|
aiming a traditional bow
can some one explain the proper form and way of aiming a traditional bow ? I shoot a coumpond but was curious as to what is the way to shoot a traditional bow
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
there are so many variables, but I'll try to give you my insight.
I started hunting w/recurve in the 60's, switched to compound in early 70's, now back to recurve. My thoughts on the subject will be strictly for recurve. Do you cant the bow slightly when drawing it? I'm right handed, and I cant the bow slightly to the right, maybe 5*. How are your fingers positioned on the string. Three fingers under the arrow, sliding it up to meet the knocking point, Apache style? This allows you to site directly down the shaft aligning the point on the target. This method works reasonably well at short yardage. I prefer two fingers under, one over, causing a lower anchoring point. When sighting the bow, I like the bow in my left hand, with my left arm bent about 45* in front of my body,with the right fingers simply placed on the string. When I first begin to draw, I start by pushing the bow slightly forward towards the target, then drawing the string to the anchor point. This method, for me, begins the alignment phase and creates a two point aiming system. I stress that this works for ME. Consistantcy in anchoring is crucial to any accuracy issues, but more important, practice. I shoot strictly instictive{ no sights }. I practice A LOT, which needs to be done whether you shoot w/sights or not, but especially if instinctive. Shoot for several days, at first, no farther than five yards. Get used to where the point of the arrow is when drawn in relationship to where it strikes the target. Adjust where to hold accordingly. An excellent guide to shooting stick bows, as well as shooting instinctive is Howard Hill's " hunting the hard way ", if you can find it. Chuck Adams also has a great book on instictive shooting. Both stress the need to pick a VERY mi-nute spot on the target your shooting, whether on the range or in the woods. I am far from an expert, and stress that I have found what works for me! Additionally, I NEVER shoot over 25 yards. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
I explain it to people as: Exactly like pointing your finger at something. You can point your finger directly at a target without aiming. It's no accident that traditional bows have the arrow resting right above your hand.
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
Honestly, just starring at spot you want to hit, imagineing in your head the flight path, invisioning it before you shoot. And while drawing back to hit your anchor point, keep starring at that spot intensely, keep drawing until you hit that anchor, and and keep drawing that elbw until its almost straight wtihthe arrow, and let it rip.
Thats it. You don't aim when you throw a foot ball or cast a lure do ya? |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
Use The Force, Luke! [8D]
I think it's best to start with a gap aiming system, as described by Hill, Schultz or Byron Ferguson. As you get more experienced, you start paying less and less attention to the gap, until you've finally become an instinctive shooter. Then when you change to a different bow or arrows, you can fall back on the gap to figure out how the change affected your aim and get yourself back on track again. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
ORIGINAL: bigcountry Honestly, just starring at spot you want to hit, imagineing in your head the flight path, invisioning it before you shoot. And while drawing back to hit your anchor point, keep starring at that spot intensely, keep drawing until you hit that anchor, and and keep drawing that elbw until its almost straight wtihthe arrow, and let it rip. Thats it. You don't aim when you throw a foot ball or cast a lure do ya? |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
Excellent posts, guys. You've covered all aspects of shooting instinctively. I only want to add that you might want to begin shooting up close (7 to 10 yds), then gradually move back to where you feel comfortable and accurate. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
ORIGINAL: Schultzy Good post Bigcountry! Its called instinctive shooting for a reason IMO! Its all insticts and concentrating on that small particular spot your looking at on the target or animal. Something so easy can be so hard. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
ORIGINAL: bigcountry ORIGINAL: Schultzy Good post Bigcountry! Its called instinctive shooting for a reason IMO! Its all insticts and concentrating on that small particular spot your looking at on the target or animal. Something so easy can be so hard. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
are you cross domianant in your vision ?
that will dictate whether you will/can use a sighting technique. if you are cross dominant you cannot sight. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
The hardest part of shooting traditionally, at least for me so far, is being consistent. Anchor point, drawing method, just by repeating the shooting over and over you gain the muscle memory and the process becomes ingrained. Picking a small spot is extremely crucial. Aim small miss small! Shot cross dominant for awhile, and became proficient. However, contrary to what Duane said, sometimes I would catch myself gap shooting. Of course I also canted the bow to nearly 45 degrees so the arrow was in line with my dominant eye. The main thing is don't get frustrated, it takes time.
