This guy in the archery shop was saying about how his release slipped too early and his fist came back and hit him in the face. My daughter's BF was saying the same happened to him and he actually quit shooting bow because of it. Shooting a 70 lb pull, and he got his own fist right in the nose and mouth.

I'm not into rough contact sports. Is there anything you can do to prevent this sort of mishap?

Plinker

I have had the same TM Shorty Hunter since 1990. It has never gone off prematurely by its own.

Number One: I keep my finger off the trigger only until at full draw.

Number Two: At what poundage did he have the thing set. Most hunters like to fiddle with adjustments (not me though ) and it might be set too light?

Number Three: Is the release well maintained, cleaned and oiled?

Number Four: How experienced was he?

Give up bow hunting!!!!!! Only when the door on the casket closes shut.

I never had it happen with the Tru-Ball, but the other release did open because I didn't push the trigger all the way foreward. Only just started to pull 80# before I punched myself. I make sure I set it now.

When I draw my hands are not in line with my face. I figure I look bad enough without beating up on myself some more! derf

"When I draw my hands are not in line with my face."

That works for me.

I don't use a release because of problems I've had with them. I have seen arrows fly to strange places because guys either set their releases too light or have their finger on them when they draw the bow. When I did use a release, I had the string loop come off once at full draw. My son-in-law shot a hole in his shed last week because his finger was on the release when he drew the bow.

..not to be a smart a** but this is my solution

Drawing back and keeping my hands and release to one side a bit just became even more important yesterday. I am now useing a Mathews Featherlite Max set at 58 lbs. If I slipped now I am fairly sure it would be a TKO!
What a difference between this Mathews and the old target Hoyt-Mate. derf

When I started shooting bow I was a dedicated finger tab user so when I tried using a release I always woried about it going off during draw. For this reason I always used my trigger finger to push forward on the trigger while drawing and only move my finger to the trigger when ready to shoot (just like rifles)

I use a Winn Free Flight and just keep my finger off the trigger till I'm ready to shoot. I have seen a few premature releases and even saw one release come apart. The release came unglued during the draw and we were shooting inside a gym with block walls. You might be suprised how far and arrow out of a 70# bow will go through a block.

I use a pistol grip type of release. One of the failings of the design is that the aluminum body of the housing wears over time(2-3 yrs) and eventually it allows the swivel head to pull through. The whole thing pretty much explodes. It's happened on several occasions(I happen to like this release), but I've never popped myself in the mouth. At full draw, I'm pushing the bow away with my support hand more than pulling it toward me with the release hand.

With wrist strap style release aides I wrap my hand around the release behind the trigger and as said above...keep my finger off the trigger.