To pause or not to pause at anchor?

Both ways of making the shot can be very effective. For those that have experienced both, what would you believe to be the pros and cons of each.

“Touch and Go" would not be considered pausing at anchor.

Chazz

You should be able to do either depending on the particular conditions under which you are taking the shot. So I have no opinion.

Those who have a definitive pause are typically more consistently accurate than those who don't as evidenced by competitive archery events.

You can try to aim before you anchor, but, at anchor is the time to aim. How long does it take to aim? Aiming is a personal ability and the time it takes is subjective.

I actually hold for at least 3-4 seconds on every shot

“ You should be able to do either depending on the particular conditions under which you are taking the shot. ”

+1

Shooting in the cold on Saturday, with a lot more layers than usual, the more time I took to make sure I was settled in at my proper anchor point, the better I shot. If I had been hunting and in a situation where I would only be able to get the shot off quickly or not at all, that could be a non-issue or it could be a deal-breaker. Just depends on the range and the size of the target.

Both styles are worth learning to use well. If you HAVE TO pause at anchor, you’ll probably have a hard time with moving targets. If you’re basically limited to snap- shooting, God help you if you ever draw while an animal’s head passes behind a tree and it stops with the vitals obstructed.

It's all so subjective as to be irrelevant. Watch the guys who hit more in the center and shoot the line most, it's likely none of them will look the same. If I'm shooting a field archery round, I will pause for a few seconds so my gozintos can co-align. I've also shot very quickly in the hunting woods. It's important to get to anchor or obviously you aren't at full draw, but how long you stay there is situational mostly.

I agree with fdp. Practice it all.

Conditions dictate the length of hold. If you are waiting for a deer’s eye to pass behind a tree and then move to expose chest you may need to hold anchor longer than a shot at a running bunny.

I usually do best, by letting it rip in less than 2 seconds after draw, and sometimes less. Sometimes, I can hold and aim and hit but quite often at any distance past 10 yards, I do worse the longer I aim. I aim as I draw and by the time I am done drawing, I am done aiming, with too much to go wrong after that. I guess I am pretty much a snap shooter or my other option is what I call a swing by shooter.

I can draw to full draw and then swing through my target, releasing at the right time.

I pull through either way.

I hold until my arrow tip settles down. A couple 3 seconds or so.

Hold 1-3 seconds. If you don't like the shot let down. If you do the other you will develop target panic and not be able to let down the shot.

No hold here. Not even for an instant. And I hit what I’m shooting at- most every time. No target panic. It’s not pretty but it works for me.

Doesn't matter,, I've seen very good shots do both.

Either X3. I practice both ways. If 50+ years of bowhunting gave taught me anything, it's that I have to be able to adapt and overcome. That's what separates hunting from target shooting.

What I have found, is that if my form and muscle tension (bow arm pointing forward as much as I can...which makes the rest of my old body fall into place) are doing what they should, then how long I hold doesn't make much difference.

Ive done both. Not holding was not good for me. I am like a lot of the guys, a good anchor and a 3 second or so hold for me works much better. Too bad it took me 5 years to realize that.

It depends on what you want to accomplish and you practice towards that goal. For me, I could care less what I shoot while standing on a line shooting at a target. I do care about being adaptive to shooting quickly in the woods and at moving targets and for that, the swing draw dynamic release no hold aka Hill/Schulz style works best for me.

When I target shoot, I do all situations. That is, I generally hold at anchor for a few seconds and release making sure of my back tension, release and hold so it is automatic for me. Then I practice for hunting situations. I either pick a spot, come back, anchor and release right away or pick a spot, come back and hold longer than I might during practice. But, my bows are hunting only.

I started to have better groups when I hold about 3 sec.

I’m not good enough to hold

I use the 3 count. 1- during the draw, 2- hit firm anchor, 3- triggers release. Works good for me. I agree with the others about holding too long, you begin to second guess your brain's first instinct, and that almost always works out wrong. I can't snap shoot as then my form goes wacky.

Either, depending on the situation.

The longer I hold the better the shot ( up to a point ).

I hold for a brief second, most of the time. More importantly, I get to full draw all of time.

“ Sometimes, I can hold and aim and hit but quite often at any distance past 10 yards, I do worse the longer I aim.”

That sounds more like a draw weight issue.

There is definitely a mental component in committing to the shot, but it’s harder to stay focused on the shot when you’re fighting the weight…. or anything else that’s competing for your attention.

GUTPILEPA x 2.