Good luck |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
I am cross dominate,right handed but left eye dominate. so how should i be sighting. i'm not sure i understand just being instictive. i think i understand the gap method but am open for an explaination on how
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
I shoot right handed and left eye dominant, and I do close my left eye on a shot. I tried for a long time to shoot with my left eye with extreme cant, but was smacking my lip on the shot.
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
What Arthur said!
Combine developing a consistant, repeatable form with a conscious aiming system will shorten the learning curve considerably. A gap or split vision method will soon develop to where you do not have to consciously aim for it to be succesful. Steve |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
is there a particular degree of cant to the bow that is appropriate 5* or up to 45* ?ordoes it not matter
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
ORIGINAL: Rhody Hunter is there a particular degree of cant to the bow that is appropriate 5* or up to 45* ?ordoes it not matter |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
OK that makes sense. do you just quickly release your fingers or are you suppose to slowly let them ride off your fingers ?
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
ORIGINAL: Rhody Hunter OK that makes sense. do you just quickly release your fingers or are you suppose to slowly let them ride off your fingers ? |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
Release isa big'un fora lot of folks. I think the best way to describe it is to do nothing. You're already doing something, you know... You've got the string back, you're at anchor, concentrating on your aimand continuing to apply back tension to keep at anchor while pushing the bowhand at the target. Then, when you're ready, youkeepthe push/pull going butyou simplyallow the string to leave your fingers.No throwing the fingers open, no conscious thought of relaxing, just zip and it's gone.
I never practiced my release much on blank bale. Instead, I found my point-on distance - the distance where I could aim by putting the point of the arrow in the spot I wanted to hit, just like a sight pin - and shooting arrow after arrow at it.It's also very good training for establishing a consistent draw length. Once you've got a solid draw length and consistent release, you can shoot very good groups at that distance. Of course, it's important that all your arrows are exactly the same length to do point-on shooting. The bow I had and the anchor I used (index finger at the corner of my mouth)when I was a really good shot gave me a point-on at 60 yards. I could easily hold 8" groups or better out there. I've actually robin hooded more arrows at 60 yards with my recuve than I have done at 20 yards. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
Forkhorn04 mentioned muscle memory, and that's a big deal for me. The only way you get it is through practice. I do believe in visualization as well... both in the moment and beforehand. I have heard that many pro athletes are coached to do this. For some reason it seems to help me in tracking, too, though perhaps it simply helps me to focus and I end up noticing signs that I might not otherwise.
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
What Art said. IMO gap shooting is probably the easiest way to get started and stay on target, other than putting a sight pin (or pins) on your bow (which were common long before these bows were considered "trad" bows--back then, they were just bows). Same on the release--not something you make happen, rather something you let happen. Nobody is fast enough to get their fingers out of the way--let the string do the work--it will shove them out of the way if you have proper back tension.
As for the cant, what works best for me is to cant my head at about the same angle as the bow. At tournaments, some shots require an extreme cant due to limbs, etc.--I just cant my head with the bow. Chad |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
so the arrow was in line with my dominant eye crossdominant there is no way to look down the shaft so how should i be sighting. i'm not sure i understand just being instictive. i think i understand the gap method but am open for an explaination on how To me, its look, focus, draw, anchor, release, thats the way these bows are designed to be shot. That said, I've never been able to "aim" because I'm cross dominant. Perhaps if I COULD point of aim shoot then I'd do so, I dunno. Shoot what works best for you though, bottom line. I shoot right handed and left eye dominant, and I do close my left eye on a shot. I tried for a long time to shoot with my left eye with extreme cant, but was smacking my lip on the shot. on release, draw, anchor etc ........ watch some Bear videos. The man had a beautiful shot, but at time, he snap shot, 3/4 draw shot - he killed a muley on film and I swear he wasn't 1/2 anchor ! when you're in tune with your shooting you just do it - no thinking at all when you shoot basketball, or throw a baseball or football ..... do you aim ? Do you calculate the distance ? Or do you just shoot/throw ? Because thats what trad archery is to me - the key is JUST like basketball in that white Jordan might have a pretty shot, Lebron doesn't, but both are super star players. How ? Because each does it their own way, their style of shooting is theirs, and they do it the SAME time everytime in the way they shoot the ball even though both shoot differently. does that make sense ? find YOUR way look at it this way - if you focus, draw, anchor and release exactly the same way twice in a row ? you'll shoot a robin hood. That you dont do that every 2 arrows means you're NOT shooting the same, which means you need more practice :D |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
As you get more experienced, you start paying less and less attention to the gap, until you've finally become an instinctive shooter. One point I'd make is that aiming is easy. Getting the arrow to fly where you're aiming is the hard part. :D Also, if I am shooting past my point on, I pretty much use a gap. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
I'm cross eyed dominant. I shoot a bow right handed and am left eye dominant. Yeah, its like using the force!!. To me, shooting instinctive is more of a feel. With lots of practice. When I shoot instinctive, I too concentrate on the smallest spot I want to hit. Start close - 5 -7 yds. Then move back in 5 yd increments. My first sessions of the year I focus on target concentration, draw, anchor and release. But like BC said, the anchor, at least to me, isn't a solid anchor like shooting a compound. And it is hard to describe. I place the tip of my middlefinger in the corner of my mouth and the best way I can describe it is while maintaining that anchor, continue to draw and relax the fingers at the same time. all I can say is practice, practice a lot.
