When it comes to archery gear, each purchase is a personal decision and reflects the archer's goals. Buying the right archery release is no different.

Once I saw an advertisement for a bow release that featured the company's release with text that read "the only thing that stands between you and your bow." How true this is. You can have proper mechanics, solid anchor, a great bow, and perfect arrows, but if your release is muddled, well, there goes the shot. Buying the right archery release is an important purchase for any archer. There are several different styles of releases, and every shooter can surely find one that fits their needs. Here are a few of the most common archery releases and a little bit about them.

Wrist Release

[caption id="attachment_6017" align="alignright" width="150"] SAS Wrist Release[/caption] The most common option when buying an archery release is the simple wrist release. A wide varieties of companies make these releases in a wide variety of quality. One great option for the bargain hunter is the SAS Adjustable Archery Release. There are a few different styles of wrist releases. Some come with two calipers to grip the D loop, and others come with a one caliper hook design. One hook designs are meant to create less contact with the bow, therefore less impact on the shot. Some offer a wide variety of adjustments and motion, others are more pre-defined. More variety creates more comfort for the shooter, but the more things move the more things can go wrong. Each archer should consider the pros and cons of each release when buying the right archery release.

Back Tension Release

[caption id="attachment_6018" align="alignleft" width="200"] Hamskea Back Tension Archery Release[/caption] The back tension release is gaining popularity in the archery world, and is the preferred release of tournament shooters. The releases are designed to help archer avoid target panic and have smooth "punch free" releases. If you ever see an archer with their release hand turned outward, odds are they are using a back tension release. A back tension release actually fires when the archer flexes their back muscles, which is the text book correct way to shoot a bow. For someone looking at buying the right archery release, and a back tension sounds appealing, the Hamskea Solutions Break-Thru Tension Release is worth a solid look at.

Finger Release

[caption id="attachment_6019" align="alignright" width="250"] Shooting Glove[/caption] Although modern times offer many different choices when buying the right archery release, some folks choose the KISS method. Keep it super simple. A finger release will do just that. The two basic concepts for finger shooters are the shooters glove and the tab. Both allow the archer direct access to the string. Gloves tend to have the most natural feel, and tabs tend to offer a no pinch design. This design decreases the finger pinch on the arrow nock when the bow is drawn, thus increasing accuracy. As previously mentioned, there are many different options when buying the right archery release. After looking through all the different ideas and realizing your needs, you should easily be able to find something comfortable to shoot. NEXT: Offseason Bow Maintenance: 3 Chores