through the shot. My hand always goes to the same spot when I pull through but ive yet to be able to consistently keep my hand on my face with a static release. Also pulling through prevents creeping.

What 2Blade said. Also watch any of the Korean archers and their coaches, there are vids all over YouTube. There is a reason why they all use a dynamic release.

For guys who are shooting lighter weight bows and shorter draws I would really recomend learning a dynamic release, quite a bit more arrow speed.

Mushin -

A "static" or "dead" release implies a collapse; physically impossible otherwise.

That doesn't mean you can't shoot well with a dead release, it just won't be as consistent (it just takes more work and doesn;t buy you anything). Like Ishi said, you won't find too many Olympic shooters doing that.

Viper out.

Some of what i'm having a problem with is i went to a lighter wt. bow,and seem to have trouble getting a clean release.I agree with Ishi but I think it takes a very high skill level to master it.

M -

Yes it does take a high level of skill to master it. You have to learn to relax unnecessary muscles while you shoot. That's really all there is to it.

Regardless of the weight of he bow, if the string is pulling towards the target with X pounds, your back has to be pulling in the opposite direction with the same amount of force or a little more. When the string leaves your fingers and moves forward, the back tension will move the hand in the opposite direction. In effect, all you have to do to get a perfect dynamic release is, well, nothing.

A real static release means you're breaking back tension during the release and usually tightening up your string side shoulder.

Viper out.

Thanks,for the good advice! My wife says im perfect at doing nothing so it won't take me long to improve.

LOL mushin, I hear ya

The law says that for every action, there is an opposite & equal reaction.

Butch

A Formaster really showed me the differance in the release styles. I still goback and use the Firmaster every couple of days. But I do see the using it at the beginning of a practice sesssion would help remember the proper release.

For years I shot with a static release. When I read Vipers book it explained the difference. I was actually forcing my hand to remain on my face, using muscles I didn't need to and breaking my consentration on the target. Today my release, although not as flamboyant as some, is dynamic, moving rearward a few inches. My shooting improved greatly due to this change. Frank

I started the static release last year and my shooting has improved, I was always plucking the string , its helped me consideralbly .My friend started a static release and he isnt doing very good at it and he was wondering what he was doing wrong, I noticed he was punching ( Im not going to tell him till after the the last 3d shoot this weekend I can beat him now!). As far as speed goes I have cronograped both and if you release smooth on static there is no difference.

"Punching", as you say, is merely collapsing of form. Sounds like you have pretty solid form, Tom, if your accuracy increased. I found the difference between static and dynamic to be more than noticeable. I wouldn't hesitate to say at least 5 feet per second. For me, it can mean being point-on at sixty yards, or hitting the ground at the same distance. No contest.

Short range shooting you can use static or dynamic release but when it comes to longer shots past 40y the you understand why tourney Field and target shooters a dynamic release, stand at 50 yards and shoot 12 arrows each with both static and dynamic release, with the static release you will likely find around half your arrows in the dirt in front of the target.

Of course there are great shooters using the static release.Some of them on this board,but almost all the Olympic shooters use a dynamic release of one sort or the other.I know both Viper and Len Cardinale recommend the dynamic release.If you practice the dynammic style over and over you should eventually get rid of plucking,but the static is a quick fix.

Every archer that I know who switched from a static release to a dynamic/back tensioned release, improved their accuracy and it wasn't even close.

The 'dynamic' loose isn't 'contrived' nor 'effected'.

It is AS IF you were going to draw the bow another 1" using back tension and AS YOU DO THIS you simply "QUIT HOLDING" the bowstring. BOTH operations happen at the smae time.

The string and arrow go downrange.

The drawing hand-arm move slightly rearward in the opposite direction.

I find that a good slick TAB affords the best results no matter what loosing style one uses. The string should fly free from the drawing hand smoothly and crisply..Jim

I don't think there is such a thing as a static release really. You have to be pulling the same amount back aas the bow is pulling forward. An equalized force. But your still pulling back until you release...technically.