""It depends on what you want to accomplish and you practice towards that goal. For me, I could care less what I shoot while standing on a line shooting at a target. I do care about being adaptive to shooting quickly in the woods and at moving targets and for that, the swing draw dynamic release no hold aka Hill/Schulz style works best for me.""

Those things are not mutually exclusive, one can feed the other since both are viable in most situations. I never understood the mindset that learning to hold at anchor was somehow detrimental to accuracy, whether your shot would be slow or fast. Good form is good form and will feed whatever you need to do with it. Howard Hill was not just a touch and go guy all the time, his videos will show that.

Here’s what I noticed:

Advantage of not pausing at anchor: easier to maintain good fluidity, easier to get a good string release, easier to use the feel of the good shoot and not having the mind in the way of the shot especially when learning, easier for an average guy to become fairly good (at shorter distances).

Disadvantage of not pausing at anchor: harder for longer shoots, harder to get consistent drawing length, harder to get a good and consistent alignment.

Advantage of pausing at anchor: easier for long shoots, easier to get a consistent drawing length, easier to get a good and consistent alignment.

Disadvantage of pausing at anchor: harder to get a good string release, harder to maintain good fluidity, harder to keep the mind in the way of the shot.

Chazz

It all depends on what I am doing . I tend to hold a bit for target but shoot quickly for hunting. Either way I still hit a solid anchor. For practice I consciously do both.

I’m somewhere in between, I try to wait for my bow arm to settle down and the spot to come into focus. sometimes that’s 1 second, sometimes it’s 3 but it seems like the quicker that happens the better I shoot. .

I hold as long as needed for everything to feel right for taking the shot. Sometimes that is no time at all.

MP

I tried to think about it one time and my shooting went to crap.

Red, I do agree with that wholeheartedly. My best shots are focus on spot draw anchor release when all I think about is the shot. But, this as long as I am practiced enough with good form so I do not have to think about it.

X2 Live. "Muscle memory"! That works a whole lot better than "thinking"!

I used to shoot fast but I found out if I pause 2 to 3 seconds I can get on target better...I mostly target shoot nowadays... BigJohn

The most important thing with either method is that you get all the way into your anchor. Holding for a few seconds gives you a better chance of getting all the way into your anchor and expanding. That is not to say that you can't do that with a fluid shot, you just have to practice to be able to do it on every shot.

I do it all. To me drawing and anchoring is akin to shouldering a shotgun, and must be accomplished prior to the shot, so it is kind of a separate step. At that point I’m all about target acquisition and letting it go, be it immediately or many seconds later. Fluid is good but you can’t always draw into a shot. I would say I’m with fdp, I have no fit all answer.

I have to hold a few seconds at anchor in order to hit anything at all.

Either way works fine at the fifteen yards and in that I normally shoot. Beyond about fifteen yards, I hold for about three seconds and settle in, aiming the arrow point, concentrate on getting good expansion, and pulling through.

And then sometimes I just shoot fast and fluid from the chest up real close. Just like fanning my Ruger Blackhawk. Just because it feels right and needs to be done like that. knowhutimsayin/

I agree with the statement that all that really matters is that you come to your complete anchor. And for years I could do this without loosing my Total Focus on a definite spot! But now my eyes and focus seem to usually loose that focus getting to my anchor. The farther I draw the more it turns to peripheral vision. Now I shoot very well when I draw, anchor, regain my focus, without plucking the string of course, which beating actual snap shooting caused me to do when I tried to hold to regain focus! I'm still working on it, almost there. When I do this I am as accurate as I've ever been. Target Panic is a reality I never believed in until I got there myself. And it's been a long hard road to beat! I don't gap shoot or really aim but I've got to Hold on Target until I get a Complete Focus. Then I'm very accurate!

I definitely pause at anchor.

As long as you are having the "pull" feeling at anchor how much time you stay there is not important. KSL in one of his videos was saying that the Koreans are the best archers in the World because their time at anchor is under 2 seconds - aka their form at full draw already oriented the arrow on the path toward the target and their mind is not fucked up with other thoughts than "to send the arrow there".

D -

I usually teach new shooters to hold for a three count, which is about 2 seconds, but what they are doing/thinking during those two seconds bares little similarity to what a (Korean) Olympian is doing in the same time. I think that's what you said.

Viper out.

I pull through either way. Collapse sucks.

I am conscious of my anchor. If I don't have it I don't loose.

I'm also conscious of my final focus/aim. If I don't have it, I don't loose.

