“Snap shooting “ vs holding at full draw observations

[frassettor]

I always try and strive for more accuracy in my shooting . I have been a snap shooter since day 1 and developed my own “style” of shooting technique this way. As a curiosity and striving to optimize my accuracy, I tried holding at full draw. Physically I can, mentally, it seemed impossible. As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t if I kept my eyes open. My internal trigger keeps going off causing me to let the arrow on its way. When I did succeed in holding ( 1/2 second maybe), my accuracy was so bad, it’s embarrassing. As soon as I go back to what’s ingrained in my subconscious, my accuracy improved dramatically.
Just wondering if anyone else had something similar happen to them . Overthinking for me, really gets in the way . The less I “think”, the better I do . 

[McDave]

Anything you try that is different from what you're used to is likely to reduce your accuracy until you become accustomed to it.  I think it's natural that we have expectations about how easy or how hard it will be to make any particular change, and when it is a lot harder than we expected, we question whether it's worth it.

An example might be learning how to shoot left handed.  Most people can get the nack of it pretty quickly, but they don't shoot as well as they are capable of shooting until they put the time in to master it.  It's only after one masters it that one can really evaluate whether he is better off shooting left handed or right handed.

I suspect it's the same thing about holding at full draw.  It was really hard for me to learn how to hold at full draw too.  In fact, it may have been what brought on the target panic I have struggled with for the past 10 years.  Now that I have worked my way through the target panic and learning how to hold to the point that I shoot better that way, I wouldn't switch back.  And I’m not really sure that my target panic was caused by holding anyway.  But was it worth wasting ten years of shooting like $hit to get here?  Probably not, and if I had spent the last ten years perfecting my snap shooting instead, maybe I would be shooting even better than I do now.  And maybe I would have gotten target panic anyway….

Oh well, I can't live my life worrying about woulda, coulda, shoulda..  I’m in a good place with my shooting right now, and it's probably best to just leave it at that.

[dnovo]

I suffered from target panic for many years. Mostly brought on from buck fever and shooting too much weight. I got sick of dealing with it and forced myself to come to anchor. It was really ugly at first but didn't take long to get past most of it. Although I feel it's like being an alcoholic in that you're never cured. You just hold it at bay. I have to be careful not to start snap shooting again.  So lately I've been working on holding just a hair longer. That 1/2 - 1 second pause makes a big difference in my accuracy. I'd like to be able to hold for 3-4 seconds but I'm not there yet. I don't need to but just want to be able to be when my eye lines up on that shot, it's usually gone.

[frassettor]

Thank you gentlemen for your insight. I’m slowly trying to continue to hold even for that 1/2 second longer. My accuracy does improve when I am able to do that . Hope to keep it up.

[doughalysh]

My "snap shooting" was target panic. I didn't like feeling like I wasn't in control or that I could hold back my release and draw down up to that very last moment of my shot. What helped me was to focus on something else until I reached anchor, then focused on my spot and release. I also practiced holding and then drawing down once I transferred focus on my spot. That helped a lot.

[buddyb]

I have target panic and I think learning to hold and shooting heavy bows started it.

I learned to shoot by snap shooting and never had an issue.

Everyone told me I wasn't shooting right so I trained myself to hold by drawing the bow below target and raising the bow up til I was on target. It took me a few months of practice but I finally succeeded. Once target panic kicked in I switched to a compound with the lighter holding weight and that helped. How ever I missed shooting recurves and longbows. I'm just now working on traditional bows again and I really want to get back to my snap shooting.

Shoot the way you feel most comfortable. 

[McDave]

Buddy, now that you have target panic, it is unlikely to permanently go away by returning to snap shooting or shooting lighter weight bows.  One of the frustrating mysteries of target panic is that almost any change you make seems like a miracle cure at first.  Someone once said, “Put a dollar bill in the heel of your left shoe and it will cure target panic….for one shot.”

I teach and occasionally will get a student who can't stop his head from flinching when he releases the arrow.  This usually starts with the student hitting his face with the string when he shoots.  Correcting the problem that caused the student to hit his face with the string is the easy part.  Even though the student knows he is no longer hitting his face with the string, he may still continue to flinch, because the flinch has taken on a life of its own apart from the string hitting his face.  I believe that your (or my) target panic does the same thing.  It may have been initially caused by learning to hold at full draw or being overbowed, but once we have it, we have to solve it as a separate issue apart from whatever the causes may have been.

Solving target panic permanently involves learning to control the bow, however you decide to shoot it.  Snap shooters are not immune to target panic.  If you find that target panic recurs after you return to snap shooting, I recommend that you take some program designed to put you back in control of the bow.  Two of the best are Jim Casto's and Joel Turner's programs.  They are entirely different programs, and I took both.  I don't think you need to repeat Jim Casto's program after you take it once (thank God): he gives adequate instructions about what to do in the event of backsliding, but Joel Turner's program involves some fairly complex mental gymnastics, and it took me several repeats before I got it all down to where I could apply it effectively.

[buddyb]

Thanks McDave, archery is my number 1 sport.

[Terry Green]

Yes, Snap shooting is not target panic.  Target panic is mental, and snap shooting is not.  I snap shoot, I come to full draw and reach my anchor, yet I never stop rearward movement no matter how slight it may be.

It you come to a dead stop and hold, you will start shaking, and it also can lead to creeping forward. Rearward pressure I always maitain.

Rod Jenkins posted that He and I draw and anchor the same, I just do it faster.

Holding in no way would improve my accuracy as..... for me....

'An anchor point is not a destination, its  an evolution to conclusion'

[frassettor]

Yes, Snap shooting is not target panic.  Target panic is mental, and snap shooting is not.  I snap shoot, I come to full draw and reach my anchor, yet I never stop rearward movement no matter how slight it may be.

It you come to a dead stop and hold, you will start shaking, and it also can lead to creeping forward. Rearward pressure I always maitain.

Rod Jenkins posted that He and I draw and anchor the same, I just do it faster.

Holding in no way would improve my accuracy as..... for me....

'An anchor point is not a destination, its  an evolution to conclusion'

Thanks for your input T. Always been a snap shooter and noticed what you just explained