A dynamic release is nothing more than contraction of your back muscles that exceeds the bows force just a little for some or maybe not at all for others. But the point is that the force is being controlled by the back muscles and the arm is relaxed or "calm" in a "dynamic release".

Mushin,

Let your handle be your guide. Don't think about the release. Let your back muscles keep pulling and all you do is aim. I rarely remember the loose.

Someone once told me that loosing the string is like dropping a heavy bucket. Pick a 5 gallon bucket filled with water up with just your 3 shooting fingers. to let go just relax your fingers, nothing else. Gravity will take care of the rest.

(Of course, maybe your handle means something completely different to you than to this old martial artist.)

Regards,

Carl

A properly executed dead release is completely different than a collapse.

If you don't really know what it is, why call it something it isn't to make it seem like you know what you are talking about :)

Jim Pickering had a dead release -- top pro shooter Ed Rhode in the hall of fame and the only pro to win all 4 top tournaments in the same year -- dead release Someone mentioned a guy out east that shot top field rounds using a glove, index finger in the corner of his mouth and you guessed it -- a dead release.

I just shoot. Sometimes static, sometimes I pull through. I tend to hit what I am shooting at regardless of how I release. Thats the beauty of instinctive shooting. After doing it enough if you trust your mind, you kill what you shoot at unless it gets out of the way, regardless of how you release. Basically, if you anchor the same place, you hit what you watch or dang close. It really is that simple. Praise the Lord.

Mushin, I too have been shooting a lighter bow this winter, I have to try and keep my hand a little quieter, meaning not to try and pull through as hard on release ( if that makes any sense ) LOL Good luck this summer maybe I'll see you at the 2nd leg.

I beg to differ from some of the notions expressed above. First, I think we can agree that a collapse on release is bad. I personally prefer a dynamic release, I call that kind 'long and lively'. I hope and believe that mine, with a longbow, is much like those of the Olympians. And I am at my best at long range, 60 to 80 yards.

But many fine barebow champions use a what I consider a 'dead' release. They don't collapse, in that their string hands do not move foreward. But they are 'dead' in that their hands go back very little.

You often see these 'dead' releases in archers who are tight in their movements and stocky in thier builds. Many learned to hold their hands tight to their faces on release by coordinating and timing muscular effort.

Both can work well with good back tension. Without back tension, both can be faked and be inconsistant.

Further, at a 3D event here in California, shot at the full field archery distances as is common here, our group got to discussing this issue. I mentioned that I once shot four arrows on that course at at 60 yards that hit with a vertical spread of only two inches. That was met with some skepticism. But when we came to the 60 yard target a longbow buddy did just that. His four shots had about a foot and a half of lateral spread, but only two inches vertically, with a dead release. So, both can work very well.

But.....we are both national champions at long range 3D with longbows and wooden arrows. - lbg

"But many fine barebow champions use a what I consider a 'dead' release. They don't collapse, in that their string hands do not move foreward. But they are 'dead' in that their hands go back very little."

When I see good shots using a Dead release they're using back tension but when string fingers are relaxed back tension is also relaxed at that same instant (I see Ricky Welch doing this in his videos), Dynamic release is just a continuation of back tension during/after the release.

Inconsistent shooting or a regular pluck/collapse is normally when somebody is not using back tension at all and trying to muscle the bow i.e just drawing with arms and never really transfering the load to Scapula.

For those who might be interested you might go to, Google and download the ebook , Archery, it's theory and practice by Horace Ford. This is a free ebook to read and written by one of the greatest target archers who ever lived. Chapter 11 on page 110 titled, Holding and Loosing is of special interest. I think he explains the process very well as to how he went about doing it. If you have the time you might enjoy reading the entire book as he explains how it was done over 150 years ago. Take care, Alaska Jim

lbg, Steve -

Actually this is sorta a black and white thing. Whether the string hand (elbow AND shoulder blade) move back 1mm or 1' is irrelevant. It's still a dynamic release. The reason for the more typical Olympic style fly-back follow-through is just added insurance. That's kinda important since the instant of release happens so fast that we really can't control it.

