Back tension vs hinge

[AJ16S]

Is a back tension release the same thing as a hinge release? I bought a Carter LBH the other day which I've seen referred to as a hinge release, but the blurb on the back says "true back tension". I had always assumed that BT releases fire when you load them up past a trigger point and that hinges fire on rotation (which is what the LBH does) so I'm confused.

Anyway, shot a few dozen with the LBH this evening and it was not as bad as I feared - mostly 9s & 8s instead of 10s & 9s (60cm @ 35m) with the odd wild one in the blue but no complete misfires, which was a pleasant surprise! I bought it as a training aid without really understanding what it's training me to do, but having used it I can see that you have to have a solid bow arm to shoot one and that it "feels" much better if I rotate my shoulder the same as I do to pull through a clicker rather than, well, whatever I do when I use the trigger release. Is that what it's supposed to be teaching me?

R.

 

[Moose]

If you are using it for training then yes it teaches you to use your back

But lots of people use them all the time to shoot competitively

You can also learn to shoot your thumb trigger release the same way by using the rotation to set the release off

Look on the archery learning center website and you should find the videos or links to some of GRIV's tutorials on the subject

It works well it is how I shoot my thumb release

courtesy of moose on the loose

 

[fanio]

there are currently two types of "back tension" releases:
1) hinge release, i.e. rotates to fire.
2) pull-through / resistance (most well known is the Carter Evolution, but Stan makes one too - the Element - and I believe some others as well).

There should be no difference in what you do with your hand in getting these to fire (or in fact shooting a thumb release properly - it is not necessary to relax your first finger as GRIV suggests).

The resistance-style releases are often used as a "training aid", though some people do shoot them at a reasonably competitive level (they seem to fade out of use at around 1350 or so, though there are a few higher scores too). You have to make sure your bow arm and bow shoulder in particular stays down and stays strong to shoot these.

Hinge releases can be used as a training aid too, but tend to be a more long-term solution; the current world records for both Men's and Women's FITA were shot by hinge releases (Scott Longhorn III and Carter Atension, respectively) and may of the world's top compounders shoot hinges (Reo Wilde, Braden Gellenthien, Jesse Broadwater, Chris Perkins, Pierre Julien Deloche to name a few). The right draw length is critical.

 

[AJ16S]

@Moose Thanks for the learning centre reference - didn't know about that site.

@fanio So at least I wasn't wrong about the two types, although I'm still puzzled by Carter's "true back tension" blurb.

R.