Snap Shooters Anonymous >>-> any one else?

[Bldtrailer]

Hi my name is Tom and I'm a snap shooter    or hitting my anchor point(corner of my mouth split finger.)  When I'm hot I can't miss, but I also go through some cold periods. seams anything that breaks my timing throws me off.  Lately I tryed to hold  at full draw/anchor for the count of 5 before releasing, any other suggestions? Or if it aint broke don't fix it?

[Bill Carlsen]

Sounds familiar.

[magnus]

Guilty! Always have been. I release when it feels right. If it doesn't feel right I don't shoot. Have had a lot of critters within yards of me but didn't release because it didn't feel right. Even at 6 yards.

[McDave]

Holding at full draw for a few seconds can lead to more accurate shooting, but it's not automatic, because you have to learn one additional skill, which is maintaining back tension during the hold. In that sense, it's a more difficult method of shooting than snap shooting. It's possible that your shooting may get worse, or possibly less consistent for a while, before it gets better, while you're learning to maintain your back tension during the hold time. At least, it did for me.

[bornagainbowhunter]

I don't snap shoot, but I have a friend that is a DEADLY snap shooter.  As far as slumps, everyone has them.

[Gump21Bravo]

I like snap shooting and can be quite accurate at certain times. Most times it herky jerky and I end up short drawing or missing my anchor point like yourself .  

I try to set a method to the madness up but it always goes by the way side. Draw, anchor, burn a whole, release for a few rounds and then bam snap shooting 6 arrows in the target semi grouped within a minute.

Tom, I think cold spells happen to everyone and you will be fine. Just put your head down and keep slinging it will work it self out like most other things. Best of luck.

Craig

[Eric Sprick]

Originally posted by McDave:
Holding at full draw for a few seconds can lead to more accurate shooting, but it's not automatic, because you have to learn one additional skill, which is maintaining back tension during the hold. In that sense, it's a more difficult method of shooting than snap shooting. It's possible that your shooting may get worse, or possibly less consistent for a while, before it gets better, while you're learning to maintain your back tension during the hold time. At least, it did for me.

X2. When I first started with stickbows I snapshot.  Worked well for years but eventually developed target panic.  I could rarely get to my anchor just felt like hitting a wall a few inches from the corner of my mouth.

I decided to change it all up and start holding at anchor.  It took a fair amount of and continuing practice to be consistent.

So as has been said back tension is key while anchored to avoid creeping forward at release.  Everyone has slumps but Im very happy where I'm at now.  I still practice a snap shot every now and then for a "just in case" hunting situation.

Keep after it and be willing to try various ideas to get where ya want to be. Regular practice is important for me. I even just practice my draw and hold without shootingnin the house just to maintain the feel of back tension.

Good luck!  Eric.

[longrifle346]

A really good exercise I found to combat snap shooting is to engage multiple targets before you release, even letting down sometimes instead of releasing. It reinforces the fact that you don't HAVE to shoot every time you draw. I started out engaging two, then three, and as many as 5 before releasing or letting down. I was a snap shooter, primarily because like most I started out over-bowed. I dropped down in poundage and use at least a two count to settle on target before I release. If I can't get to that "it feels right" stage I just let down.

[Terry Green]

Don't include snap shooting in the same category as target panic. I've seen folks that hold at anchor for 5 seconds that were TERRIFIED to let go,...and gasped for air as they released like they had been stabbed in the back.

What you have is a bout with target panic.  Snap shooting is a style, not a mental issue.  You need to mentally get in control of your shot...whether you snap shoot or hold.

 

Originally posted by Ron LaClair:
I've been shooting a bow since I was a squirt... but I didn't really start to learn about form and style until I started shooting competition 49 years ago. While we never "stop" learning there are some things that become apparent after 50 years of study. One thing I do know for sure is there is no absolute style when it comes to shooting a bow.

When someone says you have to shoot this way or that way because all the top shots shoot that way, I say baloney. Some of the best shooters I've been privileged to know shot with what some would call an "unorthodox" style. Jim Pickering used a "Dead" release and high anchor when he competed in some of the top tournaments of the day in the 1960's. Everyone else in the Country shot with what was call "Power Archery" Jim whipped them all. He was a National Champion and a PAA Champion using a style that everyone said was "wrong". Jim Caspers another Archery Champion shot with a high elbow on his drawing arm. He actually pumped his arm up and down after he was at full draw, he said it helped him build up back tension.

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.

I was privileged to talk to Fred Bear many times over the years and I remember him calling himself a "snap shooter". He said, "I'm a snap shooter,..I concentrate from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet". He said he couldn't shoot a compound because the let off interfered with the rhythm of his shooting style and broke his concentration.

