When to Draw?
 

How long have you guys held a draw? What is the average hold time? What is your typical draw " point in time" ...if there is one? Trying to improve my hunting.

thanks

RE: When to Draw?
 

I usually start counting when I draw my bow. 1001, 1002, 1003, etc. I think the longest that I can remember ever holding full draw while hunting was 1:30 sec. I really don' t like to hold over a minute though. I try to time the shot to be less than 30 sec. when possible.

RE: When to Draw?
 

I heard once when I first started out hunting that you should be able to draw and hold your bow comfortably for roughly 1 minute. If you can' t do that, you' re shooting too much weight. I' ve pretty much stuck with that ever since.

The longest I think I' ve held on a deer where I actually got a shot was about 20 seconds, no more than 30. I' ve found that if there' s a reason for me to be holding any longer than that, chances are I' m not going to get a shot. On average I would say I draw and hold just long enough to get my pin settled in place before I realease, which is proably only 10 seconds or so.

As for when to draw - it depends on the situation. You generally try to wait until the deer is facing away or it' s head is obstructed from view so it doesn' t catch you moving. Although I' ve found that if a deer is not spooked and just casually feeding or walking through the woods, you can get away with a lot of movement when drawing without getting spotted. Now you don' t want to go doing jumping jacks in your stand to test that out, but I' m sure you understand what I' m saying. :D

RE: When to Draw?
 

The longest I' ve ever held on any animal was 10 seconds or so. It seemed like forever, but it couldn' t have been any longer than that. I generally draw when the critter is looking away or has it' s eyes hidden in the browse, hit anchor and shoot, but I have gotten away with a slow motion draw and shot with the deer looking right at me before. Not a high percentage thing to do though.