Clicker advice

[razorhollow]

Hey y’all. I have a super newbie question. I just decided to try a clicker on my hunting bow, as I have a tendency to overdraw when I have an animal in front of me. I’m taking a road trip down to Florida next week and want to try some hog hunting while I’m there. I’m shooting a stalker wolverine and something just dawned on me…how do I break this thing down now that the top limb is attached to the string? Do I keep the string coiled up with the top limb? Unscrew the clicker from its glue plate? What is best practice for this? Any guidance would be muchly  appreciated!

[Kirkll]

I don't have an answer for you on dismantling a clicker for taking the bow down, but I'd sure like to hear if this helps your over drawing issue. 

 I tried a clicker years ago myself when training to get proper back tension at the same draw length every time. But i couldn't shoot accurately using one at all. I found myself stuck at full draw and anticipating the click too much, and it took away my concentration on the spot i was focusing on too much. I wasn't getting a consistent release, and found myself plucking the string a lot... I finally gave up on the dad burn thing and just drilled myself on a blank bale concentrating just on proper alignment and back tension until i got it down.

But like you... i still do have a tendency to over draw a tad bit with the adrenaline running high. What i do is tune all my hunting arrows and cut them to length so the back of the broad head just touches the back of the riser about a 1/4" past my draw length making it impossible to over draw it. That has served me well for many years.     .02 cents worth.       Kirk

[razorhollow]

What a fantastic idea! Thanks Kirk. I definitely feel more panicky with the clicker and will give this method a shot! I appreciate the advice!

[Stinger]

I keep the string coiled up with the top limb, but be sure to check it after you put the bow together again.  You might find that the point it goes off might have changed some. 

KirkII, I assume you are shooting wood? Changing arrow length on carbon will affect the spine. 

[McDave]

If you're overdrawing, it's probably because you're using your arm muscles to draw and not your back muscles.  A clicker can keep your draw length constant, but if the reason it's keeping it constant is just because you stop drawing, while keeping your arm muscles engaged, you're never going to be as accurate as you are capable of, and of course your muscles will get tired quicker.  If you're drawing with your back muscles, it's basically impossible to overdraw.  Learn to draw with your back muscles and you may not need the clicker.  For elite shooters, like those in the Olympics, a clicker is used to make sure they always come to maximum draw, not to prevent them from overdrawing.  You don't need that level of accuracy to hit an animal in the kill zone at 20 yards.

[Kirkll]

I keep the string coiled up with the top limb, but be sure to check it after you put the bow together again.  You might find that the point it goes off might have changed some. 

KirkII, I assume you are shooting wood? Changing arrow length on carbon will affect the spine.

Nope… I use carbon shafts. I just bare shaft tune using the proper spine stiffness, and adjust tip weight with brass inserts so I keep my broad head weight the same.

But…. With that being said…. Once I learned proper form and started using back tension properly, my over drawing days came to an end completely. My draw length increased considerably too as my form solidified. I went from 28.5” to 30” and started shooting 3 under style.

What that did to my set up was it increased my draw weight on my favorite bows about 5# , my arrows were too short, and I found myself going from 500 spine to 400 on most my shafts and 350 on my Heritage arrows. (That set up is about 57#@30”)

 But …..by that time, I found myself not needing to have a draw check any more, and was bare shaft tuning full length shafts. Another  little trick I learned was tuning my shafts a bit to the weak side and using a soft Velcro strike plate was more forgiving, if I creep a little bit before release it doesn’t  effect my windage or arrow flight at all, and its a bit more forging with a less than perfect release.

I found that tuning my shafts to the stiff side gave me no room to adjust strike plate location, and required a harder thinner strike plate material to get my consistency back. While that does work, I prefer a softer strike plate material for noise and forgiveness reasons.       Kirk

[Wudstix]

I sometimes have trouble with draw and release, if I'm shooting lighter weight bows.  60# is lightest I can shoot consistently and accurately.  Perhaps upping your bow draw weight a few pounds would help with using your back to draw and also knowing when you're at anchor to release.  I also use the broadhead positioning to give me another reference point.  JMVHO