It ain't like ridin a bike....

[Vabowman]

Man, you can certainly lose touch with these trad bows if you don't shoot em.. The past few days have been awesome and yet so frustrating. I wish I would have kept on even through the personal issues in my life. Lesson learned, never walk away from a passion you love for anyone or anything. 4-5 bad shots and then one beauty in the center even at just 14 yards erases the frustration even for only few moments.. but at least Im shooting again. I will rely on my compound for hunting until I feel that I have become proficient enough with the recurve and that's ok, Im not in a rush. But just simply shooting the bow makes my day a little better. As a teacher I get to see what our future looks like and boys, it's scary. very scary..

[slowbowjoe]

I know what you mean, there was a 10 year gap where I didn't shoot at all. Too many life changes happening too quick. Kept my bow though, and sure felt good to get back into it. Your shooting will come around quick enough.

[YoungMarine]

Hang in there and keep at it. The compound will be collecting dust before you know it.

[Vabowman]

funny thing happened just a bit ago... I was sitting here and couldn't stand it.. I grabbed the  bow and began shooting...it was bad, real bad.. then I just had a feeling...I took my glove off and went bare fingers and my groups went to 1-2 inches at 12 yds instantly...strange??

[Tedd]

Well most gloves are poorly made and poorly designed and almost unusable. Try Bearspaw gloves from Germany.
A good glove should have the seems inside cut extremely close, it should be snug. Not too thick, but thick enough so your fingers don't hurt. And very importantly it should be short in wrist length so the your fingers are always as deeply as possible into the glove tips no matter what position your hand is in before, during and after the shot.
 Try having shorter shooting sessions but more of them. To get back into it more quickly.
Tedd

[Vabowman]

Tedd, the glove I have is size small. Im short, 5'6 on a ggod day the glove still seems a bit big. I feel like I can't get a clean release.. thought about a tab instead.. any recommendations?

[Friend]

Welcome back...

[Tedd]

I have tested every almost glove on the market. Because it is really important to how you shoot.  Bearpaw standard deerskin gloves are the best design and quality. I also like the kangaroo glove from LAS. But the wrist is longer.
Tedd

[SlowBowKing]

Glad you’re back in the saddle. I second the recommendation on shorter, more frequent sessions!

[Captain*Kirk]

You might try shooting with a tab. I prefer a glove, but overall shoot better using a tab.

[Vabowman]

leather tab or calf hair?

[Tom]

I have used both gloves and tabs but settled on tabs when dinosaurs still roamed. I use leather faced as the calf hair ones always became as bald as my head. If you feel the tab is causing slap on the string just trim a little off the edge at a time. I use tabs even when  hunting with light wool gloves and have never had a problem getting the shot off. Good that you are back in the saddle.

[Vabowman]

Thanks Tom for the advice...I think Im going to search for a thin leather tab and likely kid a youth size

[blacktailbob]

A glove has to fit correctly and snugly. After getting back into it myself after nerve damage surgery did wonders I've also gone through several gloves trying to find the best one for me. Down to three now. Depending on the particular day I sometimes find one feels better than the other.
Let know how it works out for you.

[Vabowman]

well I have been shooting a lot with bare fingers..seems to work most times but it's not sustainable

[Cool Springer]

If you shoot well with bare fingers, it sounds like you prefer less finger protection.  Try a glove with cordura finger stalls.  I believe one brand is called the Duraglove.  They're pretty thin, offering less protection than a leather glove, but you get protection, durability, and a good feel of the string.

[Vabowman]

so on a whim I stopped by the archery shop on my way home from the gym and found a neet calf hair glove that fit snug. so I shot with it on....wow!! my shooting improved exponentially immediately. the release was clean and hitting my  anchor was easy.. felt great!

[Captain*Kirk]

so on a whim I stopped by the archery shop on my way home from the gym and found a neet calf hair glove that fit snug. so I shot with it on....wow!! my shooting improved exponentially immediately. the release was clean and hitting my  anchor was easy.. felt great!

I use the calf hair tab (when I shoot with a tab...as  mentioned, I prefer the feel of a glove).