Howard Hill/ Snapshooter/

[cvarcher]

In answer to the question can someone that considers himself a snap or fast shooter also hold at anchor for a controlled amount of time the answer is yes.Especially when you are trying for a target that is way out there and small.I will draw right on it and then while holding start elevating the bow hand .While my eye is keeping the shaft and target in a nice lineup -(secondarily) my other vision part is setting a gap that is below the the shaft to the target since it is a large amount of holdover. This can take 4-7 seconds.What freaks me out though is I sometimes just casually throw in a smooth slower snap shot and watch the arrow come just as close!That leaves me scratching my head.

[jhansen]

I'm going to throw in one more thought here.  It has to do with experience.  My father taught me combat handgunning and he always said speed comes with practice.  You can be blindingly fast and a lousy shot but if you master the techniques of shooting you will get faster without thinking about it.  I think this applies to archery too.  A beginner should take their time and be sure that their form is correct.  With proper form comes accuracy.  With time and practice comes speed.  

John

[BLACK WOLF]

Originally posted by jhansen:
I'm going to throw in one more thought here.  It has to do with experience.  My father taught me combat handgunning and he always said speed comes with practice.  You can be blindingly fast and a lousy shot but if you master the techniques of shooting you will get faster without thinking about it.  I think this applies to archery too.  A beginner should take their time and be sure that their form is correct.  With proper form comes accuracy.  With time and practice comes speed.  

John

Some words of wisdom right there, John!

Ray  

[Rick P]

You're arguing semantics which alter based on your location. Having traveled around the US a fair bit I know asking for a pop in Michigan will get you a "carbonated beverage" but in California it will get you a blank stare. In some parts of the country snap shooter = controlled quick fluid shooter in others it means TP. Solve the whole argument and call it instinctive shooting that is after all what it is shooting from muscle memory not rational processing.

All of the best traditional bow hunters/trick shooters are/were instinctive shooters. You don't honestly think native American hunters thought "draw sight release" every time they let a shaft fly do you? No they practiced till they developed  muscle memory and shooting became like throwing a ball. A pitcher doesnt pause to aim in the middle of his wind up for a 90 mile an hour pitch, works the same for traditional archery.

Holepuncher are the folks telling you too pause and aim from your anchor point wheelgun shooters or maybe light target bow shooters who use a sight system? If so they would be giving you good advice if you were using there bow, trouble is a compound has more in common with a rifle as far as shooting style goes than it dose a trad bow. Next time hand them your 50#+ hunting recurve and tell them to pause and aim, see how steady they hold your bow! BTW Mr. hill preferred bows in the 80 pound class, don't care how big you are, you have a split second of stability at full draw.

[Rick P]

Agreed that the further/smaller the target the slower the motion but it's still one fluid motion 90% of the sighting done before you hit anchor.

[BLACK WOLF]

There are many ways to learn things to develop muscle memory.

In athletics or in most things for that matter...the fundamentals are learned slowly and are broken down to the very basics until the student has mastered them.

Most of us learn to crawl before we walk...and walk before we run.

Ray  

[AllenR]

In the couple of months since this thread started, I've worked on the fluid touch & go style that I see in the Hill videos.  

It is working for me as my groups have gotten smaller IF I can keep my focus and hit my anchor.

One of the things that occured to me is if I am on target and I've hit anchor, there is no reason to hold onto the arrow.  Holding just gives me time to doubt my shot.  Doubt leads to hesitation and that leads to poor shots.

I'm not even close to Hill's skill at this, but I am a lot better than I was before.

I still have to concentrate on the basics of form and continue to practice them, but I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Has anyone else had this experience with snap shooting?

[BLACK WOLF]

I just recently read where G. Fred Asbell was sharing those exact same thoughts explaining why he released quickly or shortly after he touched anchor.

It seemed to be his way of curing his Target Panic.

Ray  

[Dozer]

I snap shoot my 55# Bear Grizzly. If I bring everything together properly I get tight groups. If my concentration breaks during the draw, which is were it usually happens, or my form is off then it looks like I've been shooting with my eyes closed.
G. Fred Asbell said "How well you can shoot depends on how well you can concentrate."

[GroundHunter]

Snap-shooting - the good kind - is a very precise, and very controlled fuid form where the shot is executed in one smooth motion, and you will be hard put to find an achor hold of any kind watching or videoing it.

I shoot my best that way, with a swing draw, pulling through the shot, attention focused on the target spot, and so far, it's the only way I can shoot a 1 inch group at 20 yards.

Lots of hunting situations do not permit a free swing draw. For those I use a push-pull draw, with the same fluid single motion and release, pulling through the shot. Put three arrows in a ping-pong ball at 18 yards that way, last week.

I call it a floating form, as the whole thing is about drawing the line of the arrow to the target spot and releasing along that line with no torgue, cast or pluck, and no set anchor. It's all about the "line" and feeling the line. It's sort of a "pump", and it produces unbelievably consistent shots, on the spot. If you want to hold all day with that line, still pulling - still pushing, you can, and release when ready. I find my groups open up when I do that, but it still works fine. Perhaps, that last bit is the same as comming to anchor, but for me, i don't seem to have a great anchor spot on my face that conforms to the "line", so i let it float.

Now this snap-shooting does not dispense with any of the essentials of good form. Hand and shoulder position, orientation to the taget, focus on the spot, drawing with even back tension (the "pump" is all back tension) with relaxed bowarm and drawing hand.It adds pulling through the release, and you get a feel for full draw from the tension, instead of a spot on your face.

If it were not a considtent form, how could it put 4 arrows in a 1-inch group and on the spot?

Snap shooting is not for everyone, and I can't say it's a superior form. But I shoot it, and amaze myself, so I think it superior for hunting. Anyone that wants to can learn it, but don't let me mess you up on form.

Oh, yeah, it's not about speed. It can be nice and smooth and slow - just one fliud motion. If you ever get to see old films of the Wilhelm Bothers from the '30s - one shoots dice of the other's head using a swing draw and snap shooting from the hip level - same form.

[Peter O. Stecher]

We should never forget how much Howard was trained, short distances were little trouble for him to hit, just out from the "belly" (sorry for German English).  He had his moves, his body completely under control, we should not think that he was a sloppy shot, just because we watch him shooting on tapes where his performances are looking easy...

[Divinecedar]

I "snap-shoot"...that is to say that I focus precisely on my target and draw to my anchor in the corner of my cheek and loose the arrow. For me, this method works extremely well and is not only quick, but accurate. However, if I attempt to hold my anchor for an extended period, my shooting is negatively affected.

For me, it is a matter of letting my instincts and muscle memory take over and not over-thinking it...