How long do you hold your draw when your practicing? My brother waits forever because he says it takes a while for him to line up the pin. I can draw back line it up in 2 seconds and shoot and have the same consistency as if i wait and take my time aiming. obviously its different when you are hunting, but im talking strictly practice.
ever since i shortened my draw length on my new bow ive hard a terrible time adjusting and finding, getting comfortable, with new anchor points.... i have been holding it until i feel i am at the rite spot and steady for the aim.... if i had to guess id say between 5-10 seconds, maybe a touch more on real bad days
I hold for as long as it takes for my pin to start to float around the bullseye for a decent amount of time and then start to squeeze. To answer the question, I guess sometimes as little as 5 seconds, and sometimes upwards of a minute. I try and practice the extremes as well. Real quick shot and hold for along time as well.
i mix it up sometimes i get a quick shot off sometimes i hold for 5 seconds sometimes 10 just trying to simulate situations where the deer/ turkey will get hung up and i have to wait
usually when I start out, i hold a little longer & really concentrate on form. closer to season, I hold & shoot like its for real.
I've looked at my shot sequence on camera many times. My perfect shots break between 7-7.5 seconds from when I begin the draw sequence.
i like to practice both, trick myself, pretend different shot scenarios. sometimes i hold for a long time as if waiting for the deer to look away or get out from behind cover, other times i practice being fast yet not with a ton of motion. i think this way you cover most opportunities
Every now and then I practice holding it for a while in case the scenario arises. I would hate to have to let down on a buck of a lifetime that is looking up at me.
Good feedback Jeff, and to further explain what I said........I'm also not thinking about it either when I'm shooting for score, etc. The only thing on my mind while at full draw is that X ring. While practicing in my basement at 10 yards, I do work on "rhythm" though. I use a LP Archery Pro Light on my 3D setup, and it allows me to set a timer on the light for the pin. I've got it setup so that while working on my shot, the light turns off when I hit the outside of my "shot window". I know that if that light turns out, it's time to let down and start over. With this said, I never do this when I'm shooting for score or at an animal obviously, when in those situations it's all become habit and I go on autopilot and focus on the spot I want to hit. But "training" it does help me to develop a rhythm. I've had entire 450 vegas games video taped by my coach and EVERY time my shot broke at the 7-7.5 second mark starting from the draw sequence, I hit an X ring. That's my "perfect shot window". 2 weeks ago I watched Cory Monahan at my local league shoot a Vegas 450 with 43 baby X's. His timing was so perfect, everything from nocking the arrow, to acquiring the target, to setting up the shot, to aiming, and execution..........it was all like a metronome. Every person I've been able to watch that is capable of shooting consistently at that elite level is the same way. I know most of you guys don't have interest in some of this stuff, but I also know a handful of you do. Hope somone finds this interesting.
Coming from a strictly hunting background, I prefer to get my shots off as quick as I can without rushing. Especially when they are close (as 99% of my shots on game are).
Target shooting maybe 5 seconds. Perhaps the more important factor in shooting for score, is the down-time between shots. Take a solid 30-40 second break between shots. It's a pre-shot routine that will allow your strength to rebound.
Everyone is different, but I can tell you that waiting too long or rushing the shot will do bad things to your mind and in turn your shooting. Rushing and waiting too long can and most of the time are signs of target panic. The fact is most people have some form or another of target panic and don't even know it. Then there is the biggest portion of the crowd who have it and are in denial. It will get you sooner or later and the more you" FIGHT IT" the worse it gets.
I like RJ's reference to the metronome. If you're going to shoot good scores the name of the game is consistency. The whole shot sequence should be natural and fluid, without thought. If you're thinking about how long the shot is taking to go off, it's time to let down and start over. The perfect shot just happens and if it's not happening, it's not going to be perfect.
X2 When I played golf it was "think long..think wrong"!! Natural and fluid...that reminds me, I gotta go to the fridge j/k