If the finger are to relax at the same instant as the back muscles producing a true static release, it would require split second timing. Sure it's possible, but why do the extra work when it really doesn't buy you a thing? (Other than being able to claim you have a dead release???) All it does is throw one more weak point or variable into the mix.

Viper out.

I thought I would throw one more thought into the mix and talk a little about the most famous "dead release" archer of modern times, Howard Hill.

Howard, IMO, had a very rotational draw. (If you don't believe me look at pictures of his bow scapula at full draw.). The major force of most target archers, as has already been noted, is pushing the bow arm toward the target and pulling the string hand away from the target, enabling a more "fly away" release.

Howard, with his bent elbow, did not push his bow arm so much toward the target, but instead rotated his bow shoulder around and so far back in his shoulder joint his bow scapula winged out. This, in turn, caused his string hand to rotate in the opposite direction. At full draw the scapula are nearly together. At release, the scapula snap together, but the distance is short so the string hardly moves backward; thus appearing to be a dead release, when it is actually a dynamic release with little string hand movement. It is even more so when one shoots this way with an open stance.

Thus, IMO, the more rotational the draw the less string hand movement, and the more "dead" it appears.

I agree that both are dynamic, to a point. I favor more dynamic, long and lively, ending with relaxed fingers dangling from a loose wrist. But some people are wound more tightly and that does not suit them. And that is OK by me. - lbg

I agree that both are dynamic, to a point. I favor more dynamic, long and lively, ending with relaxed fingers dangling from a loose wrist. But some people are wound more tightly and that does not suit them. And that is OK by me. - lbg

In my opinion I cant build too much tension. So when I am blank bailing I hold and let it build. I can tell when its strong because my hand really does fly back. I check it on every shot. Its part of my training. You cant have too much. Plain and simple.

To answer your question, Paul, I use a static release. I have a hard enough time hunting and I don't want the flag of my hand flying behind my face as I've seen with Olympic archers to tip off my shot. I hunt from the ground exclusively these days. Now I'm just doing what is best for me as I see it. No one should or needs to copy my style of shooting. :) Jawge

"That doesn't mean you can't shoot well with a dead release, it just won't be as consistent (it just takes more work and doesn;t buy you anything). Like Ishi said, you won't find too many Olympic shooters doing that."

Hill did it.

I actually wonder at times whether there are two different things. In dynamic your release hand follows the direction it was loaded in the shot. If that direction was a weight transfer to the jaw, then the fingers go forward, but it is still dynamic. Dynamic does not mean which direction you go. It is whether the string pulls free of the hand, VS the hand trying to let go of the string.

Another example of this is a gun that recoils into you. But experiments have been done with a stock with a hook, you hook it behind the shoulder and push at the target, on recoil the effect is very different from what happens normally, because the muscles are pushing forward.

Archery is both a push and a pull. In Olympic target shooting the bow should go flying out of your hand, but for the bow sling, and to some extent the stabilization. It depends how far one wants to take this stuff.

Howard Hill did not have a dead release. He sometimes advocated it, saying at the shot 'both hands should do nothing.'

But if you look at the many films and short subjects he made you will see that his elbow and hand flew back. On some action shots on movers, flyers and game it flew back eight inches or more. Very dynamic. Evidence of great back tension. Some are on You Tube. Have a look. - lbg

I have heard many times the conscious mind is only able to think about one thing at a time. I truly believe this. At the instant of release that tells me one’s mind must have only one thing it’s thinking about regardless whether or not you use some mental or physical que that initiates the release. For example, if one is using a clicker the only possible thing you can be thinking about is pulling and/or pushing to get that damn clicker to go off. You are not thinking about releasing or following through - it just happens. That’s why you never see anyone who shoots a properly executed shot using a clicker have a so called “ dead “ or static release. That tells me , why fight what comes natural? Yeah…..

Wow. Blast from the past!

I’ll say this…. I’m probably not coordinated enough to Stop Pulling and Stop Holding in the same 3 or 4 milliseconds.

