Here it is. Everything you need to know about the four primary types of release aid. What are the differences? What are the pros and cons of each? What is the most common use case for each style? What is the difference between a hinge and a back tension? All of these questions and more will be answered. Warning: Some answers may surprise you.
Before getting into the four main releases, a little overview of what they are used for and why you need them. Release aids, or more commonly just 'releases', are used on modern compound bows to ensure comfortable, safe, consistent, easy, and reliable drawing and firing of your bow. They reduce fatigue in the shooter, allow for longer holds, and dramatically increase accuracy. They exist in many shapes and forms, but the general "hook + handle + firing mechanism" idea does not change. They are used across archery fields including hunting, target, 3D, recreational, and basically any other pursuit you can imagine that utilizes a compound bow.
The Four Main Styles
There are endless releases available on the market right now. Each main style has more variations and options than nearly any other product type in the world. Without getting too 'into the weeds' on the variations right now, let's just get the general overviews out of the way, first.
Index Finger: Most popular with hunters, the index release is the 'classic' release style that you might be most familiar with if you're casually aware of archery/archery hunting. These will come attached to a wrist strap and are activated by utilizing a trigger fired by your index finger - hence the name. The wrist strap allows you to draw your bow with your wrist for an even, comfortable draw that doesn't require too much effort from your fingers/hand. The strap ensures that you are always ready to shoot, thus the popularity with hunters.
Thumb Button: Much like the name suggests, the thumb button (or handheld trigger) style release is activated with use of your thumb on an offset trigger. These comes in many shapes and sizes, are often customizable between 3- and 4-finger bodies, can be used with lanyards or without, and often have customizable trigger positions. These are increasingly popular with hunters and target archers alike. You'll see a ton of these on Total Archery Challenge and 3D courses around the country.
Hinge/Back Tension: When someone mentions a 'back tension' release in reference to a physical product - and not a shooting style - they are talking about a hinge release. Hinge releases operate without a physical trigger, instead using rotation and a moon system to fire the release when the appropriate amount of rotation has been achieved. These allow for precise, intentional shooting and are most common in target and 3D scenarios. These commonly show up at 2-, 3-, and 4-finger designs.
Resistance: The fourth and final - and least common - type of release is the resistance style release. These releases utilize a safety during the draw that prevents premature firing, which is then removed when at full draw, allowing you to simply apply 'resistance' to the release in order to make it 'trigger' at a certain amount of pulling weight. These can be set at varying poundages to accommodate your setup and desired pull requirement. These are most often seen when training for competition or to remove target panic and sometimes also used in competitive scenarios. These commonly show up at 2-, 3-, and 4-finger designs.
Those are all relatively basic overviews of each type, I grant you, but we will get into it a bit more below for the specifics on hooking, drawing, holding, and releasing of each type. Before that, though, let's explore what you should start out with if you're just getting into archery for the first time.
Just Getting Started?
If you are just getting started with compound archery - or if you took some time off and are picking it back up - then you might find yourself getting lost when looking at your release options. I don't blame you, as there are really way too many options for a beginner to sort through on their own. To make it easier in one single step, simply stop considering anything that isn't an index finger release. I want you to forget about hinge, thumb button, and resistance releases altogether. They are dead to you. They are nothing. Index finger releases are the way to go if you're just starting out. This is true not only because of the intuitive design, but also because of the safe and assisted way in which they allow you to draw your bow. They stay on your wrist, allow you to draw and hold using your whole forearm, and the trigger design will be familiar to many.
You will find that there are two types of connection when it comes to index releases: web and solid/swivel. Each connection type has their pros, their cons, their lovers, and their detractors. In reality, you will be just fine whichever path you take. People use solid connections because they don't enjoy the 'flimsy' nature of web connections, which people choose web connections because they enjoy the length adjustability when compared to the indexed and rigid adjustments that come with solid connections. Both can be tucked away when hunting, and there is no noticeable difference in torque/precision when comparing the two styles. Go with what you feel most comfortable with.
Another piece of the index puzzle is the type of hook/body style that are you supposed to go with. You'll see spring assisted, dual caliper jaws. You'll see single jaw, closed hook. You'll see open hook, dual-sear designs. This one usually comes down to your own preferences, but also your budget - some versions and systems can be more expensive than others. Single jaw, both open and closed variations, tend to be more consistent in my experience, as there is less variation in how the d-loop can come off of the jaw when compared to a dual-jaw release. Closed versions might be the better path for a beginner given the inherent safety that comes with not utilizing an open hook. The overall easiest style to use, though, would be the dual-caliper releases. These operate on springs - the jaws open when you activate the trigger, and the jaws close when you let go over the trigger. Simple. If you are truly a beginner, or if that system is what you are most comfortable with, then you can't go wrong for either recreational use or for hunting purposes. If you are starting out with competitive archery in mind, then maybe try out a closed, single-hook release instead.
