# Dankung’s Release Mechanism



## pgandy (Aug 15, 2011)

The trigger release mechanism I ordered from Dankung arrived yesterday. And of course I had to check it out. For two days I did so, and here is my story.

The price was about $50 and $16 to ship. I've had several orders from Dankung and this is the first that attracted customs' attention. The previous orders consisted of no more than a couple of bulk rubber bags and a couple of pouches. Maybe it was the weight of this package, although not much, or the fact that Dankung assigned it a tracking number, a first. For whatever reason customs took a liking to it and decided to impound it until they could collect their share. This required a trip to another providence taking just over 5 hours. I carried Hazel along to help in the tight spots and it was somewhat of the blind leading the blind but the mission was a success. That effort cost another $60 of which about $25 went to customs. I paid dearly for the release but finally it was mine, but if I had known the true cost beforehand I would have passed on it.

I had plenty of time to play with it on the way home. It was a little smaller, which is to my liking, than I thought it would be. Also it worked smoothly. I was really surprised at the let off, it was clean, about 3#, with no travel. Better than many triggers that come on sporting rifles these days.

Nothing else mattered after arriving home but to check out my new jewel. I opted to use a PS2 slingshot with an untried "Ultra Power" band I had just gotten from A+ that pulled at 22¼#. I was using the bands as received without shortening. I've been working towards the ability to shoot arrows hence the release. I can hold on to a pouch pulling just 25# but I could see pulls exceeding this. And even at 25# those finger joints would speak afterwards stating their discontent.

Under load the release mechanism changed drastically. The trigger pull was now l-o-n-g, gritty, heavy, and dead. I had trouble hitting a drink can at 15' due to the pull. The misses were due to no more than anticipation and flinching will fighting the trigger. After a rest and a new approach I did better but still a far cry from what I can expect without the release. I feel that with time and more familiarization I can do better, certainly can't do much worse.

However, today was the biggest surprise of all. I was clocking a new 1842 band that pulled about 23½# and was doing OK with no help from the release but decided it would be a good times to have another go with the release. The velocities dropped from about 190 fps with .50 cal lead to less than 160! Talking about counter productive! The accuracy went to pot as did the energy.

To make matters worse I shot myself. As I was drawing a tangara azuela landed on my catch box distracting me and I touched the trigger. Up to that point I had been fighting the trigger, this time I only think that I might have touched it. Fortunately I got my hand and not the chrony. I broke skin, and had a discoloured, swollen hand, but the chrony was safe.

Due to such lose of energy I see no point in continuing with the release in hopes of mastering it and consider it a lost cause.


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## akmslingshots (Mar 2, 2012)

Thank you for an in depth review, I would have never bought one but looked at it and wondered a few times. You have satisfied my curiosity


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

the more parts in the mix the more can go wrong, slinging is a personal thing anyway, not an add mechanical devices to give me an edge kinda thing.


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

I understand the disappointment when you were in anticipation of something really cool.You put a lot of time and money in trying to get this thing.Thanks for the heads up with the product review.


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## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

Like what treefork said, I understand the emotional rollercoaster you must have went through. It wasnt a total waiste, by you sharing this review you are going to help many that read it.

Thanks for taking the time to share


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

For those unsure what this is:


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## AJW (Apr 24, 2011)

... and then you shot yourself in the hand. I think that qualifies as taking one for the team. I understand your disappointment, I'm sure you have saved several shooters from a similar fate though and thanks for the candid review


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I made one to a different design several years ago:

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/8867-mechanical-release/

Mine seems to work considerably better than your report on the Dankung model. But I still did not find it gave me any improvement in accuracy.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

this is all you need for a release mechanism :


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## kobe23 (Jun 28, 2010)

From my point of view, the trigger is not meant to be triggered from an anchor point. I think you should try applying force towards the trigger while drawing and at a fixed (different for different pull) pull length and weigh there would be enough force on the trigger then it would release. Try it this way instead of pressing the trigger at desired anchor.