When I release well, my draw hand doesn’t “do” anything; it does move, but only because it is just along for the ride. On my best shots, even though I wasn’t thinking about it, my draw-hand thumb ends up brushing the point of that shoulder. Those are the arrows that arc without any wobble, straight to the mark.

When you let go of 55 lbs of resistance your draw hand can’t help but move rearward!

MP

I was worried that after not shooting for a week, this thread would get in my head and screw everything up…..

Not too bad for a first shot from about 32 yards…. Fletching was just resting on the block….

Don't you just love those fake over exaggerated follow throughs?

It's like ok, I just released, my hand moved back some because it's physics, oh yeah now the big showy fly away limp hand back over my shoulder. Ole`!

Gimme a break.

I acknowledge you’re input Beastmaster but think about this - that same person is trying to do it right but are going about it the “ wrong way “. The release and follow through is a reaction, not an action. The follow through is a reaction to a properly executed shot utilizing proper tension built up in the back using the rotational draw method. I have also caught myself being guilty of what you are talking about from time to time.

I have been dealing with target panic to some degree for many years ever since I took the clicker off more or less for hunting purposes. The mechanical clicker is a fine tool for target shooting but I feel it is nothing more than a quick fix crutch to help someone get through target panic and achieve a release/follow through using proper form and increasing back tension up to the instance of

release.

I have recently taken up rifle shooting ( mainly bench shooting ) and actually I am pretty good at it. And thinking back , before I started getting more serious about it, I was dang good with a rifle back then too. I think the reason for this is the way I have always approached the rifle shot “process”. Basically it is this - setup - aim - relax and let it float - commit- squeeze straight back through the trigger until it happens. And if you subscribe to the theory that the concious mind can only process one thing at a time then the last thing was what? “ Sqeezing straight back through the trigger “.

Define a "perfectly executed shot"....

I would say I use a hybrid version, I would define my release more in terms of being static since my hand doesn't drift far back, but also dynamic in the sense it's not like my hand doesn't move back at all. I see Pro's demonstrate dynamic with what looks to be a significant hand drift back towards the shoulder, where as my hand stays on my face and moves closer to my ear.

I've shot most of my life with a static release. I still recall Fred Bear saying on one of his videos that your release hand shouldn't move. I also recall folks trying to train others by placing a broadhead next to a person's string hand so that if they moved it on release they would jab themselves. A barbaric training method.

While most of the time I feel like my back muscles are engaged, I do know at times when I get my back muscles engaged that my hand reflexively pulls back toward my shoulder upon release. And if I've had a relaxed string hand my fingers drop toward my shoulder.

Yes fdp - I get it. Maybe you need a couple beers for that. But I did say properly not perfectly. Thank the Lord we’re not robots. Maybe down the road if we practice enough?

Interesting thread. FYI, in the Apr/May 2024 issue of Traditional Bowhunter magazine, Jason Wesbrock has an excellent article on this very subject. It's definitely worth a read.

Thanks for the tip Maclean. I used to subscribe to that magazine many years ago. I will start up again. To try and sum up my two cents on the matter of static verses dynamic release I look at it this way. If the arrow is released at the millisecond of near maximum back tension the string hand has only one natural option during the release - to travel ( at least some ) and that is rearward. This is what I would say is a good shot. A more dynamic release and follow through occurs when the release happens during ever increasing back tension. This is what I have been practicing lately and have been having much better success with my shooting than ever before. Using a more rotational draw it enables more engagement of the middle and lower muscles between the shoulder blades. So my last concious mental que that causes the release is to steadily increase pressure downward and inward towards the other shoulder blade. I think that is allowing me to use my back as sort of a clicker without the “ click “. I would really like to hear some feedback from anyone who is currently using this method or maybe has tried it before. But just remember this - Like my Dad use to always say - “ Son , if it ain’t broke - don’t fix it “

Dynamic, works for me.

"Yes fdp - I get it. Maybe you need a couple beers for that."....I don't in fact.

