The author (left) shooting his Heartwood Nomad bow using a thumb ring.

The thumb ring provides uncanny consistency for a non-mechanical release, resulting in some tight groupings.

Johan Rabie tells of his first efforts at using a thumb ring to shoot his Nomad horsebow

Like many other children, I first got involved in archery by carving traditional-type bows from tree branches. My first “professional” bow was a 70-pound PSE compound, but after five years of shooting compounds I got dissatisfied with all the gadgets. The trigger releases, the various types of sighting equipment and arrow rests... This dissatisfaction led me back to traditional archery. It is the feel of shooting a traditional bow that attracts me the most.

After a lot of research, the bow of my choice was the Nomad from Heartwood Bows. This is classically called a horse bow. I was determined to use the bow as it was used by those who originally designed it, and that meant shooting with a thumb ring. Johnny Snyman from Heartwood Bows was kind enough to make me one to go with my bow.

Initial impressions
A thumb ring is an interesting thing to get used to. No amount of reading and watching videos online will prepare you for that first shot. Standing ten metres away, I missed my target by a good 200 millimetres. Also, the pressure on the thumb and shooting from the “wrong” side of the bow made for interesting results. The first day of shooting with the thumb ring left me in physical distress. My arms and back felt as though I had done 100 push-ups in full kit. My right thumb was swollen, the palm of my hand tender and my forearm pumped. The next day I could only manage three shots with the thumb ring. It was just too uncomfortable to continue and I switched to shooting with my fingers while I waited for my thumb to normalise. Only two days later could I continue shooting with the thumb ring. But one week later, all the muscles in my body had become accustomed to the weight of the bow and the thumb ring no longer felt like a foreign object on my finger.

Initial problems with using a thumb ring were that my aim was off to the right by a substantial amount. Also, the arrow would sometimes fall off the string because my hand pushed it forward. When I drew the bow, often the arrow would be drawn up, climbing the limb of the bow. I also used to get bow slap on my forefinger on release, and I occasionally suffered pre-mature release while drawing.

I think that part of my initial problem was the strain of the bow weight. Once I was comfortable with the draw weight it became a lot simpler to shoot with the thumb ring. Also, when drawing the bow I clenched my fist in an attempt to get a good grip on the string. This was pushing the arrow forward, off the nock. You need to become accustomed to the thumb angle and reinforce the thumb without forcing it with your forefinger. This of course means that your thumb needs to gain sufficient strength and conditioning to draw the bow easily. In my case it meant 200 shots before I began getting a good feel for the thumb ring. But I still find that some shots feel more comfortable than others, so practice continues.

Placement of the thumb ring on the thumb is important. For now I am shooting at extremely close range. My initial practice runs were done at three metres to ensure I don’t miss the target. When getting used to something, learning the form is more important than hitting the bull’s eye. I am now only shooting at eight metres, for much the same reason.

Once you are used to it, the thumb ring is very comfortable and easy to carry with you. You have full use of your hand even if you are busy shooting or doing other things. After 40 arrows your mind starts adjusting and accuracy increases automatically. However, a word of warning: do not shoot more than three arrows at a time when shooting at close range. I ruined the fletching of two arrows because of groupings that got too tight. This is because the thumb ring provides uncanny consistency for a non-mechanical release. I have never been able to achieve this level of consistency with finger shooting. (I am sure you can though, just not me.)

Summary
Shooting with a thumb ring is just fantastic but requires a bit of patience, practice and beefing up. Once you get the feel of a ring, shooting with your fingers just feels wrong.
To end on a practical note: when you start initially, do not try to do a full-draw thumb ring shot. Instead start with a “small” draw. As you start feeling more comfortable with this style of shooting, make your draw length longer, incrementally working your way towards a full draw. This will also help you not to over-strain your thumb on those initial shots.