Some Detail About My Release

How much does it cost to build a release like you use?

The cost of the material other than the actual release is pretty low. What do you need?

1. A piece of nylon strap. I used a piece of strap for boat tie down. Seat belt strap would be great. You probably have something. Cost new $2.00 max.
   
   
2. I use a piece of "headliner material" from the fabric store. A large piece cost $5.00 or so. This is cloth on one side and foam on the other. Nice but not necessary.
   
   
3. I use an eyelet for the cord to tie to. I bought mine from the fabric store. I saw them at Wal Mart the other day in the department with tent stakes and etc. They cost a couple of dollars for a few. You want a pretty large eyelet. I have a strap with no eyelet and it is fine. I made the hole with a soldering iron it the nylon.
   
   
4. The gepe photo shutter release cost about $7.00 . It depends on where you get it an shipping charges and etc. You might find a shutter release locally or even own one. Some are too rigid an don't work well.
   
   
5. The mounting plate is made from a piece of aluminum 1/4" thick and 1" wide. I have a piece that was 8 feet long. It cost about $8 at Home Depot. It will make loads of plates. You may find a piece of scrap around. The first one I made was from hard wood. Then I used a piece of old tree stand. You need a good drill press and a way to saw. I use a lathe to drill for the small bolts and a scroll saw to saw th little square areas and the slits.
   
   
6. The wooden clip is made from a scrap of maple. It could be oak or pine. Maple is used for cutting boards and has tight grain with little taste. You can get a scrap of maple. The biggest problem is cutting the clip. You need to own a good scroll saw or have a friend who does. A visit to you school shop may do the job. If nothing else works write me.
   
   
7. The release I use is a Scott Little Bitty Goose. Many others can be used. One may be better. This is a nice release and cost around $50 dollars. It is 1/2" round. You can use a square release. The hole for it would have to be cut instead of drilled.

So..... The cost is pretty low depending on what material you can come up with around the house. The release itself is not cheap. A good release is never real cheap. You need one no matter how many hands you have.

My bow was set at 70 pounds when I got it. I could pull it OK. It was a bit hard. I lowered it to 65 and could pull very well. I still thought that the more you pulled the better. When I sat down and when I shot from a tree stand I was sometimes stressed at 65 pounds if I held for very long. I lowered the pull to 62 pounds and find things much more comfortable. The difference is in difficult positions and holding for a while. I find 62 pounds as good as 70 in accuracy and there is far less vibration and stress.

I am now almost seventy years old. I am not a very large man nor am I strong by todays standards. I am just average. I think pulling as I do gives me some advantage. The strap can be left near the shoulder for more leverage. If you are a big strong man you can pull 70 pounds with no problem.

I have not tried a mouth tab. I had all my front teeth, upper and lower, removed on the football field at Plant City, Florida when I was in high school. I don't think the mouth tab is for me. I might kill a deer with my plate! I think that what I have is very nice. A photo release is used to keep from shaking the camera. Do you suppose I have an advantage over the two handed shooter? Don't mention it to them but I think I might. I shoot pretty good with my shutter release. My plates are in place! Maybe Dan Goeldner will tell us how the two systems compare before long.

When I started using my release I was holding the strap on the end of my arm and placing the release at the corner of my mouth. A shorter release brought the string farther from the bow increasing my draw length. That would be so with a mouth tab. I changed to the current device with the strap around my arm. I did that at the advice of a very helpful man that I met at Snow Shoe Resort. He owns the Carter release company. He told me that I must position the left arm in same manner as other shooters. He was right and I thank him for his advice which greatly improved my shooting. He was even nice enough as to offer to build any straps I needed using his employees. I sew and did not want to impose. When you see him in the Carter booth at events tell him I have not forgotten him.

With the current setup as I am using you can shorten the rope and pull the release to any place you want it. This means you can use a longer release like the other Scott releases. You just shorten the rope. I still have Little Bitty Gooses but can now use the Little Goose or any other release. I think I will need to stay with a round body as it is so much better to drill a hole than to saw a square hole. There are many fine releases that will do.

I suspect that longer draw length may be a great advantage of my release over the mouth tab. The tab and release shorten the draw length. There is nothing you can do but shorten the tab and use a short release. Your mouth is not going to move. With the strap around the arm (you must have enough stump with some strength) you can adjust the rope to place the bow string any place you wish. Decide where you want the string and measure to your hand and you have your draw length. I think you place the string at the corner of you mouth.

When I used my nub to hold the release to my mouth my draw length was set a 27 inches and it was a stretch. Now the draw length is set at 28 1/2" and there is no stress at all. If you use a mouth tab my release will give you more draw length.

I can now use a loop on the string. The loop did take away from my drawlength. No problem now. I believe that a loop does a great deal for accuracy.

If my anchor point is low it has nothing to do with my release. I can put the release anyplace I want high or low. I am lookin through the peep. The release is placed where it falls with the peep in line with the bead. Perhaps the peep is in the wrong place. The string stretches over time. I have never had a real pro to help me. Everything I know I have read or found from experience. I read a lot of Ragsdale's stuff. I will check on the anchor point. I would think one would "obtain a constant anchor point" just like two handed shooters. You can place the anchor point anywhere you want. I have alway had a bit of uncertainty about where the peep is placed.

There was no attempt in the picture to demonstrate anything. I just shot and had my wife take a picture.

I have noted that the line from the strap to the arrow rest seems to droop a bit. It is like a clothes line which is never perfectly straight. I have never thought that a matter of concern.