# Another Mechanical Release From Dankung



## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Some time back, Dankung began selling a mechanical release, using a wrist strap and a conventional, downward pointing trigger:










This item was discussed in an earlier thread:

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/16543-dankung%E2%80%99s-release-mechanism/page__hl__+mechanical%20+release#entry192692

In general, the reviews here were not that good. The device no longer seems to be available through Dankung.

More recently, Dankung is listing a rather different release; this is their marketing photo:










I have some interest in mechanical releases, having built one myself. This newer one looked rather more promising than Dankung's previous model, so I thought I would give it a try. It arrived in the mail two days ago, and I have been messing around with it ever since. Here is what mine looks like:










It is very nicely made, smooth and polished. It is designed to be held by the fingers of the hand, using the thumb for the release. The grip mechanism consists of two metal fingers which hold the ball and pouch, but which fly apart when the release is pressed. Here it is with ball and pouch.










It is quite compact and reasonably flat, so it easily fits into a pocket.

Here is the internal mechanism:










To my eye, the body appears to be some form of Zamak:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamak

Zamak is commonly used for automobile door handles, some locks, and similar applications. It should serve well for this application. The body on mine appears to have a painted finish, but is finely polished and well done.

The trigger, sear and release mechanism all appear to be stainless steel, as are the pins. The screws that hold the two halves of the body together are standard socket head machine screws.

After taking the device apart, I made one change before reassembly. As shipped, the holding fingers are on the right hand side of the device when I use my right hand to draw. That means that with normal sighting, the pouch is further away from my face, which makes me tend to shoot a bit to the left. So I interchanged the top and bottom fingers, flipping them over, so that the fingers would point toward my cheek at draw. This makes for a better alignment of the pouch and bands with my line of sight, which for me is a bit more accurate.

At draw, the hold on the pouch and ball are very positive. The holding fingers are slightly dished in the middle, making for consistent placement of the ammo. The thumb release is very smooth, with no apparent roughness. The fingers open to a gap of about 7/8 of an inch (2.2 cm), so they will even accommodate modest sized rocks.

All mechanical releases suffer from a couple of shortcomings: 1) they are a bit fiddly to use, so follow up shots take longer; and 2) you generally have a loss of draw length of a couple of inches when using a mechanical release. On the other hand, use of a mechanical release may allow you to keep shooting even when you have medical problems that prevent you from holding a ball in the pouch at draw and getting a smooth release.

Personally, I did not find that using the release resulted in any increase in accuracy, but as in all things, your mileage may vary.

Dankung's release is a bit pricey at $58. But if you do not want to make a release yourself, this one is worth your consideration.

http://www.dankung.com/emart/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=release+aid

Cheers ..... Charles


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## Kipken (Feb 6, 2012)

Great review Charles...
Kip


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## Sofreto (May 10, 2012)

Interesting post, Charles...thanks


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## GrayWolf (May 14, 2012)

Charles, thanks for the information. This new release looks like some of the high end target archery releases (some of those go for over $200). It also looks like a lot better design than the other one they had previously.

Anything that helps people keep shooting has got to be a good thing.

Todd


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

Thanks for the review Charles. Very interesting!

Cheers,
Northerner


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## inkspot (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks Charles very interesting,great review.


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

With this kind of release you can rotate your hand so your thumb is pointing down rotating your pouch and getting the shot close to a regular release.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Wingshooter said:


> With this kind of release you can rotate your hand so your thumb is pointing down rotating your pouch and getting the shot close to a regular release.


Good point! With the mechanics of my hand and arm, I cannot draw back very far with the thumb pointing down. In my case, to pull 3/4 butterfly or so, it is most comfortable to have the thumb pointing to the side, toward my body (old rotator cuff injury plus arthritis). But everyone is a bit different. Your point is well taken ... with this device, you can turn your hand to whatever position is most comfortable.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## MAV (Mar 18, 2012)

Nice review! I learned something new, I incorrectly called Zamak pot metal, now I know the correct term. I'm going to use that.


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## mrpaint (May 16, 2012)

thanks for the review charles!


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## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

This plus a starship would be awesome.


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## Blue Danube (Sep 24, 2011)

Great review Charles, where can one obtain one in USA?


