The final pull lasts two or three seconds and adds only a few millimetres of draw
4 studies · 28 archers measured
The string hand in the last seconds before the clicker
- End of the draw. Eight archers, 36 arrows each at 90 m, with a sensor on the riser that follows the lower limb and converts its movement into that of the hand: over the last 7 seconds of the shot, after a fast start at about 500 mm per second, the string hand slows down.
- While aiming. Over the last 5 seconds the hand moves at about 1 mm per second, about 5 mm in all, and the displacement grows almost linearly with time: the regressions always give r above 0.95. Here the slow movement fills the whole aim, not only the last two or three seconds.
- Archer S1. A strain gauge on the clicker measures the draw length of 7 international junior archers, 66 arrows at 30 m indoors. In the archer with the highest score, three seconds before the clicker goes off draw length is always about 5 mm short of its final value, and the final pull starts 3 to 2 seconds before: on three shots the authors estimate it at −2.1 to −1.9 s, −3.0 to −2.8 s and −2.6 to −2.4 s. On some shots the margin reaches 0.6 s, which is why they do not tabulate the starts.
- Archer S2. In the last second the clicker is already very close to the point, and about 2.5 mm of draw is enough to make it go off. This archer always makes a fast pull followed by a slow one, which usually lasts less than 2 seconds and on one of the shots shown lasts more than 3.
- Without a clicker. Ten traditional Turkish archers, 15 shots each at about 1.5 m: three without a final pull and three from each starting point, at 98, 96, 94 or 92 per cent of maximum draw. The mean duration is 2.10, 2.01, 2.51 and 2.02 seconds, with standard deviations between 0.38 and 0.72. The protocol asked them to reach maximum draw with the final pull within two seconds, so the duration is largely set by the instructions, and it is not the final pull of an Olympic bow.
The summary today
Two independent groups have measured the final pull with the Olympic bow, and their figures are close. In 1993, in 8 archers at 90 m, the string hand went from about 500 mm per second at the end of the draw to about 1 mm per second while aiming, which is about 5 mm over the last 5 seconds before the clicker, moving almost perfectly linearly (r always above 0.95). In 2006 a strain gauge on the clicker of 7 international junior archers, at 30 m, produced curves that the authors describe archer by archer: in the first the final pull started 3 to 2 s before the clicker went off, with about 5 mm of draw; in the second about 2.5 mm in the last second was enough, and the slow phase usually lasted less than 2 s. In 2024, in 10 traditional Turkish archers shooting without a clicker, the final pull lasted between 2.0 and 2.5 s. The scale holds, a few seconds and a few millimetres, but it is not a fixed value: within the same archer the start of the final pull shifted by almost a second from arrow to arrow, its estimate carries a margin of up to six tenths of a second, so much so that the authors decline to tabulate it, and in 1993 the slow movement filled the whole aim rather than the last two or three seconds. The samples are small and the definitions of the phase do not match, so the evidence in favour remains limited.
Also phrased as: "how long is the expansion"; "how many millimetres to get through the clicker"; "expansion through the clicker"; "final pull"; "how far to pull after anchor"
In practice
Archers are taught that, once at anchor, the final pull is an expansion of a few millimetres that takes the point through the clicker in two or three seconds, without a fresh tug.
Evidence
-
1971
Context Kyudo archers Published later
3 kyudo archers (fourth dan, second dan and a beginner), bow force measured with a strain gauge: in the second dan the bow tension stays constant between entering the hold and the release, for about 5 s, and in the fourth dan the release comes about 3.5 s after entering the hold. Kyudo uses no clicker and has no final pull like that of the Olympic bow.
An Electromyographic Analysis of Japanese Archery · Sadatsugu Kamei, Hideji Matsui, Mitsumasa Miyashita
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1993
For Archers Published later
8 male archers, 36 arrows at 90 m, string-hand movement estimated with a displacement sensor: about 500 mm per second at the end of the draw, then about 1 mm per second while aiming, which is about 5 mm over the last 5 s before the clicker. Regressions of displacement on time always give r above 0.95: while aiming the hand moves at an almost constant speed.
Biomechanical Study of the Final Push-Pull in Archery · P. Leroyer, J. Van Hoecke, J.N. Helal
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1993
Context Archers Published later
Same study: over the last 7 s of the shot the string hand travels between 65 and 76 mm in all, with differences linked to the archer's build. This is the total movement, including the end of the draw, not the final pull alone.
