When shooting an index-triggered release, shorten the release stem until the trigger contacts your finger at or behind the first knuckle. That will make it much easier to make a proper surprise release.

Hunting releases essentially come in two styles: thumb trigger and index trigger. Of the two, index trigger releases are by far the most popular. In this column, I'm going to run through a few small changes you can make to your index-triggered release to make it more accurate in the field.

Surprise Is Key To Success
I realize you get a steady pounding in this magazine about the need to make a surprise release. Yet when I watch hunters shoot, I see very few who actually take this advice.

First off, it is important. It is the absolute key to shooting well under pressure. I changed my shooting style to this method about five years ago. I would never go back. I still get excited and fight off the adrenaline as before, but now I feel much more in control of the shot. By reprogramming my nervous system over the course of a few months to accept a surprise release, my shots at game have become much more consistent.

Please take my word for it; you absolutely need to be shooting this way. Now, let's look at two tweaks you can make to your release aid to help achieve this result when hunting.

Release Aid Length
It's possible you've never considered the length of your release aid. As long as you can reach the trigger with your fingertip, you may be satisfied it works just fine. I thought that way for many years. But by shortening the distance from the wrist strap to the trigger, I greatly improved my ability to make a surprise release.

Rather than using the first articulation of your index finger to pull the trigger -- from the first joint to the tip -- use the second articulation. This puts the trigger on the pad of flesh between the second joint and the first joint. To do this, you merely have to shorten your release aid and extend your finger a little farther forward when reaching for the trigger.

This simple change may be one of the best-kept "secrets" in archery -- or at least one of the most overlooked.

This setup works better because the second joint isn't nearly as sensitive to trigger tension as the first. So, it doesn't give you enough feedback to anticipate the shot with the same degree of accuracy as you can when triggering with your fingertip. Moreover, the second articulation is much less mobile. This means that once you start squeezing the trigger, you are much more likely to achieve the kind of consistent pull that produces a surprise release. Just keep aiming as close to the spot you want to hit as possible. Don't worry if the pin isn't glued there -- it won't be. Just keep squeezing and aiming. You will be shocked by how consistently and well you can shoot this way.

Most release aids are adjustable for length in one way or another. Some have a cord; others have a threaded stem covered by a rubber tube while still others have a screw or bolt. Shorten the release until the trigger falls right across the second articulation of your index finger when you hold the bow at full draw. This will feel foreign at first, but it is correct. You also will likely have to get used to a different technique for loading the release on the string, since the trigger will be farther back in your hand.

Now that you've gotten the release set up correctly, there are three ways you can make the release fire; one is bad, one is better and one is best.