Anyone who does archery will know this: You need to protect your fingers.
Unfortunately, I see way too many places that just give out bows and ignore this basic element.
Shooting with your bare fingers does hurt.
Don't even think about doing it.
And if you're not feeling the pain when you shoot right away, remember that after prolonged shooting you may develop long term nerve damage.
You don't want to do that. You need to get a finger tab or a glove.
Believe me you will shoot better with finger protection.
There is, however, an alternative.
These things.
These are rubber finger guards.
There are several brands, including Benders "No Glove", Saunder "No Glove", AMS "String Things", and the Flex Guards.
They all do the same thing, they slide onto the string and stay in place,
providing finger protection in place of a finger tab.
These are fairly cheap, about $5-7 US, but again, Australian prices, you're looking at around $10 each.
A pack typically contains two pieces.
To put them on you need a hair pin or paperclip.
Some products do come with a pin. Hook the pin around the end of the string.
You'll be using this as a needle to guide the string through the rubber guard.
Use pliers to get a firm grip. Getting the guard over the loop is a little tough.
You can wax the serving to lubricate it, but otherwise force it through and slide it down the string to where you want it.
Do the same with the second piece.
Push them together if you are setting the bow to be shot "three-under", otherwise leave a space to knock the arrow.
If the string is thin, keep the guards in place with a nock point.
This is easier said than done.
If you've got a thicker string or thick serving, this may be a bit harder.
In this case, I decided to use a bit of string to act as a guide.
I secured the string to something solid, and used my entire body weight to get the darn thing over the string.
It looks a little silly, but it beats trying to use pliers.
Depending on the brand, the guard may or may not be shaped to match the finger placement.
In any case, their usage is identical.
You simply shoot the bow as normal, but without a finger tab.
It's actually...fine.
Given that I'm using a cheap fiberglass bow.
It's perfectly functional, I can get the release off OK, I can reach the anchor point whether it's under the jaw
or corner of your mouth without too much problem. So it works.
But, despite what it's marketed for, you wont find that this is a miracle piece of equipment that makes tabs obsolete.
There are perhaps three situations where this would be a preferable choice.
Firstly, they're very popular for bow fishing, and one of the main reasons is when you are bow fishing
you can't really use a tab or a glove.
I mean, you're dealing with water and reeling in the fish and handling the fish, so a glove or tab gets in the way.
So bow fishers will prefer using some of these.
Secondly, they are very popular with places that have to deal with large numbers of casual shooters.
I'm talking about schools, or clubs, or camps, and the reason is that while it's pretty easy to deal with
10-15 people, if you're dealing with 30 or 40 people on the line, it's kind of awkward to give out finger tabs to everybody.
So clubs may put these on on their beginner club equipment.
So it's much more convenient for people to grab a bow and start using it right away.
Thirdly, they're actually pretty useful for bows that are used by really young kids.
A lot of the youth bows will come with a finger tab, and it's a good idea to start teaching them to use a tab,
but, if they're really young, like 6 or 7 years old, they may find that they don't like the flimsiness of a tab.
So, putting this on a bow is one to get them to use the bow,
without them complaining about a small thing like a finger tab.
Now if you are a target shooter or a hunter, would you put this on your bow? The answer is probably not.
The reason is, it's just not the same as using a finger tab or a glove, and there are many reasons for that.
It isn't as sensitive, so you can't feel the string as you normally would shooting a tab or a glove.
It is a bit bulkier, so it doesn't quite feel right around the fingers.
If you are trying to get a particular string alignment, it is a little chunky to work with.
It does add a bit more weight to the string as well. It is rubber so it is very light,
but you just don't want that bulkiness on the string.
If you are shooting for accuracy this sort of thing is something you may choose to skip.
So, for most people, you wont find this on a target bow or a hunting bow.
You probably wont use it at all. You may come across it in terms of your archery if you try at a club or a camp.
But you probably wont get this for yourself, unless you are using it for a very specific situation.
Anyway, this is NUSensei, hope you found this helpful, and I'll see you next time.