snap shooting is it real

[hvyhitter]

Holding leads to more target panic for me than snap shooting. I was tuning my daughters 40# recurve this weekend (that I can hold forever)and found myself second guessing my shots and flinching, and my release going to crap, shots were all over the place.Once I got the nock point and brace height set I put that thing away and drug out the 60# predator. It took about 10 to 15 shots to get my form smoothed back out and groups tightened up. Been "snap shooting" since given a fiberglass longbow and three missmatched arrows about 40 years ago so not going to change now.

[bawana bowman]

I've been snap shooting for 49 years. Didn't start that way, but at age 7 I found that to be the only way to shoot flushed pheasant.
I don't know how something as simple as the correct meaning of "snap shoot", can end up meaning uncontrolled shooting these days.
My eyes aren't quite as good as they use to be, but in my 20's and 30's I could put 5 shots into a 2" target circle before most shooters that hold and aim could execute 2 shots. I would do this anywhere from 30 yards in. And shooting anywhere from 50 to 85# bows. I don't believe this is considered uncontrolled shooting, I believe it is called practice, form and confidence. I could also easily hit the targets if I held at anchor.
But as with shooting a rifle I've always believed the longer you hold the more margin for error.
Terry, Ron, Fred and Howard have it right.
Snap shooting is accomplished by being on target throughout the entire shooting sequence there is no need to stop to aim when you instinctively know you are on target. The second you reach full draw and touch your anchor point there is no reason to hold, to do so is a waste of effort, just release.
To me it would be comparable to trying to aim a baseball in mid-throw when your mind has already done this for you.
This gets me as worked up as those who want to argue that gap shooting isn't instinctive shooting, and that a real instinctive shooter is totally unaware of the presence of the arrow when they shoot. If this is really the case it's know wonder there are so many shooters that have windage and elevation problems, and that think hitting a paper plate at 20 yards is considered good shooting.
I believe what some of you consider to be snap shooting is really being over bowed. You just haven't developed the muscles to hold at anchor or to aim and shoot quickly with good form.
Just my opinion.    

[Over&Under]

Bawana

Well stated indeed!

[cvarcher]

Well Im killing game very fast and effectively  with target panic!

[Ricker]

I think if you watch Charlie Lamb's style in the video forum, I would consider that to be snap shooting....and my guess is he is pretty spot on with it too.

[Joe M]

From Ron LaClair;

"As for the term "Snap shooter", I've been hearing it for 50 years and it was probably used before that. It has "always" been used to refer to someone that shot in one fluid motion, and whose release was triggered when they touched their anchor."

This is my style of shooting, brought on because of the use of longbows.  It has always been my understanding that you are not suppose to hold a release/anchor point for very long with the use of a longbow - so this style of snap shooting I taught myself to do once I reached my anchor.  I feel it works well for me and my usage of longbows.

[joevan125]

I have only been shooting a trad bow for 2 months. Last week at the trad shoot here in Alabama i shot a round with a guy who said i was snap shooting therefore rushing my shot.To tell you the truth i shot just as well as did.He has been shooting for 30 yrs. It just feels RIGHT for me to anchor and let it fly. For me it doesnt feel like im rushing at all. I have tried to hold for a couple of seconds but im just not as accurate. Love this website learn somthing from it everyday. Thanks.

[jrchambers]

i love to snap shoot and hold as well, i belive the advantage of snap shooting is when i hit anchor the target is at its clearest, i sometimes have trouble with bluring after focusing for a long hold, but if i look off the spot a little then find it in the middle of the draw and i will still have it at anchor,  this is the method i began using at moving targets seemd to help

[local point]

hey chub, i got a similar style of shooting, i pause for a split second, andi barely anchor- but a can't shoot groups for my life when i go into a full anchor. I always thought snap shooting meant a real rapid style of shooting, but i guess i was wrong- haha.good luck, and real quick, you shoooting a longbow or recurve?

[Rob Fin]

I have to agree with Terry and others. I have experienced target psnic both as a snap shooter and as one who holds at anchor. As a snap shooter I would release prior to being at full draw. I changed my style to that of holding at anchor before releasing to try to fix the TP but it did not fix the problem. The TP just resurfaced in a different form - I could get to full draw, but I could seldom get on target in a controlled manner and release without jerking my bow arm. I tended to hold for 5 or 6 seconds without truly being on target. I would then jerk my arm towards being on target as I released. Poor result as you'd imagine. Lately I have worked hard at being on target for the last third of my draw, getting to anchor, staying aligned and on target, holding for as long as the situation calls for (anywhere between 1/2 second and 5 or 6 seconds) then releasing in a controlled manner with follow through. My shooting has improved considerably. For me the key was being able to be on target and in control, not whether I released quickly or held long. It's been a long road and I have a ways to go. Threads like this can save new shooters a lot of long trips down dead end roads!

[mooseman76]

Originally posted by Terry Green:


Oh, and I think you'd be better served as a bow hunter to be able to do both, shoot quick if the shot calls for it....and also be able to hold if the shot calls for it.  A bowhunter should be able to control the shot and not have the shot control him.

 

I think this is the most important thing said for hunters.  All of my practice lately has been very random as far as holding full draw.  I "snap shoot", I draw and hold for 5+ seconds, and everything in between.  I want to have complete confidence that I can get my shot off exactly when I need to in the woods...Mike

[hawgslayer]

 

Snap shooting is the only way I can hit what I want. When I draw and hold, I can't connect. I draw and when my thumb hits the side of my jaw bone beneath the corner of my mouth I release but continue to draw thru. What works for some and not for others doesn't mean they are doing it right or wrong. It means they have found what works for them. I snap shoot and have put 5 does in the freezer in the last 2 seasons. Is it right or wrong, I don't know but it works for me.

[va]

I am a champion snap-shooter who has also mastered the floating anchor, wavering bow-arm, and disappearing arrow.  

Come on.  You gotta smile!

[dan ferguson]

This is my opinion on this subject, when starting to shoot the bow one must ingrain the anchor,bowhand, etc, work on form, work on form, after one shoots for many years and these things are so ingrained into ones mind, the process of the shot can come quicker for alot of shooters, this type of shooting is the END result of hours and hours of practice, when you watch someone who has shot this way for along time it looks like ballet not wrestling. Just smooth beautiful motion. But I caution this is usually the end result not the starting result.

[TheFatboy]

I think it's great with threads like these, about shooting style. Now, I haven't been shooting for that long now (around 3 months, maybe a little more), and from the start I shot instinctively, releasing upon the anchor. Then lately I started holding to trust less on my instincts, and put more weight on my aim. It really helped me fixing the goofs that sometimes occur when shooting instinctively (without being extremely experienced), like wrong shoulder position, dropping the bow arm, not having quite the right stance, et cetera. Now, when I snap shoot (or whatever you may want to call it), I sure don't feel as safe or secure, as when I anchor and aim for 1-2 seconds before the release.

[TheFatboy]

I may want to add that I still enjoy shooting instinctively, and I'm still having great results with bows in lower poundages. It's not as easy with my new bow though, since I ain't used to the heavy poundage yet.

[bayoulongbowman]

Just my 2 cents, I think there are touch shooters, and then snappers , its easy to tell the difference . A good touch shooter pulls everso touches the same anchor point and hit what they aim at, good back tension.   Indians did it, snappers cant hit crap and most are over bowed and  cant hit the barn wall.And probably do have issues with TP....I hate that word!!!        Its easy to sallow ur pride start light , deleope good shootin g habits , and work up in weight , less chance of injury as well. Quality shooting not quanity...  

[bayoulongbowman]

dang cant edit , spelling stunk, sorry