"Good snap shooters"?...I've seen a lot of them. In the early years of the GLLI (Great Lakes Longbow Invitational) when scores were kept , we had the best shooters in the Country shooting for the honor of top dog. The shooters that won that shoot more often than not were what I call "Snap shooters" Very controlled, very meticulous, very accurate shooters whose release was triggered when they touched their anchor.

Someone that "does not" come to full draw or touch their anchor before they release have what's called "target panic or what use to be called "IT". They are NOT...repeat NOT, snap shooters.

I think the problem is like what Terry said people today are "mis using" the term "snap shooter".  Snap shooting is definitely not an inferior style of shooting a bow, however it must be realized that not everyone can master the snap shooting style. Those that can't may end up with target panic and be called snap shooters but in reality they are  not.  

[Guru]

Originally posted by Terry Green:
Don't include snap shooting in the same category as target panic. I've seen folks that hold at anchor for 5 seconds that were TERRIFIED to let go,...and gasped for air as they released like they had been stabbed in the back.

What you have is a bout with target panic.  Snap shooting is a style, not a mental issue.  You need to mentally get in control of your shot...whether you snap shoot or hold.

   

Originally posted by Ron LaClair:
I've been shooting a bow since I was a squirt... but I didn't really start to learn about form and style until I started shooting competition 49 years ago. While we never "stop" learning there are some things that become apparent after 50 years of study. One thing I do know for sure is there is no absolute style when it comes to shooting a bow.

When someone says you have to shoot this way or that way because all the top shots shoot that way, I say baloney. Some of the best shooters I've been privileged to know shot with what some would call an "unorthodox" style. Jim Pickering used a "Dead" release and high anchor when he competed in some of the top tournaments of the day in the 1960's. Everyone else in the Country shot with what was call "Power Archery" Jim whipped them all. He was a National Champion and a PAA Champion using a style that everyone said was "wrong". Jim Caspers another Archery Champion shot with a high elbow on his drawing arm. He actually pumped his arm up and down after he was at full draw, he said it helped him build up back tension.

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.

I was privileged to talk to Fred Bear many times over the years and I remember him calling himself a "snap shooter". He said, "I'm a snap shooter,..I concentrate from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet". He said he couldn't shoot a compound because the let off interfered with the rhythm of his shooting style and broke his concentration.

"Good snap shooters"?...I've seen a lot of them. In the early years of the GLLI (Great Lakes Longbow Invitational) when scores were kept , we had the best shooters in the Country shooting for the honor of top dog. The shooters that won that shoot more often than not were what I call "Snap shooters" Very controlled, very meticulous, very accurate shooters whose release was triggered when they touched their anchor.

Someone that "does not" come to full draw or touch their anchor before they release have what's called "target panic or what use to be called "IT". They are NOT...repeat NOT, snap shooters.

I think the problem is like what Terry said people today are "mis using" the term "snap shooter".  Snap shooting is definitely not an inferior style of shooting a bow, however it must be realized that not everyone can master the snap shooting style. Those that can't may end up with target panic and be called snap shooters but in reality they are  not.  

[/b]

Bravo    

[dragonheart]

Originally posted by Terry Green:
Don't include snap shooting in the same category as target panic. I've seen folks that hold at anchor for 5 seconds that were TERRIFIED to let go,...and gasped for air as they released like they had been stabbed in the back.

What you have is a bout with target panic.  Snap shooting is a style, not a mental issue.  You need to mentally get in control of your shot...whether you snap shoot or hold.

   

Originally posted by Ron LaClair:
I've been shooting a bow since I was a squirt... but I didn't really start to learn about form and style until I started shooting competition 49 years ago. While we never "stop" learning there are some things that become apparent after 50 years of study. One thing I do know for sure is there is no absolute style when it comes to shooting a bow.

When someone says you have to shoot this way or that way because all the top shots shoot that way, I say baloney. Some of the best shooters I've been privileged to know shot with what some would call an "unorthodox" style. Jim Pickering used a "Dead" release and high anchor when he competed in some of the top tournaments of the day in the 1960's. Everyone else in the Country shot with what was call "Power Archery" Jim whipped them all. He was a National Champion and a PAA Champion using a style that everyone said was "wrong". Jim Caspers another Archery Champion shot with a high elbow on his drawing arm. He actually pumped his arm up and down after he was at full draw, he said it helped him build up back tension.

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.

I was privileged to talk to Fred Bear many times over the years and I remember him calling himself a "snap shooter". He said, "I'm a snap shooter,..I concentrate from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet". He said he couldn't shoot a compound because the let off interfered with the rhythm of his shooting style and broke his concentration.

