The archery draw step by step: pre-draw, raise, load and keep the elbow on the arrow line. Learn to pull with your back instead of just your arm.
The honest answer up front: a good draw feels like squeezing your shoulder blades together, not like yanking the string back with your arm. The DSB teaching model describes exactly that: the closer you get to anchor, the larger the share of back tension should become, from 70% when raising, through 80% when loading, to 90% at anchor [1]. That is a teaching model, not a measurement, but it gives you a clear sense of direction.
What does research say? When elite and beginner archers are compared, the distinguishing feature is not muscle intensity but the ability to repeat identical patterns shot after shot, especially of the trapezius, biceps and finger extensor [2]. Your goal is not "maximum force" but "the same path every time".
How long does it take? The movement pattern is somewhat in place after a few weeks of regular sessions, and truly reliable only after months (experience value). The description follows the DSB recurve model; for compound and barebow it is a TRANSFER, since draw length, anchor and let-off differ.
Hook your fingers on the string: the DSB model puts index, middle and ring finger between the second and third finger joint, with the load roughly 40% on the index, 50% on the middle and 10% on the ring finger [1]. The draw hand sits at about belly-button height [1]. Then you build light tension with opposing push (bow arm) and pull (draw side) [1]. Milestone: you feel light pressure in your back without your forearm working.
Draw arm and bow arm rise together to about eye level [1]. The draw shoulder is already moving toward the target axis, called the "support line 1-3" in the model [1]. Around 70% back tension to 30% forearm tension is the target here [1].
Now comes the draw in the narrower sense: the draw hand is guided in a straight line to the loading position under the chin, and the draw-arm elbow stays inside the arrow line [1]. The bow shoulder stays stable, and the share of back tension rises to about 80% [1]. A feeling anchor: the elbow points behind you, not to the side.
Draw hand and arm move slightly upward until the index finger sits flush with the jawbone and the string touches the corner of the chin and tip of the nose; the model now gives about 90% back tension [1]. Setting the anchor precisely is a topic of its own. Milestone: you reach anchor 10 times in a row at the same spot.
Hold the back tension without shaking. If you see three sets of five draws with an identical elbow path on video, the path is clean enough for the release.
Don't only film yourself at full draw, film in slow motion from raising to anchor. If your elbow stays in the arrow line along the way, you have a stable pattern. If it wobbles on the way, you only see it here, at full draw it hardly shows.
Think elbow, not hand: it travels back in the arrow line while the shoulder blades move together. The DSB model raises the back share during the draw from 70 to 90% [1].
Trapezius, biceps and finger extensor play a role, and good archers differ mainly in the consistency of their patterns [2]. On the draw arm the biceps is more active than on the bow arm [3].
Enough that you pull the bow to anchor under control, without shaking or lifting the shoulder. A concrete number depends on your body and bow type; your coach sets it.
Usually the draw weight is too high or the arm is doing too much. Reduce the weight, keep the elbow in the arrow line, back tension first.
The Release: Let the String Slide Through Your Fingers