The phases of the shot last only a few seconds: about one second to draw, one or two to aim

The summary today

Every measurement agrees that a shot takes only a few seconds; the split in the claim, one second to draw and one or two to aim, is confirmed by a single archer. In the closest case, an experienced coach on a force plate, the draw lasts 1.2 s and the aim 1.6 s, although in the same paper the electromyography trace places full draw and aiming between 0.7 and 1.4 s. Studies with more archers give longer aims: in four elite archers the aim on good arrows lasts between 2.12 and 5.82 s with recurve and barebow and reaches 8.40 s with the compound; in 11 Japanese university archers, over 72 arrows each, the shortest aim recorded is 1.8 s; in 15 compound archers asked to shoot as quickly as they could, the aim still lasts about 3.5 s. Kyudo keeps a different tempo, with a draw of about five seconds and a hold of three and a half to five. Comparisons are hard for two reasons: each study defines the start and end of the phases in its own way, and timings vary a great deal from archer to archer, so much so that in 1984, with only the hold fixed at three seconds, individual differences were wide enough to force the authors to set a rhythm for the whole movement. With one single case in favour and an elite sample against, the split remains contested.

Also phrased as: "how long should the draw take"; "how long should you aim"; "shot timing"; "shot rhythm"; "aim for two seconds"

Evidence

• 1971
  Context Kyudo archers Published later

  3 kyudo archers (fourth dan, second dan and a beginner), bow force measured with a strain gauge: the draw reaches constant force in about 5 s in the fourth dan and 5.5 s in the second dan, and the release comes about 3.5 s after entering the hold in the fourth dan against about 5 s in the second dan; in the English abstract the aim lasts 5 s in the trained archer and 2 in the beginner. Kyudo has a codified tempo, slower than target archery, so the figures do not carry over.

  An Electromyographic Analysis of Japanese Archery · Sadatsugu Kamei, Hideji Matsui, Mitsumasa Miyashita

• 1984
  Context Archers Published later

  10 university archers in an experiment on the energy cost of shooting: six arrows with retrieval at 30 m take more than 3 minutes on average and 24 consecutive arrows more than 7, with the hold at full draw fixed at 3 s. In the pilot, with only the hold fixed, individual differences in the duration of the movement were extreme, and timings became regular only when a constant rhythm was imposed on every phase.

  Physical Fitness and Energy Metabolism of the Archers (Part 2) · Koji Tsuji, Takatsune Tsumiyama, Yoshiho Katayama

• 1990
  Against Archers Published later

  4 elite archers across recurve, barebow and compound, 240 arrows over two sessions rated good, average or bad: the aim on good arrows lasts between 2.12 and 5.82 s with recurve and barebow and reaches 8.40 s with the compound. Aiming time is fairly consistent for each archer but changes with the quality of the arrow, in some cases rising on the worse arrows and, with the barebow, falling.

  Fine Body Movements and the Cardiac Cycle in Archery · David Keast, Bruce Elliott

• 1992
  Context Archers Published later

  One competitive university archer on a stabilometric platform: the authors set the recording at 10 s because the archer took about ten seconds on average to reach the release, in a cycle running from the set through draw, aim and release. It is one archer's timing used to set up the instrument, not a measurement of the phases.

  A Study on the Relation between Stomatognathic System and the Systemic Condition. Concerning the Influence of Bite Raising for Vertical Position by a Splint on the Control of Posture in Archery. · Keiichi Ishigami, Hiroyuki Hoshino, Tomotaka Takeda, Naoki Tsukimura, Kazuhiko Takayama, Akira Aono, et al.

• 2014
  For Archers Published later

  An experienced 23-year-old coach on a force plate, with electromyography and kinematics: from the force plate signal the draw runs from 0 to 1.2 s, the aim from 1.2 to 2.8 s and the release from 2.8 to 4 s. In the same paper the electromyography trace of the finger flexor places full draw and aiming between 0.7 and 1.4 s, so even within one study the phases have no single set of boundaries. In the biofeedback test, moreover, the aim was fixed at three seconds with a stopwatch.

  Biomechanics Measurements in Archery · Zulkifli Ahmad, Zahari Taha, Hasnun Arif Hassan, Mohd Azrul Hisham, Nasrul Hadi Johari, Kumaran Kadirgama

• 2015
  Context Model Published later

  The draw of one adult archer, recorded with motion capture and simulated in a musculoskeletal model with a 48 lb bow, lasts about four seconds (from 0.03 to 4.15 s). It is measured from the start of the movement, not over the draw phase alone.

  Inverse Dynamic Analysis of Shoulder Muscle Activity During Archery Draw Back · Aviktha Reddy, Yahia M. Al-Smadi

• 2016
  Context Archers Published later

  A conference abstract, 15 experienced compound archers at 20 yards asked to shoot as quickly as possible without losing accuracy: at rest the aim lasts 3.49 s (SD 1.41) with a twin-cam bow and 3.62 s (SD 1.14) with a single-cam bow, and 3.72 and 3.59 s after exertion. A different division and an unusual instruction, but even so the aim goes beyond three seconds.

