I have been shooting longbows for 15 years, I shoot pretty darn well but I think I should be better than I am.  My question is this; 4 years ago I started shooting with the no glove product exclusively, no tab no shooting glove, just the little rubber "no-glove" products.  My release seems to be snag-free, but it really can't be, can it? does anyone out there know of anyone who shoots extremely well with "no glove"?

I know people who shoot with them but noone who shoots extremely well with one. Personally I tend to get lousy releases using one.

Roger Rothar doesn't use a glove or a tab.  He double serves his strings.  Personally I have no experiencce either way, I shoot with a glove myself.

I wouldn't use them for anything but a fishing bow. They are okay to start kids with, but I don't think I would get hunting accuracy with them. Bow fishing is a very short range situation.

Rothar triple serves his strings. I haven't tried that, but have shot bare fingered before. It is fine for a shot or two, but I'm afraid my fingers would wear pretty quickly.

Use a tab or a glove. You'll shoot better.

Only on my bow fishing rig. Works great there where your hands are always getting wet and slimy.

A no-glove adds a lot of weight at the center of the string where it will steal the most performance from you.

FIL uses black electrical tape on the string and shoots just fine with it

I tried those things many years ago and didn't care for them at all. Even can raise blisters if doing a lot of shooting.  What I now do is double serve the string in the finger area when I serve on my nocking point.

I still don't shoot bare finger except on very light bows, call my tender finger!), but it does allow me to forgo having to use a tab or glove while hunting in cold weather. Just wear some thinsule gloves which helps keep my hand and fingers warm and I can still get a good release.  

For target or stump shooting I use a tab. The double serving doesn't seem to hurt that and minimum weight is added to the string. Probably less than what I'd have if I used the brass nocking points many use.

on "no-gloves", I have used them for while on my bowfishing tackle, which I do alot of.  I have come to find that, attention needs payed to the diamater of the string, or you get a bad release, and caused arrow slap on riser.  once I realised this and made a few different once, was killing fish again.

When I am practicing a lot I use a glove, pulled on snug over my mechanics gloves. I wear just  the thin leather mechanics gloves when I hunt.  (The ones with the stretchy spandex across the back of your hand)  I don't use a glove, tab or noglove product when I am hunting or only shooting a dozen arrows or less in a short practice.

Traditional shooting is such a personal thing and thats what I love about it . If shooting with a no glove works for you then stay with it no matter what everyone else is doing .

Mike

Ditch the no glove and just go with bare fingers thats what I do for the better part of the season. Your fingers will toughen up after a few days and will shed thier skin a couple times a year buts its all good. You can speed up the calousing process by burning the on a hot stove also. Ha Ha Ha! Works for me. Jason

The no-glove is a lot of weight for the string to move. Kelly Peterson has suggested using the stretch tubing for aligning peep sights to protect his bare fingers. I tried it, and it works great. Just find the right size tubing that's snug on your string. If it's a bit loose, add serving beneath it to snug it up. It's much lighter than a no-glove, too. It can be a bit of a pain to get past the string loops, however.

yea im with lodestar i shoot with bare finger been shootin that way for ten year just seem to get better release that way for me you shoot long enough youll be able to shoot 100 arrows with no problem

I believe that JK Chastain of Wapiti bows uses a no-glove on his longbows, thought I saw one on his string in a pictures.  If it is working for you, stick with it.  Confidence and accuracy with your equipment far more important than any performance loss by putting something on the string.

well you could try a string with shooting gloves for a bit and see !  I shoot barefinger when I am hunting once and a while; and like the release I get. For practice though its gloves or finger stalls.

I voted yes because they are hard to beat for bowfishing !