"Good snap shooters"?...I've seen a lot of them. In the early years of the GLLI (Great Lakes Longbow Invitational) when scores were kept , we had the best shooters in the Country shooting for the honor of top dog. The shooters that won that shoot more often than not were what I call "Snap shooters" Very controlled, very meticulous, very accurate shooters whose release was triggered when they touched their anchor.

Someone that "does not" come to full draw or touch their anchor before they release have what's called "target panic or what use to be called "IT". They are NOT...repeat NOT, snap shooters.

I think the problem is like what Terry said people today are "mis using" the term "snap shooter".  Snap shooting is definitely not an inferior style of shooting a bow, however it must be realized that not everyone can master the snap shooting style. Those that can't may end up with target panic and be called snap shooters but in reality they are  not.  

[/b]

Yes and Yes.  Very accurate.  

[Greg Skinner]

For me it's about timing and rhythm.  When I get it right I can snap shoot so accurately that I amaze myself.  The problem is that I am on the verge of out-of-control, so it doesn't take much to mess up the timing - like changing to a bow with a lower draw weight. Then target panic rears its ugly head and I am all over the target.

In my effort to gain consistency in my shooting, I have found what McDave said to be true.  It works better to shoot more slowly and deliberately and be in control of the shot.  The trick, as McDave says, is to maintain back tension.  Because back tension while snap-shooting is different than back tension using more of a Jimmy Blackmon style - at least it is for me.

[Bldtrailer]

I shoot in one fluid motion starting with looking at point I want to hit the draw starts as I raise the bow and is completed at the release of the arrow in one FFFLLLUUUIIID motion(I could use a better fallow through). with total consitration on the pin  point I want to hit(never even seeing the arrow till it hits). I don't even think of the release as a seprate part of the act(but I have come to realise that my corner of mouth anchor is not always reached) I need  a more  positive anchor re-enforcement.  
  As for TARGET PANIC :  I wasn't in panic till I read the above responses (thanks      to someone with the fear of hights.  I have found that anything that brakes my fluidness may causes a miss.
  Trying a new style that I can slowly draw, poss and reboot
Like what skinner and Mcdave said

[Lineman72]

Man, this an awesome. Thanks

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Greg Skinner:
 Because back tension while snap-shooting is different than back tension using more of a Jimmy Blackmon style - at least it is for me.

Yes....maybe it is for you....but it shouldn't be...

Rod Jenkins (who taught Jimmy to shoot BTW)will tell you the he and I do the exact thing....only I do it faster.  Good form or engaging back tension is not limited to one style of shooting.


 

Originally posted by Bldtrailer:
(but I have come to realise that my corner of mouth anchor is not always reached) I need  a more  positive anchor re-enforcement.  
   

So, if that is the case....and you said you shoot lights out when its working....why do you want to change your whole style when on small change might work....like actually just working on GETTING to anchor on the bale.....and maybe incorporating a double anchor?

[Bldtrailer]

As charlie brown said to lucy "THAT'S IT" I am working on finding a double anchor ( the search goes on)and re enforceing my old one(by slowing down).  I really don't want to change my style, I want to improve and refine it, for when things are not fluid. Or I have to slow down or hold waiting on an deer.  Always searching for the PERFICT flight of the arrow, refining what I do.

[Greg Skinner]

Terry, yes, I agree that good form and back tension is essential regardless of the style of shooting.  I just find that shooting more quickly, i.e. snap shooting, I don't have to maintain the back tension as long so I don't have time to collapse and lose the back tension.

Shooting more slowly and deliberately gives me the time I need to be sure I settle in to anchor but it also gives more time that I need to maintain the back tension.

[Terry Green]

No argument here Greg....we all have to find what works best for us all.    

[britt]

I go thru periods of target panic. For 18yrs. I'v battled with it. Short drawing and not settling my bow arm. Iam signed up this May to attend Rod Jenkins clinic. I need help. Iam powerless over target panic and my shooting is unmanageable. Its the First Step. I admit I have problem. And I want to be a better shot.

[McDave]

Britt,

Rod has battled target panic himself, and I can't think of a better person to help you work your way out of it. I have also battled target panic, and have read most of the information available on it over the last few years. The thing I've come away with is that there are two quite different things that people call target panic, and since they call for different solutions, they should probably have different names:

1.  When the subconscious mind anticipates the shot and causes you to release the shot before you're ready.

2.  When the conscious mind doubts that you can make the shot, and so causes opposing muscles to contract (you feel frozen, like your mind has lost it's connection with your body).

I won't say that I have found a cure, but the start to my current "remission" was the realization that I had type 2 and not type 1.