How long do you hold full draw before releasing?

[virginiashadow]

Hello all.  I just started shooting a recurve a couple of months ago after many years shooting a compound.  I am going back and forth trying to figure out how long I should hold full draw before I release.  When I first started I kind of "snapped" my shot off as soon as I got my anchors.  Then I went to trying to hold full draw for a 2 count. Now I am shooting about 1-1.5 seconds after I get my anchors.

I feel comfortable shooting at 1-1.5 seconds but am wondering how that will translate into bowhunting deer.  I am not sure that is long enough for the deer woods.

So how long do you hold full draw?  And of yeah, any hints/tips/advice is much appreciated as I am just learning the recurve game.

Brett

[ishoot4thrills]

Probably about 3 seconds.

[bigjono]

3 seconds for me too.

[bm22]

As long as i need to. At 3d i hold about 2-3 but at deer or moving animals i sometimes draw while they are behind bushes the shoot when they come out or sometimes snap shoot. I think a good bowhunter should be able to adapt to the situation wether they make a faster shot or they hold for 30 seconds waiting for an animal to turn.

[virginiashadow]

bm--I don't think, I know I cannot hold my recurve on full draw for 30 seconds.  Maybe I should start holding full draw longer so I can develop some endurance.

[Brently]

I release just a few seconds after coming to my anchor. As I am drawing back everything is coming into alignment so that when I hit anchor it is good to go, I just hold a second or two to verify my aim.

[stickbow2442]

Most of the time for me it is 3 to 4 secs and I release the string. I don't draw on an animal until I know I am ready to shoot it.

[virginiashadow]

Thanks guys.  I don't know if I am releasing right but I feel like my draw hand is still moving backwards and my front arm is kind of pushing forward when I "release".  It is like I get to my anchors (middle finger in corner of mouth and thumb by jaw), then I still ease backwards and the bow just "goes off".  It seems to be working for me but I am not sure if that is a good style to continue to use.  Thanks for the input guys.

[Zog]

I try as much as I can to emulate Terry Green's form and it works best for me.  He doesn't hold at all - just keeps pulling through the anchor to release.  I recommend you see his videos.

[Eugene Slagle]

Mine is usually around 1 - 4 seconds depends on the situation really but after that I start to fatigue  if I hold longer than 6 seconds & need to let down or shoot even if I'm shooting my 40* bow.

[champ38]

I pull till my thumb base knuckle hits my ear lobe and I release. this has always worked for me on game and targets,never seen amy need to hold for 4-6 sec. this works for me.

[zetabow]

I'm holding between 2-3 secs, any longer and normally its a poor shot for me, not just form but focus as well.

Coach Kim (top Korean Olympic Coach) gave me a good test to try last year. Draw the Bow and hold for 5-6 secs come down half draw for 2 secs and repeat as many time as possible, if you cant do this repeat draw test more than 7 times you're overbowed.

The good news is you can do this test everyday till you build enough stength and control to pass the test.

[Earthdog]

Until the shot goes off,,an that depends on how comfortable I am with that particular shot.
At 10 yards it's more or less a snap shot,,,at 80 yards I probably hold for 2-3 seconds.
It's not a preset thing,there's something going on in my head that just triggers the release when I get to where everything has come togeather.

[TheFatboy]

Everything from 0-2 seconds.

[vernon]

sometimes the arrow is gone the second I hit anchor and sometimes I hold about 2 seconds.  the longer I hold anchor the more my shot falls apart, at least during practice.  In hunting situations I just take what the animal is giving me.

[Matt E]

Vernon, you do like I do.I believe if you know your bow ,the picture is automatic and there is no need to hold the shot very long.A good hunting weight bow would be hard to hold back for a normally conditioned archer.A couple of seconds is a long time when pointing your arrow at game.

[virginiashadow]

zeta.."Coach Kim (top Korean Olympic Coach) gave me a good test to try last year. Draw the Bow and hold for 5-6 secs come down half draw for 2 secs and repeat as many time as possible, if you cant do this repeat draw test more than 7 times you're overbowed.

The good news is you can do this test everyday till you build enough stength and control to pass the test."

I just completed and passed the test.     I am shooting a 55# bow.  I just practiced about 30 shots and tried holding the shot longer to about the 2-3 second mark. I found myself hitting ok, but my shots seemed to be a bit higher.  I will keep working on it.

[smokin joe]

I try to empty my thoughts, concentrate on the spot I want to hit, and let the shot happen as naturally as possible. That takes two to three seconds after I hit my anchor point.

[basket-rack'89]

About 1/4 second before I hit my anchor   :mad:   , but I'm working on it!

[Gregg S]

I tried drawing and holding for a set number of seconds. I tried 2 seconds on up to 6 seconds. For me, whatever time I decided to use for my release, I would barely get to that time and release. Sometimes I'd be on target and sometimes not. I have found ( from advice by better shooters then me) it is best to draw and get to your anchor and keep drawing until the release just happens. I think that I anticipate the shot when I try to hold for a specific amout of time. Once you get away from snap shooting and allow yourself some time to get on target you will find that your release will be more of a suprise and can happen at different amounts of time. It will depend on how long it takes you to get comfortable at full draw and how long it takes to get on target and then just let it happen. That's what works for me.