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A common piece of archery advice is “don’t punch your release.” Yet, some of the best professional archers have great success by ignoring that advice. I’ve made accurate shots on deer while involuntarily punching my release — as do many other bowhunters every season.
So can you punch and be accurate? That’s what I set to find out by shooting 30 arrows slapping the trigger and 30 squeezing it. Here’s what I learned.
What Is Punching the Trigger?
The standard archery advice is to treat your release aid’s trigger like a rifle trigger: You don’t set it off with herky jerky movements or with a violent slap. You squeeze it slowly until it fires. If you do use a sudden, violent action to trip the sear, you’ve punched the trigger.
The Test
I shot 60 arrows from my PSE Mach 34 at 40 yards using a Scott S2 wrist strap release. I used a World Archery 60 cm target to score 30 arrows punching and 30 while squeezing the trigger. The total scores gave me a direct comparison of each method’s accuracy.
For context here’s a breakdown of the scoring ring diameters:
- 10 Ring: 2.25 inches
- 9 Ring: 4.5 inches
- 8 Ring: 7 inches
- 7 Ring: 9.25 inches
Results
My score while using textbook release execution was a 288/300. My score while punching was a 279. So in this test the slow squeeze was more accurate over 30 arrows. But, punching wasn’t far behind and there’s more to unpack than the overall score.
My opening three arrows while punching were all 10s with two of them in the 1-inch X ring. I continued with good accuracy until the middle of my round when I had some wild shots in the 7 and 8 rings. That’s when I decided to try punching with less of a wind up. I placed my finger just off the trigger and hit it when my pin floated over the 10 ring. My accuracy returned and I finished with a pair of 29/30 scores.
The textbook good-execution round had fewer Xs shot, but it also had fewer big mistakes. I only had one 8 in that round compared to four shots out of the 9 ring while punching.
My big takeaway was that I can be very accurate while punching, but a surprise release is more reliable for me.
Read Next: Best Bow Releases
Why Punching Can Be Accurate
A perfect shot goes like this: You reach full draw, your pin settles on the target, within a couple seconds of the pin settling the shot breaks, and you don’t impart any influence on the arrows trajectory.
That works great on the range, but sometimes you can’t wait for the pin to settle or your release to surprise you. In scenarios when the arrow has to go immediately or you’ll miss your shot opportunity, punching is a must.
When that happens all you have to remember is to maintain a strong follow through. If you can avoid any post-shot movement while punching, the arrow should hit right behind your pin.
If you’re executing a text-book shot, you don’t know when the shot will break, so your accuracy is limited to your natural float. The fact that you are in control of exactly when the arrow leaves the string is one of the benefits of trigger slapping and you can send the arrow downrange at the precise moment your pin is over the aiming point. That’s why I was able to shoot more Xs while punching.
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Why Punching Isn’t Accurate
Winding up and slamming a trigger looks bad, but it’s not the reason punching causes inaccuracy. Punching accompanied with bow arm movement due to anticipating the shot going off is what causes wild misses. Few people have the mental fortitude to punch a release all day and avoid things like developing a flinch, getting locked off target, or smashing the trigger before the pin settles where you want it to go. Those are all steps toward the dreaded target panic.
Trust me, you don’t want to go down that road.
The Upshot
Punching can be accurate, and it’s sometimes necessary while bowhunting or shooting in strong winds. But for most people, it shouldn’t be part of your daily archery practice. Stick with the textbook release execution and you’ll be far more consistent in the long run.