Glove vs Tab

[Steve-ALA]

Well I’ve been shooting with a glove exclusively but tried a tab today. Just a simple home made tab cut from a piece of leather. I’ve tried tabs in the past but never gave them a fair try. So today I shot tab only. And I must say my release improved immediately. Arrows seem to have flown better then ever and my groups tightened up. Is this overall improvement normal when using a tab?

[Sam McMichael]

It was with me.

[Blacktail42]

For my experience a high quality tab will not groove like a glove will and therefore should be smoother as long as you don't pluck the string

[Glenn Hickey Jr.]

Everyone likes different things… that being said… I have shot all the gloves out there and when I started shooting the simplest of tabs my groups improved.  I shoot lefty and three under and have used the same tab for a long time.  I was afraid I would not be able to get them so I bought 6 from 3rivers a few years ago.  The older I get the less complicated I want my life.

[Pointed_stick]

I have been a tab shooter for a long time. Every now and then I give the glove another shot just because it has been around so long and there are so many that have stuck with them as a sworn by piece of traditional archery kit that I feel like I must be missing something....but I have never gotten one that feels right to me.

[gnome]

…. I have found a tab evens out my release…. they have a more consistent/ repeatable control of pressure applied to the string…. Gloves demand much more attention to third finger pressure… it comes down to controlling applied pressure to a single surface (tab) vs controlling 3 individual pressures on 3 individual surfaces (glove)… with tabs being the clear winner, I still shoot with a glove…. I got so tired of losing tabs, I just gave up on them...

[GCook]

If I can ever get a tab that actually protects the sides of my fingers from string angle, fits without trimming, stays in place and no adjusting with each shot, actually does improve my consistency and give more than the 1.5 to 4fps speed increase people think is great then I may switch.
Closest I've come to liking a tab is a Rick Barbee tab and apparently I need a larger size.

[Wudstix]

I found the Barbee tab to be what I needed.  Also, had Rick make a three layer tab for long shooting sessions.  Haven't tried them all, but have tried enough to know.
 

[Badlands]

I've used both but I've always gotten a better release with a tab also.

[Terry Green]

Moved here from Shooting Form Forum. 

[trad_bowhunter1965]

I started shooting a recurve now I shoot Longbow and used a Blackwidow three under tab so all I know is a tab now I shoot Yost Tab now work great for me. I have bought gloves but never gave them the time I might try them again.

[SS Snuffer]

Makes all the difference in the world, Just like drinking beer from a bottle instead of a can!

[stevem]

Yep

[Wudstix]

Still use American Leather gloves and a couple Bodnik for sessions where I put a couple hundred arrows down range in a day, but hunt with nylon tabs.
 

[Gunru]

For my experience a high quality tab will not groove like a glove will and therefore should be smoother as long as you don't pluck the string

This is what I found also. I have always used gloves and they always grooved. I was having trouble with my release after getting back into archery after a time off so I remembered my dad always used a tab. So I ordered a cordavan leather one from EW Bates and this thing is slick. My release immediately improved and I don't see me ever using anything else. BTW I shoot split fingers.

[mj seratt]

I lucked into a Saunders  Pak-Tab several years back, and have never been tempted to change.  You assemble it to your liking.  My release has never been cleaner.

Murray

[Phillip Fields]

I prefer a glove, I just seem to shoot it better.

[Wudstix]

For extended shooting I like the American Leathers Kangaroo.  The Bodnik Speed glove and summer glove allow more finger "feel", but prefer the nylon faced tab for hunting.(still using the original from early 2000's)  Have a newer modular version with two layers of thin leather under the nylon for single day 3-D shoots.
 

[McDave]

I like tabs better, but they seem to be a little more touchy when it comes to fit.  As long as a glove fits snugly, I can shoot it fine, and it doesn't seem to matter if it is a reinforced American Leathers, or a thinner Dura Glove, as long as it is not so thin that the string hurts my fingers.  Tabs have to be sized and trimmed very carefully in order for me to like using them.  I don't like any overlap on the sides, and I like the ends short enough that they look too short when my fingers are extended.  I am particularly sensitive about the part that covers my forefinger: the least bit too long and it's gouging my face, so I end up trimming a millimeter or less at a time until it is just right.  If I trim off one millimeter too much, the tab is ruined, so I will agonize for days sometimes over whether I should trim one more millimeter.

I've never had the problem GCook mentioned about a tab not being wide enough to protect the sides of my fingers from the string.  Maybe that's because I never shoot bows shorter than 58”, and my normal preferred length is 62-64”?

[Wudstix]

Dave,
Correct fit is extremely important.  The Death Adder nylon faced tabs have a measurement system that works well.  I have a lifetime supply with three.  Two of the original model and one modular(newer).  Still shooting number one after @8 years, coconut oil keeps the face in great condition.