Holding at full draw for a better shot while hunting?

[ajbruggink]

Hey guys,

Is it okay to hold a wooden bow at full draw for a little longer to wait for a better shot? In order to make what I'm asking easier to understand, I will write a scenario here. Let's say you're hunting turkeys, which have keen eyesight, without a pop-up blind and a turkey comes along and is facing broadside to you. It walks behind a tree, which obscures its vision to its side for a bit, and then you raise your bow and draw it to full draw. The turkey comes back into view and you release the arrow into the turkey's body. Would this be a reasonable scenario with a wooden bow? And if so, would it be a good idea to practice this way before attempting it while hunting, to hold your bow at full-draw for a few more moments before releasing? Your replies are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Aaron

[Deerhunter21]

yeah, that would be a great scenario to be in since its really hard to draw suuuuuuupppppeeeerrr slowly. think about it like this, its easier to hold a bow at full draw then to draw it slowly. also think about it like this too, if your lifting its easier to hold the weight when your muscles completely contracted or not contracted at all. but the inbetween portion is the hard part.

[Pat B]

The longer you hold at full draw the more stress you are adding to your bow. I generally don't hold for more than a second or two at full draw and mostly I release as soon as I hit anchor. With lots of practice to get your archery muscles developed you should be able to come to full draw with very little movement as viewed from the target.

[WhistlingBadger]

I agree with Pat.  It might be possible to hold a lighter bow at full draw for a few seconds without accuracy suffering, but I like to do my aiming/lining up/sight picture/mysterious instinctive voodoo while I'm drawing.  Hit anchor, very slight pause, and off she goes. 

I understand trying to time the draw when the critter's head is behind a tree, then whacking it when its vitals clear the other side.  It's a risky move, because they have an annoying tendency to stop behind the tree.  Then you have to let down, and if you're lucky draw again, for 3x the movement.   You pay your money and you take your chances!

[Pappy]

I have several friends that shoot that way, they use the point of aim system and have to line up at full draw, it works fine, it is harder on the bow as Pat said so just build it a little longer and that will help.
 Pappy