I recently went shopping for a new release. The criteria I used when shopping was: Adjustable trigger sensativity, Adjustable trigger travel, Ability to shoot as a thumb trigger or back tension and most of all, Comfort in the hand. I travelled to one of the few shops I know of that would have a large selection of releases for me to actually try out, Little Jons Archery World. Little Jon's is a online retailer and distributor and Jon is a really great guy to work with.
Let me begin with some background information. I am primarilly a hunter that has just recently joined a club and started shooting spots & 3D. I have shot wrist releases for years, but about a year ago I switched to a t-handle thumb activated release. The first t-handle I bought was a Tru-fire unit that was not adjustable. I quickly sold that one and bought a used Truball Diamond Extreme. My biggest issue with the Diamond Extreme was that it just didn't fit my hand very comfortably due to being a four finger style unit but I really liked the adjustability and quiet this release offered. My other dislike of the Diamond was the thumb barrel / diamond shape. THis shape was too slick and a bit bulky so I put a knurled barrel on it and that helped a lot however the comfort level for me was still not there to continue on with this unit.
After hearing a lot of rave reviews about the Carter releases I was most interested in trying them but still kept an open mind regarding other makers like Stan and Truball. Jon was kind enough to let me try many different releases and I quickly determined that a three finger release was my preferred style. I also preferred / needed a caliper style head as I wanted to be able to clip the release onto the string and leave it there until needed for "the" shot.
The release that fit me the best in hand overall was the new Truball BossX. I just felt so good in the hand it just felt so very natural to be there. I have grown fond of the swivelling head designs as this does not induce any torque at all into the loop or string. The down-side of this design is that they are not as quick to load onto the string as the heads wants to swivel away from the string as you load it. The other thing that is different with the Truball BossX from some of the Carters and Stans is the cocking lever / trigger is a part of the back of the handle. I thought that this would be uncomfortable but it isn't even noticable. My one complaint of the Truball BossX is that the cocking lever is very hard to engage as compared to many others. This stiff cocking trigger could make it hard to load in the cold weather we have in WI. However, the fit, the crispness, the adjustability really won me over and I parted with the $180 gladly to purchase it. Later that night at the club, I played with the settings some to "dial it in" for me. The guys at the club were really impressed with the compact size and great feel the release offers. Many of them wanted to try it and several commented that this would be their next release, although a few others did not care for the cocking mechanism. So overall I would give this release a rating of 9 out of 10 total points with the one deduction being for the hard cocking mechanism.
Let me begin with some background information. I am primarilly a hunter that has just recently joined a club and started shooting spots & 3D. I have shot wrist releases for years, but about a year ago I switched to a t-handle thumb activated release. The first t-handle I bought was a Tru-fire unit that was not adjustable. I quickly sold that one and bought a used Truball Diamond Extreme. My biggest issue with the Diamond Extreme was that it just didn't fit my hand very comfortably due to being a four finger style unit but I really liked the adjustability and quiet this release offered. My other dislike of the Diamond was the thumb barrel / diamond shape. THis shape was too slick and a bit bulky so I put a knurled barrel on it and that helped a lot however the comfort level for me was still not there to continue on with this unit.
After hearing a lot of rave reviews about the Carter releases I was most interested in trying them but still kept an open mind regarding other makers like Stan and Truball. Jon was kind enough to let me try many different releases and I quickly determined that a three finger release was my preferred style. I also preferred / needed a caliper style head as I wanted to be able to clip the release onto the string and leave it there until needed for "the" shot.
The release that fit me the best in hand overall was the new Truball BossX. I just felt so good in the hand it just felt so very natural to be there. I have grown fond of the swivelling head designs as this does not induce any torque at all into the loop or string. The down-side of this design is that they are not as quick to load onto the string as the heads wants to swivel away from the string as you load it. The other thing that is different with the Truball BossX from some of the Carters and Stans is the cocking lever / trigger is a part of the back of the handle. I thought that this would be uncomfortable but it isn't even noticable. My one complaint of the Truball BossX is that the cocking lever is very hard to engage as compared to many others. This stiff cocking trigger could make it hard to load in the cold weather we have in WI. However, the fit, the crispness, the adjustability really won me over and I parted with the $180 gladly to purchase it. Later that night at the club, I played with the settings some to "dial it in" for me. The guys at the club were really impressed with the compact size and great feel the release offers. Many of them wanted to try it and several commented that this would be their next release, although a few others did not care for the cocking mechanism. So overall I would give this release a rating of 9 out of 10 total points with the one deduction being for the hard cocking mechanism.