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I would just order straight from Dankung.com ... they will ship to the US.

Cheers ... Charles


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## Sherif Girgis (Dec 11, 2011)

Thanks Charles
I bought one too from eBay


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## fsa46 (Jul 8, 2012)

Nice review Charles. Bet it would work great on those heavy tubes that are a bear to pull back.


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## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

I have fiddled with a few release devices also and found that they did not improve my accuracy. -- Tex


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## beaverman (Dec 20, 2012)

i was thinking about getting this and was wondering about the max draw weight that can be used. it looks like its usually used with pretty thin tubes, how do you think it would work with black or silver theratube?


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

beaverman said:


> i was thinking about getting this and was wondering about the max draw weight that can be used. it looks like its usually used with pretty thin tubes, how do you think it would work with black or silver theratube?


The claws, the trigger, the sear, and the pins are all stainless steel. In response to your question, I just put a .44 caliber ball in a leather pouch, loaded that into the release, and hooked a digital scale to the pouch. I anchored the scale to a steel pin. I then pulled on the release to a reading something over 65 pounds. There was no sign of any weakness or failure in the mechanical release. I doubt that no matter what your bands, you will ever be using anything with a draw weight of 65 pounds. I have no personal experience with black or silver Theratube, but I am confident the release is more than adequate for those.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks Charles. Good review!


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

i want one anybody have one to sell


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## Sherif Girgis (Dec 11, 2011)

bigron said:


> i want one anybody have one to sell


I bought one from Catapults com
http://www.catapults.co/release_aid.html


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

thanks sherif :wave: nice to meet you


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## Sherif Girgis (Dec 11, 2011)

bigron said:


> thanks sherif :wave: nice to meet you


You welcome birgon nice to meet you too


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## Underachiever (Oct 17, 2013)

Very nice review, thanks very much Charles! I´ll have a look on ebay soon...

Take care!

Luke


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## Underachiever (Oct 17, 2013)

Sherif Girgis said:


> bigron said:
> 
> 
> > i want one anybody have one to sell
> ...


Thanks for the link mate!


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## Hisownself (Feb 11, 2012)

I found I'm more accurate with manual release than mechanical release. I spent some time shooting at 10yards and measured the spread of shots and was really surprised I'm not as good using a mechanical release. I tied a stting around the pouch and used an archery release. This doesn't make sense to me. Maybe it's the fact I have many hours of practice with my release and only fooled around with the mechanical release for an hour?


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

Nice review Charles..I may have to look in to this..as do to hand spasm..(loc up)...Oldmiser


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## benzidrine (Oct 14, 2013)

I feel like a magnet and using a string for an archery release does have the potential for greater accuracy. Without the magnet though their would be too much inconsistency in the pouch hold of the ball IMO.


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## Topfmine (Nov 17, 2015)

Although an old post I think that the early type release mechanism is more suited to a slingshot rifle. The reason for the early type to have a rough and stiff and trigger pull is that stainless against stainless is known to gaul ie the two metals don't like being together under friction, better that it were stainless and case harden steel both sides polished. I had this problem years ago when I had an AMT stainless longside .45, the slide and the frame always gauled no matter how much I polished and lubed it. Thanks for taking the mechanism apart, now I can see how it works to make one myself.


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## truthornothing (May 18, 2015)

Well I ordered one today. This basal joint arthritis is making me angry. I like shooting heavy bands and it just hurts too badly after a few shots. I hope it doesn't take too long to get here.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

truthornothing said:


> Well I ordered one today. This basal joint arthritis is making me angry. I like shooting heavy bands and it just hurts too badly after a few shots. I hope it doesn't take too long to get here.


I hope it works for you. Please do keep us posted about your experience with it.

Cheers .... Charles


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## truthornothing (May 18, 2015)

Will do Charles. I am shooting lighter bands now and I don't like it lol. I like blasting holes through steel cans with 1/2 hex nuts. The 1"x 3/4 x 6.5 TB Black just cannot do that. Much heavier and I can only shoot 5 shots before my hand is killing me. Should I start a new review thread or just add to this one? Also I have never ordered from DanKung. I wonder what the wait is?


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