I strive to make those two things (among some others) come together before it happens, but I'm not perfect, nor am I even an imperfect machine, but that's what's there for me to work with, and I use it to the best of my ability.

Sometimes the loose comes in the blink of an eye, and sometimes it don't come for a second of four, but there's always some pause, even if ever so slight.

Rick

Tony, I think you are right. That "one single thought" while at full draw is in the essence his point that works with his "eye focus, tension and direction".

PS In his mind (and not in his mind I can say when it comes to Eastern Coaches) the Westerners think too much at full draw or don't think at all because they don't understand "empty mind" or "no mind" concept which is not "to think of nothing" but "no emotional thoughts" while at the peak of execution.

PS In his mind (and not just in his mind I can say when it comes to Eastern Coaches) the Westerners think too much at full draw or don't think at all because they don't understand "empty mind" or "no mind" concept which is not "to think of nothing" but "no emotional thoughts" while at the peak of execution.

I think it's whatever works for the individual. When hunting there's times you may have to hold or you may have to shoot quick. I'm already on target before I get to anchor. I use to snap shoot..for years. I still don't hold long at anchor but I do come to the same anchor point.

Whatever works for the individual. When hunting you can't always execute the shot in an orthodox manner.

I have never seen a guy that doesn’t pause to aim be a good shot.

Never.

I would agree that holding too long is a bad idea.

If you're a hunter its an advantage to shoot quickly. If you cant then many shooting opportunities will not be had. Quick rapid judgment and shooting reflexes are imperative but any good hunter would know that.

I don’t hold at anchor but do pull til my clicker goes off. But it does look like I am holding

If you're going to shoot heavy weight you almost have to pull through or for very short time. The guys who hold heavy weight for long time usually wreck their shoulder. That's why some many people are shooting light weight. The general school of thought now is to hold a long time with light weight.

I once asked Bill Sweetland if Howard Hill anchored ? He said he anchored for a very short time. Bill saw Howard Hill shoot several times.

“The guys who hold heavy weight for long time usually wreck their shoulder. ”

I’m going to hazard a guess that it’s no so much how much/how long you hold as how you hold it.

Maybe my vision is not as good as everyone else’s, but JMO, you can see your target, or you can flash on it for just an instant when it seems to pop right at you a few yards and you can see a level of detail that an instant ago, you would have needed a focus knob to achieve.

That’s a good time to loose an arrow.

Even better if you just happen to have been settled into your anchor and beginning to expand, but pulling right through seems to work well for moving targets, such as a kicked tennis ball which takes a weird hop right at that last instant before the loose and your eyes bug right out of your head because that danged ball has suddenly become The Only Thing in The World and you can see every last fiber on that ball for just that one millisecond… and then your arrow just Trucks it.

I shoot when I'm ready.

Hey Grouchy62 are you a doctor I’ve been holding my shot for 50+ years I shoot 60+# and I never had my doctor say I would blow my shoulder out that’s like saying a weight lifter would blow his muscles or shoulder out give me a freaking break where do guys come from????????

Holding either too short a time or too long is bad. I won't explain this, as you either already know this to be true, or hopefully will learn.

I shot 70 plus bows for decades. I wrecked my shoulder . I know several guys who had a similar experience. Of course this doesn't apply to everyone.

I hold ever so slightly very noticeable sometimes other times it isn't.

If you draw slow, you won’t have to think about pausing at anchor.

Rick Barbee beat me to it. I shoot the same way.

I received a new to me bow, today. It's a 59er and only 35 lbs pull. I was shooting it quite a bit, today and I shot it pretty good by holding at full draw for maybe 4 or 5 seconds. That's a long time for me.

However, when switching to my 45# Black Widow, I don't hold more then probably 2 seconds max or my bow arm will wander off and I will not shoot as accurately. There's a reason target bows are pretty much all light weight pull.

Allison, that's a fact

Guys -

IF you can reach the same "anchor" point and have everything lined up (form and aim), then not holding/pausing at anchor if fine and dandy. While I'm sure there's some one on youtube who can do that, I've never met anyone who could consistently, beyond very close distances.

And lets be real, even up to 15 or 20 yards, a lot less matters that most people think.

Viper out.

15 to 20 yards, maybe that's why many traditional hunters try to limit their shooting on live animals to the proverbial 20 yards.

Well viper I guess you never seen me shoot because that is the only way I do it . Who are YOU ago say it can’t be done REALLY!!!!!!!

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