How many "swing draw" vs straight arm??

[Whump]

Whump Sez: Both----depending on the situation I may have to draw straight arm due to something in the way or to avoid unnecessary movement. If I can get away with the movement I swing draw. Do what feels good but try not to get locked in to a fixed position if you hunt. You will be a sad little monkey one day if you do.  Hunt safe.

[Widowbender]

Mostly straight, but use both from time to time. Its a good idea to practice different positions, I think.
You never know what contortions you'll be faced with in the wild places.
David

[overbo]

Great post,
I feel if one uses swing draw for hunting they are at a  disadvantage.We bowhunters have enough circumstances to overcome,why in the heck make it more difficult w/ all the movement swing draw takes.
I started swing draw w/ Asbel's books, but when I watched Bowhunting October Whitetails and saw one of the Wensels shoting a bow I quickly changed to set-arm.IMO,set-arm is better for hunting

[Terry Green]

Overbow....I think a bowhunter should be able to do both for versatility, cause there are circumstances when the swing draw is an advantage.  I use the pre point, and straight draw back 95% of the time to minimize movement, but I have used the swing draw with great success under the right conditions.  HH killed a lot of stuff using it that's for sure, the list of his kills is pretty darn impressive....but I'm sure he got busted a few times as well.

[BLACK WOLF]

The more bag of tricks you can teach yourself...the more you can use them under the proper circumstances that each trick can apply to...which is why some of us choose to learn and practice from awkward or unusual positions.

If you don't practice it...it's kind of hard to know or have the confidence that you can do it.

Ray  

[Scott J. Williams]

I am with Terry, I practiced the swing draw about ten years ago, listening to Paul Brunner.  I never liked it as an "all the time thing".  

I have used a combination of the two, most often using the swing draw when game appears suddenly, or when game is moving by at close range.  It pretty much just taks over, and the shot is made.

I perfer a straight arm draw, (1) it reduces movement, (2) it meets my idea of instinctive shooting, which is simply pointing the bow hand.  I must admit that the swing draw, at least for me is a very short range proposition.  Something in the neighborhood of ten to fifteen yards.

[scriv]

Put me down for both.    

[toddster]

Well, depends on what bow I am shooting.  With a recurve I find it easier to have straight arm, push/pull.  Now longbow, I love the swingdraw and get good with it.  I have noticed that when hunting out of a treestand and a shot present, I have a tendancy to get bow up straight arm then draw instead of swing.  Don't know why, because if the shot is there to move the bow into up position, it is there to swing and shoot.

[Daddy Bear]

You should practice to be proficient in both techniques.  Both have a place under certain conditions when hunting game afoot. I'll transition between the two and at times morph the two w/out thinking. I've watched myself on video taking multiple back to back shots on multiple targets at various distances to include movers and saw I was going back and forth between the techniques depending on the shot.

Daddy Bear

[cvarcher]

I only use the swing draw from when I was 8yrs old to now.For me its the most relaxed natural way to get the bow itno shooting postion. Bow arm is never locked straight for me it is too much effort that I dont need.Longbowguy describes it very well.

[Bowtie]

Straight arm...

[Papa Bull]

Originally posted by Daddy Bear:
You should practice to be proficient in both techniques.  Both have a place under certain conditions when hunting game afoot. I'll transition between the two and at times morph the two w/out thinking. I've watched myself on video taking multiple back to back shots on multiple targets at various distances to include movers and saw I was going back and forth between the techniques depending on the shot.

Daddy Bear

I think it's good to practice both, too.  In my opinion, the important thing is getting to your anchor.  Once you're at anchor, how you got there won't really matter.  I think a swing draw is very useful for shooting quickly and on moving targets.  It's a bit more fluid.  But when bowhunting, sometimes you have to "sneak" the string back with the least amount of perceptible movement and I feel that's when a straight arm draw is best.

[stmpthmpr]

Im with cvarcher. Ive never not used the swing draw, accept when I wasnt doing something entirely different! So, in answer to the thread title, "How many swing draw vs. straight arm?, I'll just guess and say 176,453 swing draw.


On second thought... I'll just go with what Daddy Bear said!!

[Martin Farrent]

Check out some videos of FITA archers shooting BEST style (following Coach Lee). Many of them pre-draw while raising the bow - a long pre-draw. The actual draw is then very short and follows after the briefest of pauses.

Quite similar to a swing draw. And wins the Olympics, too.

Best,

Martin

[BRITTMAN]

I work on both when I pratice .

Mike

[Orion]

John Schulz produced a video quite a few years ago that shows how to do the swing draw that Howard Hill used.  But that wasn't the only way Hill drew the bow.  If you watch videos of some of his faster shooting, he is using a push pull method, which is what Fred Bear also used.  I use all three, depending on the situation.  If I'm stump shooting, swing arm seems to come naturally.  Drawing on an animal, I usually have my arm extended toward the critter before I draw.  Then, there's very little movement when I draw.  On small, mobile critters like rabbits and squireels, I may use swing arm or push pull, depending on where my bow and arrow happen to be when I see the critter.  For 3-D shooting, I tend to use push/pull almost exclusively.  They all work, and I like to practice all three.