As much as it pains me to admit it.......those darn overly-vocal Stan shooters were right. Just over a year ago I decided enough was enough with wrist/trigger releases and began my journey into hand held thumb trigger models. I started with a used Hot Shot Eclipse, which was OK as a starter but was frankly not very comforable. A friend and mentor in the new release process suggested a Scott Exxus or Stan SX2, so I started looking for a used one and found a great deal on a new Exxus. It didn't take long to decide the Exxus was FAR superior to the Hot Shot and it immediately became my go-to release through the summer and the 2015 hunting season. I kept running across threads and comments on another archery website that sang the praises of Stan releases and some of them were downright obnoxious.......well sort of Over the course of the winter, I got the typical off-season itch to try something new and found a lightly used Stan Shootoff to try out. The first time I shot it I was less than impressed and after the second round decided it was going up for sale. It just didn't feel right in my hand, despite the fact that the trigger was very crisp and the design was top shelf. Although I was pretty biased against Stans for the moment, I stumbled upon a trade offer....a fellow looking to swap an SX3 for an Exxus. Since I had acquired 3 Exxus, it was not much of a risk to make the trade and see how this model of Stan would compare. Unlike the Shootoff, the SX3 felt great in my hand and was an immediate fan favorite. Before long, I found another trade opportunity and now I have two SX3's to play with. If you are a hand held release shooter and haven't shot a Stan.....you owe it to yourself to at least give one a good workout.
I just acquired an SX3, mainly because of my coach and best friend shoot one, but was looking at the Hot Shot for two reasons: 1) I hunt and I don't care for all of the steps to get hooked up with the Stan 2) Cost. So your post has intrigued me. Are there any specifics that you see as a huge deal between the two? I just spent 4 days in Chicago while my son was competing in the National History Championship and the Geography Olympiad, plus I have an audit client up there - any free time I was practicing with the Stan off a paracord.
The Hot Shot was simply uncomfortable in my hand and bothering me as I continued to shoot, due to more square edges. The Scott Exxus was significantly more comfortable and the Stan even more so.....at least to me. Every once in a while I would have a day with the Exxus where it seemed not to fit as well, where the Stan has been great from day one. As far as getting the Stan hooked to the D-loop......well it is virtually the same as the Scott Exxus (hence the reported lawsuit of design infringement against Scott by Stan) and pretty much the same with the Hot Shot. Unless you go with a spring loaded jaw type like a Tru-Fire, you will deal with this type of system. I have done it for over a year so it is almost automatic, plus when hunting I hook my release to the string as soon as I get settled with an arrow on the string. Never had an issue with it getting bumbed or letting lose on stand all of last season, so it was instantly ready when a game animal wandered by.
My best friend and I have land together and hunt and I finally got him into bowhunting, he was gun only. Well, he went hog wild and now eats and sleeps archery and we've hit the 3D circuit. He got into the thumb thing right off the bat and bets on his SX3, thus why I have one now. The thumb deal has been a lot harder on me. I've bow hunted for years and was using a Trufire wrist strap from 2004 up until about two months ago. I pulled the trigger - jaws opened - hooked onto dloop and I'm ready. Even my Little Bitty Goose that I replaced the Trufire with doesn't auto close and irks me a bit. I'm thinking maybe my buddy hasn't had as much problem because he didn't spend years getting used to something else, it's really all he knows. On the SX3, I pretty much wanted a 3 finger, but thinking I might need a 4 because on the SX3 it's put a sore spot on my pinky where it rests.
I actually found a guy on AT of all places selling a bunch of Stans. He bought about 6 to try and settled on the SX3 and one of their hinge models. He'd bought 3 JustX models and only opened one of them. The real kicker is he lives 6 miles down the road and a member of the same archery club. We got together for a while yesterday and since I already have two SX3s in L & M I wanted to see the Just X models he had. He had a medium 4 finger Just X unopened and it just fell right into my hand. I wanted that Stan trigger but the SX3 was very uncomfortable in my hand. One thing I've noticed is people either like the SX3 style or the JustX, haven't seen a lot of people that like both. The release you pick is so subjective, or it picks you. I guess that's why pro shops don't carry much inventory. They're too expensive to buy much to just sit on the shelves to get fondled.
As mentioned, I learned to shoot a hand held with a 3 finger Hot Shot and then switched to a 3 finger Scott Exxus. So when I got the SX3, I automatically shot it the same with with my pinky behind the release body and not on the little projection. Thus I have no idea if it is comfortable or not, as I have been shooting it for close to two months without ever using the pinky ledge. However I fully agree that comfort in the hand is very subjective, as the Shootoff was not a fit almost immediately. By the way......I picked up an SX2 in three finger large without the ledge and would be willing to swap for your SX3 if that would help you out. If not, it will likely be the ever present backup in my hunting pack.
Is this for me? If so, I sold both of my SX3s without even advertising. There is absolutely no dealers near me. I had both in the bag for the 3D shoot on Father's Day and both sold before I hit the course. I let a couple shoot them in the warm up area and they both bought.
