Just wondering how long do you hold at full draw before releasing the arrow? At 3D shoots I see the whole gambit, from people who never make it to an anchor to the ones who seem to hold at anchor for ever.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the shot. At targets , maybe a second or so, when hunting could be several seconds or just a fraction of a second. When shooting on the fly , I don't think I hold to anchor point , more like a floating full draw and is gone before I know it.

A split second at most.

Until my mind tells me to turn the arrow loose.

There is no predetermined amount of time, and it is situational.

Just long enough to know where the arrow is going, mostly 2 seconds.

Long enough to line everything up, about a second or less I'd guess.

...by the time I get to anchor everything is already pointed where I want it..no point in holding any longer!

I worked very very hard to learn to hold long enough to aim. At this stage I anchor, aim, kinda make sure and release. Id agree with 2-3 seconds. If I go longer with a hunting weight bow it never gets better, only worse for me.

I don't hold at all. When I reach my anchor I release. Frank

What Juancho said!!!

At least 5 seconds or more

Juancho x2

I am with gutpile. It took a looong time to break myself of snap shooting traditional. I shoot muuuch better with a solid anchor(that is why they call it that).

Highly variable when hunting, but generally half a second or so. Most important for me is to always get to full draw, holding time then can vary by circumstances.

There will be no consensus on this, it's as varied as brace height and string length. It's whatever you do to shoot consistently and accurately.

No longer than a two count. Usually one or less. Shooting fast is ingrained. I shoot my pistols and rifles fast as well. I'm no sniper.

Totally off topic, but speaking of shooting fast, I was at the gun range not long ago, at noon on a weekend (mistake) at the last tunoff. ALL the other turnoffs were filled with shooters. I was shooting my .54 muzzleloader and some pistols, by myself.

A car filled with young Mexican guys stopped and one jumped out and asked, "Sir, do you mind if we shoot here?" "Sure. Have at it."

The trunk was opened and a buttload of ARs, Glocks, and mags were handed out. The volume of fire those homies threw downrange was awesome. Accuracy had nothing to do with it, it was all about raw firepower.

They only time they stopped shooting was to walk up range a bit and place blocks of Tannerite. bam bam bam bam bam BOOOM! bam bam bam bam BOOOM. It was as close as I'll ever get to a cartel war zone. I sh%$ you not. When they were out of ammo, the whole bunch of them pissed on the smoking tannerite in attempt to put it out. If that forest hadn't been incinerated in the 2012 fire, they probably would have set it ablaze. lol

Just for the record mine is situational. Though I do make a conscious effort to hit my anchor point.

A second or two

don't even think of it

just draw and as touch anchor and its gone-all the aiming is done before I even begain the draw and I guess corrections are made as finishing draw

I anchor then pick the smallest part of the spot that I was drawing on. When everything feels right and when I have told myself not to move my bow hand until the arrow has struck the target, I release. I’m holding around two seconds, but it can vary considerably depending on the circumstances.

Holding is not the style of shooting I prefer in hunting situations.

Spit second. All aiming is done prior and during the draw.

Until I release

I average 3-7 seconds usually. One of the bucks I shot this year, I held for 17 seconds. He blew through my first lane then stopped looking my direction so I couldn’t let down. He finally moved and offered me a shot. 17 seconds feels like eternity

Once at anchor, I aim for about 2 seconds while continuing to expand, then release and hold until the arrow reaches the target. Then I usually mutter an expletive.

No hold at all.

Deno

Stuart that’s hilarious

I hit anchor. I stay there for a nanosecond. As soon as I feel it the arrow is gone. The way i shoot would make an archery coach puke, but hey, I hit what I’m shooting at.

I focus on spot I want to hit and draw to anchor all the while I maintain focus on spot I want to hit. As soon as bow arm settles in and stops moving I release. As long as the release is smooth then the shot is on target. Maybe a split second.

SB X2

I wonder how many guys who say "a split second" actually hit full draw. Most instinctive guys I see in the real world draw about 2-4" shorter than advertised. I used to too until I started holding.

I'd guess I hold 3-5 seconds.

I am from the "no hold" camp, once I hit anchor with My middle finger, the arrow is gone. I do believe that if I was able to break that old muscle memory, and hold for "a bit" I would be a better shot. I might try going to 3 under, and hold, and use the arrow tip to aim, for a more regimented shooting style.

I don't hold at full draw. I let go as soon as my clicker goes off. LOL

Not long in practice and less when adrenaline is flowing. My brain is in charge of that.

I don't, I pull and release in one smooth motion.

I hold for 3 to 5 seconds.

Watch a video of Howard Hill shooting. Then do what works best for you.

I don't. Widow

I do sometimes practice shooting close targets where I release as soon as middle finger touches anchor just for those opportunities when I am on the ground and a deer is very close. These shots are usually very accurate.

I try to hold for about 2-3 seconds then finish expanding. And when I can do that, I hit what I want. If I don’t I’m off. Sometimes a hair sometimes more. I used to snap shoot and often release before anchoring so occasionally slide back into that if not careful.

Same as Altitude- I was more of a snap shooter but I don’t think I had the control that I have now. If I miss now, I generally know why.

Tboughty,

Yes, I anchor for "a split second", just like I said. That's a full complete draw with my middle finger touching the corner of my mouth. I've done it thousands and thousands of times without ever short drawing.

Some of us know what we are doing.

Tboughty -

I'd say about 90%.

Viper out.

I am in that group that may not be hitting full draw all the time. But when I focus and hold 1 second I shoot best.

I hold until the arrow point stops bobbing around, usually about 2 seconds.

I shoot to hunt so I practice quick and long hold times for whatever situation at the time of the shot that happens. Making sure you hit anchor on the quick ones is the issue for me.

An early answer fits me: "Until my mind tells me to turn the arrow loose. There is no predetermined amount of time, and it is situational."

I think I average ~2s. I know it takes me less than 1s to check gap, another less than 1s to shift focus to target, and I typically release in less than 1s. Sometimes it goes very quickly, when the draw "just lines up" right and I loose in almost no time, less than a second. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to be right. Getting the target to looks small, just one tiny piece of it as my focus, is tough some days.

Occasionally I simply let down as it took too long/something is wrong. That is very hard for me to do.

Situational. Typically though just target shooting 2-3 seconds after coming to anchor

As long as it takes! On average probably 2 to 5 seconds. I do most of my aiming while I draw but I make sure I settle in to my full anchor and pull through the shot. That usually takes a few seconds.

Probably a smidge longer than John Shultz.

Not longer than a 2 count, most of the time a count of one to settle in. Lance

Depends on what I am shooting at. When shooting at fast moving rabbits, squirrels, etc., or upland game, I generally snap shoot.

On large game, as whitetail, I have habituated myself to generally a 3 count...but I don't actually count my pause. I found that the 3 count pause allows me to scrub the shot if need be.

a long time

I hold 2-2 secs during practice. Keep muscles toned and keeps tp in check. Hunting it depends. If everything going well as soon as my middle finger starts pulling on the corner of my mouth I release without stopping.

When I’m at anchor and things settle in on target, maybe 2-3 seconds ! Ken

2-3 not 2-2

2-3 seconds .

Long enough to be aligned. Whatever that takes generally about 3 Mississippi. :)

Until it feels/looks right. Too long and things go to heck, ha ha.

Whatever anybody does that's right for them, doesn't matter to anybody else.

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