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Wrist sling?

Allegheny Tom

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
6,027
Location
Western Pennsylvania
How many of you guys are hunting with a wrist sling on a trad bow?
I was watching Jenkins and Blackmon and they recommended a sling.
I jury rigged a finger sling today and I think I like it for practice but I need a different style for actual hunting situations.
Whose using a sling and what type?
 
How many of you guys are hunting with a wrist sling on a trad bow?
I was watching Jenkins and Blackmon and they recommended a sling.
I jury rigged a finger sling today and I think I like it for practice but I need a different style for actual hunting situations.
Whose using a sling and what type?

When I shot trad, I used a wrist sling with a short doinker stab/damper to hold it on. I ran a Jaeger grip on my primary bow and shot similar to a compound (fingers curled back and not holding the bow). Shot great.
 
Been using one for a lot of years.
I like the Hoyt model, an aluminum bar attached at the riser with the heavy nylon sling through the 2 holes.
Have used a lot of different ones over the years, but the Hoyt is the best for me.
I was taught by a "wise older gentleman" you don't want a hard grip on the riser, just let it rest in the v-groove of your hand, and I don't curl my fingers.
 
I have permanent grooves and tan lines on my thumb and index finger from shooting tens of thousands of arrows with a finger sling, but for my hunting bow, I haven't had to use one yet. But then again, I'm just getting into shooting from a tree, so I'll probably bring a finger sling and keep it on my hand, since it's about a .5 second process to put it on.
 
I have permanent grooves and tan lines on my thumb and index finger from shooting tens of thousands of arrows with a finger sling, but for my hunting bow, I haven't had to use one yet. But then again, I'm just getting into shooting from a tree, so I'll probably bring a finger sling and keep it on my hand, since it's about a .5 second process to put it on.
Redneck sling...
My recurve has a threaded bushing for a stabilizer. I put a bolt in it and attached a homemade sling made of shock cord ( yep, I found yet another use for bungee cord and zip ties, lol). It works great. I'm gonna leave it on there.
 
Redneck sling...
My recurve has a threaded bushing for a stabilizer. I put a bolt in it and attached a homemade sling made of shock cord ( yep, I found yet another use for bungee cord and zip ties, lol). It works great. I'm gonna leave it on there.
Honestly I could try running a wrist sling from the stab hole around my wrist, but honestly I've put on a finger sling so many times that it's second nature and I think I would fumble around more with a wrist sling attached to my bow. I'm assuming you keep your bow on a hook in the tree?
 
Honestly I could try running a wrist sling from the stab hole around my wrist, but honestly I've put on a finger sling so many times that it's second nature and I think I would fumble around more with a wrist sling attached to my bow. I'm assuming you keep your bow on a hook in the tree?
Yep, my bow hangs 90% of the time. My diy sling stays nice and wide open, very easy to slip my hand into it. My 1st experiment with a sling was a finger style (haha, made from shock cord and zip ties). It worked well but I don't think it was hunt-friendly. Maybe okay for shooting in the yard but not for an immanent, hunting situation in the tree.
 
Yep, my bow hangs 90% of the time. My diy sling stays nice and wide open, very easy to slip my hand into it. My 1st experiment with a sling was a finger style (haha, made from shock cord and zip ties). It worked well but I don't think it was hunt-friendly. Maybe okay for shooting in the yard but not for an immanent, hunting situation in the tree.
I've been shooting my hunting rig without a finger sling and I have good control of it after the shot, but I don't know if I would trust that after a shot on a deer from 14 feet in the air, so I'm going to mess around with a wrist sling tomorrow. Not gonna be hunting this fall anyways so I have lots of time to tune up this rig exactly right.
 
I've been shooting my hunting rig without a finger sling and I have good control of it after the shot, but I don't know if I would trust that after a shot on a deer from 14 feet in the air, so I'm going to mess around with a wrist sling tomorrow. Not gonna be hunting this fall anyways so I have lots of time to tune up this rig exactly right.
The thing that got me considering a sling was what Jenkins said about minute, subconscious muscle reaction trying to control the bow upon release. The object is to NOT control the bow, let the sling do it.
 
The thing that got me considering a sling was what Jenkins said about minute, subconscious muscle reaction trying to control the bow upon release. The object is to NOT control the bow, let the sling do it.
yeah, I meant in terms of not having the bow fly out of my hand. I used to have minor issues with grabbing the bow even with a finger sling and I had it drilled out of my by my coach, so me letting the bow go completely is more of an issue than me torqueing the bow. A lot of high-level shooters actually have a bit more finger contact on the back of the riser than is strictly necessary, simply because that's what is repeatable for them. Without a long rod swinging my bow out and away from me, a little bit of light pressure on my index finger keeps my bow form jumping out of my hand.
 
I have a different approach to hunting with a single string bow and when shooting paper or foam.

On paper or 3D, I use a sling each and every shot - it will make a difference in my accuracy but it isn't all that drastic. When hunting - here is the point that may cause some crooked eyebrows - I am slightly less concerned with accuracy. I suspect my average group may open up an inch or two when simply holding my bow without a sling which is good enough for me to hunt with because if that inch WOULD be the determining factor in killing that animal or not I likely would NOT have taken the shot in the first place. Targets and foam I am way more concerned about trying to hit exactly where I want the arrow to hit; it is a different game altogether.

My favorite sling was very similar to Rod's sling he demonstrated on his MBB video.

With that being written, I am only using my compound this year because I haven't had the time to devote to shooting with the accuracy I like with my trad equipment. What's more, I recently bought a Magnum Research 44 Mag with a 7.5" barrel that thing absolutely drives tacks so I can't wait for gun season to get here!
 
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