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## pgandy (Aug 15, 2011)

I did not purchase the release to increase accuracy. I did perhaps put the cart before the horse. I am working towards a 30-35# pull weight, more would be better, with an arrow shot in mind and felt that I'd be over taxing those fingers holding onto the pouch in the higher range. And certainly feel that many practice shots in that neighbourhood would be out to the question.

An up date. The gritty feeling during the trigger pull has worn away. I've established a new anchor point by drawing farther, sort of like a southern draw with my hand behind my head in hopes of getting some power back. I haven't clocked yet. I am also holding onto the mechanism differently and bending my wrist out of line to better enable reaching the trigger, and at the moment pulling with the index and middle finger. Accuracy is improving put not where I want. Am still flinching in anticipation while fighting the trigger, but less. There is still hope in making it serviceable. I see no way that it will improve my accuracy nor was that the intent. I was looking for an easier way to hang on as the pull weights increased. I'll give an update if anything worth while happens.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

By all means, please do keep us informed.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## akmslingshots (Mar 2, 2012)

is it possible to dissmantle and clean up the sears? making a crisper pull


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

ya what AKM said plus a good polishing and lubricating with a wax bike chain lube. Good Luck!


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## orcrender (Sep 11, 2010)

I got one of these a while back. My first issue is the wrist belt is not usable by me. Second issue the slightest pull on the trigger will let it off. I had no problem with how smooth it released. I got it because I had bruised my hand and wanted to keep shooting. Should have used the money on a slingshot.


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## pgandy (Aug 15, 2011)

akmslingshots said:


> is it possible to dissmantle and clean up the sears? making a crisper pull


I skirted WD-40 in the mechanism and it may have helped slightly. It has since smoothed up with use but the long travel and heavy pull is still there. The travel bothers me the most. I've adjusted my techniques and this is helping. I think, for me, band pulls up to 25# will always work better w/o the release. No real surprise there and I am getting more control.

I had thought about going inside and doing a trigger job, a carry on from my amateur gun smithing days. They used rivets making it not practical to go inside. I have since decided that there maybe a side advantage to that long travel, although I think it is unnecessarily excessive. I now question how hard the steel is that they used. I suspect not all that hard and to get a really good trigger may only be temporary until wear sets in. I had a Savage over/under (.22LR/20 ga) rifle that with work had a beautiful trigger, then another, then another due to soft metal.


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## pgandy (Aug 15, 2011)

I gave up and packed it away. I nearly pitched it, maybe I should have. In all fairness it does what it is suppose to do. But for me personally I can't hit the broadside of a barn when using it. At 15' I can hit a drink can 20% of the time using the release and virtually 100% of the time without it.


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## Tobse (Nov 4, 2010)

pgandy said:


> I gave up and packed it away. I nearly pitched it, maybe I should have. In all fairness it does what it is suppose to do. But for me personally I can't hit the broadside of a barn when using it. At 15' I can hit a drink can 20% of the time using the release and virtually 100% of the time without it.


Good review!
You have to have the feeling of the ball in your hand because your hand knows where the targe is. The release does not know where the target is...


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## gudway (Sep 20, 2013)

pgandy said:


> pgandy, on 20 Jun 2012 - 5:59 PM, said:
> I gave up and packed it away. I nearly pitched it, maybe I should have. In all fairness it does what it is suppose to do. But for me personally I can't hit the broadside of a barn when using it. At 15' I can hit a drink can 20% of the time using the release and virtually 100% of the time without it.


I was just about to buy one. Somewhere in this bunch of postings is a picture of a similar but different
Dankung trigger release. Maybe a redesigned/improved version. Maybe they will let you trade yours in.
I admire your restraint, I would have opened it up to check where they failed.
Maybe they will redesign it with screws if we suggest it to them.
I will support a petition. Dankung has a somewhat better reputation than most outfitters.
There is another similar product coming out by DannyPc2phone.com although they have vanished.
I am 82 and don't have a machine shop to use else I'd make one.
I just finished an "ultra slingbow" design which is in patent evaluation, but that's another subject.
A trigger release seems a must to shoot arrows, at least make it a lot easier since you cannot
"enclose" an arrow like a marble or steel ball. Keep working on it, we will improve it eventually.