  The Effect Of Fatigue And Elevated Heart Rate On Archery Shot Performance · David E. Lankford, Brian Higginson

• 2018
  Context Kyudo archers Published later

  15 high school kyudo archers with six months to three years of practice, two shots each filmed on video: the full sequence, from raising the bow to the final phase, lasts between 12 s (in one archer with two years of practice) and 26 s (in two with one year). This is the whole ritual, not just the draw and the aim.

  Study on motion analysis of archery · Haruhi Koyama, Yuji Kawamori, Masanobu Asai, Nobuyuki Kida

• 2021
  Context Archers Published later

  11 Japanese university recurve archers, 72 arrows each, with an accelerometer on the bow: the shortest aim across all shots by all participants is 1.8 s, so the authors analyse a window from 1.2 to 0.2 s before the release. It gives a lower bound, not the typical duration.

  Archery Skill Assessment Using an Acceleration Sensor · Takayuki Ogasawara, Hanako Fukamachi, Kenryu Aoyagi, Shiro Kumano, Hiroyoshi Togo, Koichiro Oka

• 2021
  Context Archers Published later

  31 Thai Olympic recurve archers with international experience, filmed over 3 ends of 5 arrows at 70 m: an average of 4.60 s passes between settling into the aim and the release. The journal has questionable editorial standards, and by rule the figure does not decide the status.

  Efficient Archery Posture Training Analysis of Archery Performances for the Talent Development and Excellence Achievements Questionable venue · Chaturong Hemara, Pravet Ketkan, Juthamas Singchainara, Toansakul Tony Santiboon

• 2025
  Context Archers Published later

  6 Chinese adolescent archers in official competition, with an accelerometer and a photoplethysmograph at the wrist: the authors set the analysis window at 4 s because the great majority of actions from draw to release fit within that time. It is a methodological choice based on observation, not a timing of the phases.

  A Machine Learning-Based Multimodal Framework for Wearable Sensor-Based Archery Action Recognition and Stress Estimation · Xianghe Liu, Jiajia Liu, Chuxian Xu, Minghan Wang, Hongbo Peng, Tao Sun, Jiaqi Xu

• 2026
  Context Other sport Published later

  A double-blind randomised trial of a supplement, with archers and target shooters analysed together: total aiming time per shot is 7.39 ± 3.67 s in the active group (n = 25) and 7.75 ± 5.04 s in the placebo group (n = 23) at baseline, and 7.61 and 8.33 s after nine months. The two sports are not separated, so the figure does not say how long an archer aims.

  The effect of macular carotenoids and omega-3 supplementation on performance in precision sports: the sport nutrition intervention in performance exercise (SNIPE) study · Parimala Sivaperuman, Fraser C. Horn, Warren Roche, James Stringham, Richard Swinbourne, John Nolan

Status history

1. 1971 Not studied The first measured durations come from kyudo: in three archers with a strain gauge on the bow the draw reaches constant force in about five seconds, and the release comes three and a half to five seconds after entering the hold. Kyudo has a codified tempo, slower than target archery, so there are still no data on the phases of the Olympic bow.
2. 1984 Not studied Ten university archers give the scale of a session, more than three minutes for six arrows including retrieval at 30 m, and one finding that will weigh on every later study: with only the hold fixed at three seconds, individual differences in the duration of the movement were extreme, and timings became regular only when a rhythm was imposed on every phase. Nobody has yet timed the draw and the aim.
3. 1990 Contradicted The first timing of the aim in elite archers goes against the split in the claim: in four archers, the aim on good arrows lasts between 2.12 and 5.82 seconds with recurve and barebow and reaches 8.40 with the compound. A few seconds, then, but always more than two. A single study of four archers, and it runs against: contradicted.
4. 1992 Contradicted In one competitive university archer the cycle leading to the release lasts about ten seconds on average, so the authors set the length of the stabilometric recording to match. The cycle includes the set-up as well, so it says nothing about the single phases, and the status does not change.
5. 2014 Contested The first result in favour arrives: in an experienced coach on a force plate the draw lasts about 1.2 seconds and the aim about 1.6. It is a single archer, and in the same paper the electromyography trace places full draw and aiming between 0.7 and 1.4 seconds; with one case in favour and one study against, the status becomes contested.
6. 2016 Contested Fifteen experienced compound archers at 20 yards, asked to shoot as quickly as possible without losing accuracy, still aim for about three and a half seconds. The compound aims for longer than the recurve and the instruction was unusual, so the result stays as context and the status remains contested.
7. 2021 Contested Two measurements on larger samples push the aim upwards. In 11 Japanese university archers, over 72 arrows each, the shortest aim recorded is 1.8 seconds; in 31 Thai archers with international experience, filmed at 70 m, an average of 4.60 seconds passes between settling into the aim and the release, but the journal has questionable editorial standards and the figure does not count towards the status. Neither questions that a shot lasts a few seconds, and both make an aim of one or two seconds look tight: the status remains contested.
8. 2025 Contested In six adolescent archers in official competition the great majority of actions from draw to release fit within four seconds, so the authors set the analysis window of their wrist sensors there. It fits a shot of a few seconds, but it is a methodological choice rather than a timing of the phases: the status remains contested.

Related

Related articles

• How long an archery shot lasts: the timing of each phase and the scoreHow long the wait, the draw, the aim and the follow-through last in an archery shot, and what their timing says about the score of each arrow.
• 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
• 48 studiesThe heartbeat and the shot: heart rate and HRV since 1981

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