Biomechanical Study of the Final Push-Pull in Archery · P. Leroyer, J. Van Hoecke, J.N. Helal
-
2006
For Archers Published later
7 international junior recurve archers, 66 arrows at 30 m indoors, draw length measured with a strain gauge on the clicker; the curves are described for individual archers. In S1 the final pull starts 3 to 2 s before the clicker goes off, with estimates between -2.1 and -1.9 s on one shot, between -3.0 and -2.8 s on another and between -2.6 and -2.4 s on a third; in S2 about 2.5 mm of draw in the last second is enough to carry the clicker past the point, and the slow phase usually lasts less than 2 s, on one shot more than 3. The uncertainty on the start reaches 0.6 s, and the authors decline to tabulate it.
On‐target trajectories and the final pull in archery · Jürgen Edelmann‐Nusser, Mario Heller, Martin Hofmann, Nico Ganter
-
2006
For Archers Published later
The same 7 archers and 66 arrows as the journal article, presented as a measuring method: it counts only once. In S1 draw length, three seconds before the clicker, is always about 5 mm short of its final value, with the final pull starting 3 to 2 s before; in S2 about 2.5 mm in the last second is enough to carry the clicker past the point; while aiming, the clicker sits a few millimetres from the point.
Measurement of Draw-Length Alterations in the Final Pull in Archery · Juergen Edelmann-Nusser, Mario Heller, Martin Hofmann, Nico Ganter
-
2024
For Archers Published later
10 experienced traditional Turkish archers, 15 shots each at about 1.5 m, in a regional journal: the final pull lasts between 2.01 and 2.51 s, total aiming time is 6.80 ± 1.90 s without a final pull and between 7.01 and 7.36 s with one, and the final alignment time is between 2.36 and 2.89 s. Traditional bow, no clicker.
-
2024
Context Archers Published later
Same study: the distance of the final pull is 1.57 ± 0.91 cm starting from 98% of maximum draw, 3.21 ± 1.08 cm from 96%, 4.70 ± 1.07 cm from 94% and 6.27 ± 1.09 cm from 92%. These are centimetres because the protocol sets the starting point, with no clicker: it is not the final pull of an Olympic bow.
Status history
- 1971 Not studied The only measurement close to the question comes from kyudo, which uses no clicker: in three archers with a strain gauge on the bow, in the second dan the force stays constant from entering the hold to the release, which comes after about five seconds, while in the fourth dan the release comes after three and a half. Nobody has yet measured how long the final pull of the Olympic bow lasts or how many millimetres it adds.
- 1993 Reported The first study to measure the final pull, on 8 archers and 36 arrows at 90 m, finds the string hand slowing from about 500 mm per second at the end of the draw to about 1 mm per second while aiming: about 5 mm over the last 5 seconds before the clicker, moving almost perfectly linearly in time (r always above 0.95). The millimetres are few, as the claim says; the duration is less clear-cut, because the slow movement fills the whole aim. A single small study: reported.
- 2006 Reported A second group, with a strain gauge on the clicker of 7 international junior archers and 66 arrows each at 30 m, describes the draw-length curves archer by archer. In the first the final pull starts 3 to 2 seconds before the clicker goes off, with about 5 mm of draw; in the second about 2.5 mm in the last second is enough, and the slow phase usually lasts less than 2 seconds, on one shot more than 3. The start shifts by almost a second from arrow to arrow within the same archer and is estimated with a margin of up to six tenths, so the authors do not tabulate it. Two small studies pointing the same way, with different definitions of the phase: the evidence in favour remains limited.
- 2024 Reported In 10 traditional Turkish archers the final pull lasts between 2.0 and 2.5 seconds, within an aim of about seven, and the duration matches what was already on record. These are bows without a clicker, shots from a metre and a half and a regional journal, and the distance of the final pull, from 1.6 to 6.3 cm, depends on the draw set by the protocol: the status remains 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.
- 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.
Research lines
Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.
See the full assessmentCite
Campagna, M. (2026). The final pull lasts two or three seconds and adds only a few millimetres of draw (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/final-pull-duration
@misc{campagna2026_duratatrazionefinale,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {The final pull lasts two or three seconds and adds only a few millimetres of draw},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/final-pull-duration},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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Other claims in this domain
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