A perfectly executed shot in MY world is one that hits what I aim the arrow at. And the truth of the matter is that I don't give care in the world how it gets there. As long as it is consistent....it makes no difference.

Personally over the past 40'ish years I've seen folks spend waaaayyy too much time worrying about that kind of stuff, and what other folks think their shot should look like and too little time just trying to be consistent in what they do naturally. And that phenomenon has become more prevalent with the popularity of You Tube.

But folks gotta' do what they gotta' do.

Try this... Get someone with a dead static release and have him stand with a brick wall an inch behind his elbow when he shoots.

You would think that with a static release his elbow would remain one inch from the wall after he releases. Well, that is not what will happen. After he is done cussing about his bleeding elbow and the number of band-aids it took to patch things after the shot, you can explain that the elbow always moves back after the shot. It is just a matter of degree.

The amount of movement in any shot depends on two things:

1. The anatomy of the shooter, some people are more flexible than others and the elbow will move more on someone who is flexible versus muscle-bound. Nevertheless, there is some level of backward movement on even the most static-looking shot. That is muscular recoil, and its appearance depends on anatomy.

2. Habit is the other thing. If you watch a very dynamic-looking release in slow motion video, you will see the initial "recoil" that is the same anatomic-based movement as we see in the the static (recoil) release. Then you will see that recoil stop like in an apparently static release. After the stop there will be another additional movement back that is separate from the recoil. That movement is a learned movement rather than a reaction to the sudden reduction in hold. Thus it is a habit.

All shots have some level of backward movement. Does it matter? If you hit where you aim, it does not matter at all.

I think most people that are accurate, and consistently get good flight are shooting dynamic release. Even if they don't know it. Pulling is pulling even if subtle. Nothing says you have to look like you're chasing off angry hornets to still be gaining tension on the string.

"look like you're chasing off angry hornets" creates such a vivid picture, I almost choked on my water. I can't stop laughing, that's gold charley, pure gold.

"I can't stop laughing, that's gold charley, pure gold."....

It is pretty darn funny....

Funny thing is I've seen it work the other way. I ment two young guys at a compound shoot. They had gorgeous something or other anniversary Bear recurves. Said they planned to make "public land kills" to commemorate the anniversary. The were new to stick bows. We shot after lunch a little. They crept on every shot, those bows would TWANG, and the arrow looked like an eel in flight. But them guys flew there hand back and girrated in a way that would've got Elvis banned back in the day. The wildest thing was the way those arrows wouldn't really even penetrat. But they were really happy.

Don't you just love those fake over exaggerated follow throughs? It's like ok, I just released, my hand moved back some because it's physics, oh yeah now the big showy fly away limp hand back over my shoulder. Ole`! I hope you are NOT talking about Rick Welch...Poor guy faking his release, hi is just a show off....according to you guys!

smokin joe - when I make a conscious effort to use a static release my elbow never moves, my fingers never leave my face. The string slips from my fingers and my drawing hand and arm stay in place. That goes back to when a friend would hold a broad head next to the back of my hand upon release.

There's a reason the most accurate archers on the planet use a dynamic release. You can tell from all the gold medals hanging around their necks. And Howard.

Just say'n.

I've seen some guys use some unorthodox styles of shooting but they were consistent. There are some basics that must be met to hit the target...and I do know that you can over think things and get yourself in a maze of frustration.

Paint your face through the shot, and call it what you want. It works.

Here is a mental que that I have been having good success with.

“ More ! “ For me anyway, I have a real problem switching back and forth from one concious thought to another under the stress of drawing even with a light weight target bow. “ Draw and Anchor “ is the next to the last thought I use/execute just before using the mental que to cause the release and follow through. The “ More “ I’m referring to is to actually cause an ever increasing rotation/ tension mainly between the lower portion of the shoulder blades. So, for me anyway, I find that if the latter is that one AND ONLY THING I’m thinking about ( while looking at the spot I want to hit ) the release and follow through is as good as it will ever get, period.

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