Whatever you do, if you are a beginner, do NOT start your archery journey with a resistance release or a hinge release. They are more advanced systems that require a better understanding of both your drawing process and your bow that you will not have when beginning - failing to use these correctly is a surefire way to ensure premature releases, misfires, dryfires, and safety concerns.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Each type of release has inherent perks and inherent drawbacks. I'm just going to give a quick list of what those are generally agreed to be. Again, specific models and designs will exacerbate or diminish some of these traits, so this is not a guaranteed catch-all:
Index Pros: Intuitive design and trigger, wrist strap connection, assisted draw, affordability
Index Cons: Precision (depending on design), encourages flinch/target panic
Thumb Pros: Ability to shoot surprise and command, consistent anchor, adjustability, convenience
Thumb Cons: Dropping/losing, encourages flinch/target panic
Hinge Pros: Combats target panic, great for practice, can be used for hunting, adjustability
Hinge Cons: No command shot, can create flinch when used w/click, dropping/losing, steep learning curve
Resistance Pros: Great for training and combating target panic/flinch, adjustability
Resistance Cons: No command shot, steep learning curve, dropping/losing, price
When You Might Use One
If there was a Venn diagram for the use cases of each type of release, there would be two very close circles that are almost on top of each other, a third one slightly less involved than those first two, and then a fourth circle just barely touching just the edge of the third circle. To translate, indexes and thumbs are largely used in similar situations, hinges have healthy crossover with those two, and resistance releases have crossover with hinges. Let's go over some examples.
Case: You enjoy primarily archery hunting but you will occasionally get out to 3D or TAC events with friends. Use: Thumb button or index release.
Case: You aren't much of a hunter, but you've been shooting at local 3D shoots for years and have a good amount of competitive experience under your belt: Use: Hinge or thumb button.
Case: You have been shooting archery a while on the competition circuit but have found you developed a flinch that you just can't shake. Use: Resistance or hinge w/out a click.
Just as a note, these are generally accepted examples of use cases and are in no way rules when it comes to archery. You CAN use any of these releases for any pursuit, it just makes less sense in most cases to use certain releases in certain situations. You're not going to use a hinge or resistance release when stalking elk in thick timber with small shooting windows. Much the same, you aren't necessarily going to pick a dual-caliper index release as a pro target archer who has developed some target panic. Not saying that you CAN'T do any of these, just that you might not.
Examples and Variations
Without getting too deep into all of this - variations can have variations of variations of specifications of variations - I am going to take each release style one step down and showcase some differences I have mentioned thus far, and some that I have not. I will also give an affordable example of each, just so you can associate what you're reading with applicable visuals.
Open-Hook Index: As the classification might suggest, these utilize open hooks that can be quickly attached to your D-loops, but with the caveat of not having a secure connection to the bow prior to your draw. They provide a very clean release, though. A popular and affordable example here would be the Stan SoleX.
Closed Hook Index: These operate the same way as their open-hook counterparts, except with the added insurance of enclosing the d-loop within the hook system - More ease of mind but with a more methodical attachment. A good example would be the B3 Nemesis Pro.
Dual-Jaw Index: The quintessential whitetail hunter's release, dual-jaw indexes fully-enclose around the d-loop for a secure connection and provide a safe yet easy attachment - using either spring assisted triggers or manually-closing jaws to connect. An example here might be the Scott Shark RTS.
Open-Hook Thumb: Much the same as the open-hook index releases, these are easy to hook onto your d-loop but you can't rely on the connection when you are not actively drawing your bow. They provide clean breaks and are quickest to load. An affordable example would be the B3 Exit L4 Open Hook.
Closed-Hook Thumb: Hopefully without sounding too repetitive here, this would ne the same as the open-hook thumb buttons, except with a slower loading time and the ability to keep the release on the d-loop when not in use. A good example would be the Spot Hogg Saturday Night Special.
Dual-Jaw Thumb: Broken record time - the simplest of the three to use and with either a manual or spring-assisted open and close system. A popular example would be the T.R.U. Ball max Pro Plus.
Standard Hinge: The classic handheld style with a rotation-activated mechanism. Many incorporate a thumb peg for added stability and comfort. An affordable example here is the B3 Ghost.
Hunting Hinge: The same as the standard hinge release, except these utilize wrist straps commonly found on index releases for peace of mind and added hunting ability. A price point example here is the B3 Ranger V2.
Index Hinge: A bridge between the beginner-friendly index release and the advanced hinge system, these releases give you the draw-assisted wrist strap and body design of a standard index release, except with an advanced firing and trigger system that comes with hinge releases. An example here is the Scott Verge Hybrid.
Resistance Handheld: Basically everything I've laid out about resistance releases - most you encounter will be this handheld variety. The Carter Evolution is a great example of this general release style.
Resistance Index: A rare sight in many cases, this takes the strap and body style from an index release and incorporates the safety and resistance-trigger from resistance releases. These are very helpful when combating target panic and flinch on your normal hunting index release. An example here is the T.R.U. Ball X-Tension.
There are many more variations and options for each of these (maybe save for the resistance releases) than I have gone over here, but for you beginners I hope this section helped to get your mind wrapped around the basic choices you have once you begin to shop for releases both to start out with, and to advance through as you gain experience.
Adjusting Your Release
I mentioned at the top that there are releases of every shape, size, style, and color out there and that these many variations would make it hard to cover everything about each one. That is true. One of the ways in which this is true is in the realm of adjustment. Releases will have various forms of adjustment and micro-adjustment all throughout their systems. Some will incorporate trigger travel, tension, and angle. You can change the trigger position and the size of the barrel on many. Some use torx screws, some use Allen head screws, some use Phillips head screws. Almost all of these adjustments will be found on different parts of the release's body from brand to brand, and from model to model.
Fortunately for you, and fortunately for me, and fortunately for our customer service team, your release will come (most likely) with diagrams and instructions on where and how to adjust all of the specifics of your release - whether it is tension, placement, or the number of finger beds it contains. Still, feel free to call in with any questions or concerns or whatever else you may need (within reason) and we will be happy to help you out.
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