Carter Enterprises – Wise Choice Thumb Trigger Release Review

I have been shooting Carter releases for years.  Often I am asked, why don’t you try Brand X, or have you ever shot Brand Y?  And in truth, I have.  It’s been a few years, but there was a short period of time that I tried several different release manufacturers.  There were a few I liked, and a few I liked really well, but I was never able to find anything that made me want switch.  For the past 6 years, I have never gone into the woods or stepped on the target range without my Carter release.

Someone could make the argument that a release is just a simple device.  As long as it clips on your bowstring, and releases when you want it to, no release is better than any other.  From strictly a functionality standpoint, it would be hard to argue with them.  That is after all the primary purpose of a release.  However, for anyone who shoots their bow more than a few times a year, you know there is a little more to it than that.

There are two major factors that determine how well I like a release, the first being fit and the second is adjustability.  The Wise Choice by Carter performs excellent in both of these categories. The fit of the Wise Choice is perfect for my hands.  My hands are not small, but I don’t have large hands by any means.  I find that the finger groves on most releases are either too wide, or not pronounced enough.  On the Wise Choice, I can shoot well without gloves, and when the temperatures begin to drop in the fall, I have no issues with a lighter pair of gloves which are typically worn all deer season long.  I’ve heard of others using one type of release during summer shooting and early season when it is warm, but then switch to another release as temps drop and they wear thicker gloves.  I like to hunt with what I practice all year-long with, so having a release that fits me is extremely important.  The Carter Wise Choice also comes with an index finger hole that further assists with consistent grip placement, another major plus in my opinion for this release.

The thumb trigger is easily adjustable and rotates by loosening a single Allen head screw, which is important to get the trigger positioned exactly where you need it.  When I start hunting with gloves later in the fall, I like that I can fine tune the placement of my trigger so that it feels the same as it did without wearing gloves.  You can adjust the tension of the thumb trigger just as easy as by turning the tension set screw.  This allows you to quickly decrease or increase the amount of tension needed to set off the release.  I find this very helpful as gloves tend to decrease the sensitivity in your thumb.  For that reason, I like to slightly increase the tension in my release when deer hunting to avoid prematurely releasing an arrow.

Last but not least, the Wise Choice comes equipped with and adjustable lanyard.  I had never used a lanyard on thumb trigger releases in the past, but now that I have one, I could not imagine using my release without it.   When I’m walking to retrieve my arrows, or walking to my hunting spot, I like to attach my release to my belt loop so it is always readily available.  When I am on a spot and stalk hunt, I like that my release is right at my hand while still being able to grab binos or a range finder without the release being in the way.

If you are familiar with Carter releases, you know that every little detail is well thought out and each release design is extensively tested before a release ever hits the market.  The folks at Carter make the best releases available in my opinion.  Best of all, their customer service is unmatched in the industry.  To check out the Wise Choice and all other Carter releases, check out their website at www.carterenterprises.com.