The Handy Clicker is a new, hand-held shooting aide that I developed to help cure target panic and establish a highly controlled shot activation system that involves physical and auditory cues. In addition, it’s super easy to use and unlike other systems, such as bow-mounted clickers, the Handy Clicker travels with you and not on your bow, enabling you to accurately shoot any bow and arrow combination that you pick up. It’s versatile, as well, and can be used in either your bow hand or string hand.
In my book, A Traditional Bowhunter’s Path, I described my ow
n personal shooting struggles and how I overcame them first with a bow-mounted clicker and then then a psycho-trigger that involved touching my arrow’s fletching to my nose to activate the shot. In response, I received hundreds of e-mails from grateful readers who solved their own shooting problems through the techniques I described.
However, I also continue to receive e-mails from archers and bowhunters who are unable to achieve success with bow-mounted clickers, psycho-triggers, or grip seers. And, to be honest, I wasn’t happy with those systems either because they all require you to attach something to your bow or modify your bow or arrows.
Using limb-mounted clickers means having one on each of your bows, keeping them tuned, and making sure they don’t work loose in rainy conditions. The “feather-to-nose” method means custom fletching your arrows so they contact your nose. This prevents nock tuning and means you always have to have YOUR arrows to shoot your system.
This means that you can’t just pick up a friend’s bow and arrow combination or test drive a bow at an archery event without some sort of compromise.
I wanted a robust shot activation system that would go where I went and above all, would help restore fun and success to the many frustrated archers and bowhunters who I see suffering from target panic and other shooting problems that stem from an uncontrolled shot.
Target panic is a psychological condition that prevents us from carrying out a complete
d, or what some call a “closed loop,” shot cycle. It’s two most common manifestations are locking off target or being unable to reach full draw before releasing the string. There’s a lot of science behind why and how target panic evolves in the human mind and I’d encourage you to check out the work of Joel Turner at Shot IQ for more information.
The Handy Clicker short-circuits target panic by providing a conscious, physical movement that is not automatic and if adhered ingrains highly structured shooting.
Getting proficient with the Handy Clicker requires practice. I recommend 100 shots to figure out what is most comfortable for you. Do you have it adjusted properly? Does it work best in your bow hand or string hand? Over which finger is it most comfortable to place the finger thong? After an additional 100 shots, you’ll start to feel consistency and control, and your accuracy will greatly increase.
In closing, I’ll tell you a quick story to illustrate how deeply the Handy Clicker becomes part of your shot cycle. Recently I was setting up a bow for a customer. I stepped outside to shoot a few arrows, but I was distracted by the tuning process and not focused on REALLY shooting. Eventually I found myself at full draw, staring at the target and wondering why the bow “wouldn’t go off.” I had forgotten to grab my Handy Clicker so my subconcious brain had no cue to release the string–it was waiting for a signal that never came.
Thank you for your interest in LifecCycle Gear. If you try a hand clicker, please send me your thoughts and any suggestions for improvements.
I sincerely hope the Handy Clicker improves your accuracy and success on targets and in the woods.
Keep the Traditional Spirit Alive!
Ron
Ron, this looks awesome. I have yet to use a psycho trigger but have listened a lot to the Push Podcast and some of Joel Turner’s interviews. I’m going to look into each of the various clicker/sear style devices and see which one makes the most sense for me. I do like the fact that this device is not attached to the bow. I watched your video, and although I’m no expert, it looks like you collapse just before the shot. If you watch in slow-mo, you can see the limbs stand up and your draw arm elbow move towards the target… It’s just something I noticed.
Hi Marc. Thanks for your interest. Psychotriggers are fantastic aids in helping to gain shot control, but just like anything else they are not magic bullets. When using a grip seer or device like the Handy Clicker, shot collapse is always a potential problem. You are right, there is a slight collapse in the video I posted. I have since found, thanks to some help from Tom Clum, a better holding position that helps to minimize collapse.
When dealing with target panic and other shot control problems there’s almost always a trade off. For the vast majority of people, a slight collapse during an otherwise controlled shot is far better than being unable to attain a consistent anchor or having to hold off target. And, judging by the fantastic shooting displayed by Joel and others who use a grip seer, I’d say the collapse can be totally overcome.
If you’re interested, I’ll send you a Handy Clicker to try free of charge. No obligations. Just play with it and see what you think.
Best,
Ron
Hi Ron, thanks for the thoughtful response. I’d love to try out a Handy Clicker. I’d also like to hear how you’ve best learned to hold it during the shot. I’ll email you my address and give you some feedback once I start using it. Thanks for the offer.
Cheers, Marc
I am 57 and have been shooting a bow for over 40 years. I have competed, shot a compound when I was younger and been shooting traditional for the last 30+ years. I recently began learning to string walk for bare-bow shooting and using a fixed crawl for hunting. Although using the arrow tip as the point of aim did help some with target panic, it began to emerge as a frustrating problem even using a new aiming method. After reading Joel Turner’s book on curing TP, I decided to use a limb-mounted draw check on my recurves but I kept breaking them, or they didn’t work consistently, causing additional frustration.
While shopping for a replacement draw-check for one of my bows, I found the Handy Clicker! What an ingenious invention! After less than 20 minutes of shooting with the Handy Clicker I was sold! I immediately stripped all of the draw-checks off my various bows. I still have work to do to clean up my shot sequence using the HC, but I am convinced this is an ideal solution for me as a portable “psycho-trigger”. It is quiet and easy to use…perfect!
Thanks for describing the handy clicker.
hi Ron , thank you so much for sending my handy clicker to the uk .
it has made ALL the difference in my shot control & I now get lots of questions about this amazing little piece of kit .
I am at this moment putting another order together for a few friends who want to try one out .
best wishes
john h