Some pouch problems and maintenance

[Bill Herriman]

Have you ever had problems with fliers? The number one reason for them is a bad release. This can be fixed most of the time by keeping you thumb straight and not wrapping it around the ball as much. Another cause is sweaty, sticky hands. This can be fixed most of the time with a little talcum powder. Another cause is bad wrinkles on the ball side showing up after the pouch has been shot a few times. This also can be fixed most of the time with talcum or a super slick that dries up like Gibbs. One of the worse problems is a very rough stringy nap or unevenness on the release side. Some leather should never be made into a pouch for this reason, but it will get out from time to time. Sometimes the pouch will start showing fibers along the edge after being shot a great deal and if they are long enough they will cause fliers. This is caused by getting the long fiber under your finger or thumb, therefore upsetting the pouch on release. If you run into this, trim the long fibers off with a sharp pair of scissors. I have been shooting a set of bands that have 3 of these problems, roughness, long fibers and bad wrinkles. Every time I start to target shoot with them, I talcum the pouch and my fingers well. Every time I quite I make sure that there are no long fibers stuck out for the next time. If a pouch is bad enough, you must just throw it away.
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/3479/pouchproblem.jpg
By herriman (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/herriman) at 2009-07-30