gudway


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## gudway (Sep 20, 2013)

Hrawk said:


> Hrawk, on 08 Jun 2012 - 4:42 PM, said:
> For those unsure what this is:


Now where can I buy this?
It looks like fundamentally better designed
just wonder about the workings inside


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## gudway (Sep 20, 2013)

Hrawk
You showed a Dankung trigger release for a slingshot

Now where can I buy that?
It looks like a fundamentally good design
just wonder about the workings inside

Michael


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## benzidrine (Oct 14, 2013)

I would be tempted since the trigger didn't work to attach a D loop to the back of the pouch and use an archery release on it. Using a small magnet to keep the ball in the pouch.

Archery release aids are just a better known quantity and have been around longer.

For me I have taken to pulling butterfly or 3/4 butterfly slingshots with the pouch through the whole fist. Which I admit is an odd hold at first but feels pretty natural after a little while and makes it vastly easier to grip the pouch with high strength bands.


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## gudway (Sep 20, 2013)

benzidrine said:


> I would be tempted since the trigger didn't work to attach a D loop to the back of the pouch and use an archery release on it. Using a small magnet to keep the ball in the pouch.
> 
> Archery release aids are just a better known quantity and have been around longer.
> 
> For me I have taken to pulling butterfly or 3/4 butterfly slingshots with the pouch through the whole fist. Which I admit is an odd hold at first but feels pretty natural after a little while and makes it vastly easier to grip the pouch with high strength bands.


What is "butterfly or 3/4 butterfly slingshots"


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## pgandy (Aug 15, 2011)

The release that I have is the one pictured by Hawk and came directly from Dankung. They no longer offer that model, but have replaced it with http://www.dankung.com/emart/new-professional-release-aid-p-687.html . Hopefully they have gotten the bugs out.


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## Withak (Aug 26, 2013)

Interesting idea, but I think I'll spend my money on something else - a new slingshot perhaps.


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## benzidrine (Oct 14, 2013)

gudway said:


> What is "butterfly or 3/4 butterfly slingshots"


Butterfly shooting is the act of drawing a slingshot out so that both arms of the body are fully stretched out away from each other. This increases the draw length to about double. Normally a slingshot needs to be setup specifically for this purpose by increasing the rubber length.

It's a shame the release aid idea didn't work out here. I was mildly interested for accuracy shooting.


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## pgandy (Aug 15, 2011)

Withak said:


> Interesting idea, but I think I'll spend my money on something else - a new slingshot perhaps.


Smart thinking.


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## gudway (Sep 20, 2013)

For whatever it is worth

My guess of what is inside the Dankung trigger release

showing several points where friction can occur.

I wonder if I can paste the attached picture into this space


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I did not realize this had already been reviewed when I did my review of it.

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/19680-another-mechanical-release-from-dankung/?hl=%2Bmechanical+%2Brelease

Several folks have indicated that they did not find a mechanical release to be any great improvement, and that was certainly my experience. I now use mine on my test bed slingshot for hands-off testing of various aspects of slingshot shooting.

Cheers .... Charles


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## gudway (Sep 20, 2013)

Charles said:


> I did not realize this had already been reviewed when I did my review of it.
> 
> http://slingshotforum.com/topic/19680-another-mechanical-release-from-dankung/?hl=%2Bmechanical+%2Brelease
> 
> ...


I wished you lived close by. I designed an arrow rest for a slingbow, which disappears before the fletching reaches it

just would like to see how much difference it makes by a chrony test.

I noticed that more shooters are beginning to realize how important a good arrow rest is.

Most slingbow designs focus to minimizing the interference to the arrow fletching which is actually
negligible in comparison to the interference and power loss due to launching apparatus interference

with the arrow rest. The Whisker biscuit etc just correct and stabilize the arrow after the pouch messed with it.

No one that I know ever tackled the task to solve the problem of arrow rest interference with the pouch.

There are ample high speed recordings showing that even light projectiles like marbles leave the pouch

only after it has passed the power posts by 4 to 6 inch, which is well passed most arrow rests locations.

gudway


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