Don't scratch your new riser!!!

Martyn Phillips
Archers of Raunds

We’d brought Lauren’s first bow (a Mizar in pink along with longrod, sight, etc.) and she proudly set up the bow on our usual Friday night session. She shot a couple of ends and was settling into a good evening shooting when I noticed that she was scratching her riser very badly around the handle area and also the top of the plastic handle itself.

She was wearing a ring, so she took that off as a precaution and a couple of us watched her shoot a few more arrows, perplexed as to how she could be scratching the riser. The reason for the riser being scratched soon became apparent.

Lauren shoots with an AF finger tab and she’d got into the habit 9with the wooden bow) of putting the tab on and then picking up her bow, with the tabbed hand. The screw heads on the back of the tab were sharp and were the cause of the scratching as she picked up the riser and also put it down following the end.

She was clearly upset at scratching her new pride and joy and she quickly learned to pick up the riser and then put on her finger tab at the shooting line, and then to remove it after shooting before leaving the line.

So be warned! If you have a nice shiny new riser (or just a nice riser) and you want to keep it scratch free, be careful with your finger tab when picking up and putting down your bow.