While aiming, the bow moves less and less as the release gets closer

The summary today

The measurement that answers the question comes from seven international-level juniors, 66 arrows at 30 metres indoors, with an optical system fixed to the riser tracking where the bow points on the target. In all seven the area in which the aim moves shrinks second by second: between 0.85 and 1.79 square points from three to two seconds before the shot, between 0.47 and 0.77 in the next second, between 0.30 and 0.59 in the last, and for every archer the last second is the smallest. In the last second the aim is also tighter when the arrow scores ten than when it scores eight or less, but between one archer and another the average size of the area does not say who shoots better. The final settling is therefore shared by everyone, while the path that leads to it is personal: each archer comes onto the target in their own way, and in the last two seconds the traces no longer follow any pattern. A paper from the year before, twelve archers at 70 metres with a laser on the riser, does not measure how much the bow moves but finds in some archers an aim that has not yet settled in the last tenths before release. On the question itself there is still a single study of seven archers, at one distance.

Also phrased as: "the aim settling"; "the bow going still before the release"; "last second of aiming"; "hold box"; "aiming steadiness before the shot"

Evidence

• 2005
  Context Archers Published later

  12 Taiwanese university archers, 12 arrows at 70 m with a laser pointer fixed to the riser, tracked over the last second and a half before release: in 10 archers out of 12 the bow sways more horizontally than vertically. For each tenth of a second the authors correlate where the bow points with where the arrow lands, and in some archers this relation changes sharply in the very last tenths, which they read as an aim that has not yet settled at that stage. It does not measure whether the movement shrinks as release approaches, and the correlations on twelve arrows appear only in graphs, with no values or tests: context.

  Analysis of correlation between aiming adjustment trajectory and target · Kuo-Bin Lin, Chi-Kuang Hwang

• 2006
  For Archers Published later

  7 international-level junior recurve archers, 66 arrows at 30 m indoors, an optical system fixed to the riser tracking where the bow points on the target: the mean area in which the aim moves (the hold box) is between 0.852 and 1.793 square points from 3 to 2 seconds before the shot, between 0.469 and 0.771 from 2 to 1 second, and between 0.295 and 0.592 in the last second; for every archer the last second is significantly smaller than the two before it.

  On‐target trajectories and the final pull in archery · Jürgen Edelmann‐Nusser, Mario Heller, Martin Hofmann, Nico Ganter

• 2006
  Context Archers Published later

  In the same 7 archers the last-second area is significantly smaller on the arrows scoring ten than on those scoring eight or less, within each archer; between archers, on the other hand, the average size of the area does not correlate with the mean score. In the seconds further from the shot the differences between one archer and another are wider than in the last one.

  On‐target trajectories and the final pull in archery · Jürgen Edelmann‐Nusser, Mario Heller, Martin Hofmann, Nico Ganter

• 2006
  Context Archers Published later

  About 3 seconds before the shot the trajectory is usually inside the 7, and each archer comes onto the target along a recognisable path: one, for example, always starts from bottom left and then slides to the centre and to the right. In the last 2 seconds there is no longer any typical pattern, not even within the same archer.

  On‐target trajectories and the final pull in archery · Jürgen Edelmann‐Nusser, Mario Heller, Martin Hofmann, Nico Ganter

• 2016
  Context Archers Published later

  2 university recurve archers, 18 arrows each at 70 m, accelerometers at about 15 Hz on both arms: at anchor the bow arm drops markedly and the drawing arm rises, then both settle while aiming. Aiming time 4.2 seconds on the arrows scoring 1 to 4, 3.0 on those scoring 5 to 7 and 2.9 on those scoring 8 to 10. No inferential statistics.

  Correlation between Archer's Hands Movement While Shooting and its Score · Zahari Taha, Jessnor Arif Mat-Jizat, Syed Faris Syed Omar, Edin Suwarganda

Status history

1. 2005 Not studied The first study to follow the bow in the final moments before release does not yet answer the question. Twelve Taiwanese university archers shoot at 70 metres with a laser on the riser, and the authors look at the last second and a half to see whether the direction the bow points in anticipates where the arrow lands. In some archers that link changes sharply in the very last tenths, which the authors read as an aim that has not yet settled, but nobody measures whether the movement shrinks as release approaches, and the correlations on twelve arrows appear only in graphs. It is context: whether the bow moves less and less remains unstudied.
2. 2006 Reported Seven international-level juniors, all of whom had competed at the Junior World Championships, shoot 66 arrows each at 30 metres, with an optical system fixed to the riser tracking where the bow points on the target. The area in which the aim moves shrinks second by second: between 0.85 and 1.79 square points from three to two seconds before the shot, between 0.47 and 0.77 in the following second, between 0.30 and 0.59 in the last, and for every archer the last second is significantly the smallest. In the last second the area is also smaller on the arrows scoring ten than on those scoring eight or less. Each archer comes onto the target along a path of their own, but in the last two seconds the traces no longer show repeatable patterns. One study, on seven archers: reported.
3. 2016 Reported Two Malaysian university archers, 18 arrows each at 70 metres, with an accelerometer on each arm: at anchor the bow arm drops and the drawing arm rises markedly, and only afterwards do both settle into the aiming phase. On the better arrows the aim is also shorter, 2.9 seconds against 4.2 on the low ones. It is the same pattern seen ten years earlier, read on two archers, at about 15 hertz and with no statistics, and it measures the arms rather than the point of aim: the status stays reported.

Related

Related articles

• The final pull: what happens in the last millimetres before the clickerHow many millimetres and seconds the final pull takes, how it differs between better and worse arrows, and what the aim and the muscles do as the clicker drops.
• Bow arm tremor in archery: why it happens and how to reduce itBow arm shake at full draw is two movements, a slow sway and a fast tremor. What the studies measure, where the tremor comes from and how to reduce it.
• Aiming time: how long to hold, when to releaseHow long the aim lasts in research, whether holding longer costs points, what happens in the final seconds before release and whether the time limit is enough.

Research lines

• 48 studiesBow stability and aiming time: research since 1971
• 27 studiesTremor and sway while aiming: telling two phenomena apart since 1990

Other claims in this domain

• CorroboratedBetween one and a half and two tenths of a second pass between the clicker sounding and the arrow leaving7 studies · 94 archers measuredStatus since 1990
• ReportedA camera diagonally behind the archer measures the vertical sway of the aim well, but not the horizontal1 study · 3 archers measuredStatus since 2010
• ReportedA continuous final pull through the clicker leads to better shots9 studies · 56 archers measuredStatus since 1993
• ReportedA sound or light cue about the angle of the bow arm tightens beginners' groups2 studies · 1 archers measuredStatus since 2012
• ReportedA thumb grip on the string is less tiring than a finger grip3 studies · 9 archers measuredStatus since 1990

See all claims on technique and biomechanics