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
As much as I've bowhunted, I've never heard of " gap " shooting/aiming! What is it, and how do you do it??
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
crokit - the way I understand it, is that you use the point of your arrow to "aim" by knowing that your tip pointed just so far above a 20 yard target equals direct hit, just so far more would mean a 30 yard hit etc. But I'm not certain. "gap" meaning you close or open the gap between your arrow point and the target
but remember, crossdominant and you cannot see your point anyway because you aint looking down the shaft |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
Gap shooting. For every bow/arrow combination there is a certain distance where the tip of the arrow can be placed directly on the target and that is where the arrow will hit. This is called the point blank or point-on distance. For targets that are further than the point-on distance, the arrow tip must be held higher. For targets shorter, the tip must be held lower.
Gap shooters learn how much hold under or hold over they need in order to hit at a variety of distances. It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. Just a little memory work. It helps when first starting outtokeep a small notebook. When you establish the gap that works at a given distance, write it in your notebook. You can use thatuntil you get the gaps ingrained in da brain. ;) Eventually, though it doesn't really take long, at the shorter distances like 30 yards and under,the shooter becomes so accustomed tosetting the gap that he basically doesit automatically. He pays less and less attention to the gap andfocuses more and moreon the target, becoming an instinctive shooter at those distances. So, it can beconsidereda short cut to becoming an instinctive shooter. However,someone who knows how to shoot gap still has the capacity to make accurate long range shots to win tournaments or just to win a personal betto see who buys drinks at the pub. ;)Also, if his shooting kinda goes sour, and it happens to everyone from time to time, hecan fall back on his gap and re-establish his form. I like the method espoused by Byron Ferguson, which is a simplified version of Howard Hill's 'split vision' aiming system. Beg, borrow or steal a copy of his book'Become the Arrow.' Bobco has given good reviews for John Schultz's video "Hittin' Em Like Howard Hill" on the subject too. If you are cross dominant, you will need to close your dominant eye in order to get the gap right. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
ARTHUR P & BIG DUANE: Thanks for the info. I'm heading up to the Pine city Sportsman's club right now to try it out!!
|
RE: aiming a traditional bow
ORIGINAL: crokit there are so many variables, but I'll try to give you my insight. I started hunting w/recurve in the 60's, switched to compound in early 70's, now back to recurve. My thoughts on the subject will be strictly for recurve. Do you cant the bow slightly when drawing it? I'm right handed, and I cant the bow slightly to the right, maybe 5*. How are your fingers positioned on the string. Three fingers under the arrow, sliding it up to meet the knocking point, Apache style? This allows you to site directly down the shaft aligning the point on the target. This method works reasonably well at short yardage. I prefer two fingers under, one over, causing a lower anchoring point. When sighting the bow, I like the bow in my left hand, with my left arm bent about 45* in front of my body,with the right fingers simply placed on the string. When I first begin to draw, I start by pushing the bow slightly forward towards the target, then drawing the string to the anchor point. This method, for me, begins the alignment phase and creates a two point aiming system. I stress that this works for ME. Consistantcy in anchoring is crucial to any accuracy issues, but more important, practice. I shoot strictly instictive{ no sights }. I practice A LOT, which needs to be done whether you shoot w/sights or not, but especially if instinctive. Shoot for several days, at first, no farther than five yards. Get used to where the point of the arrow is when drawn in relationship to where it strikes the target. Adjust where to hold accordingly. An excellent guide to shooting stick bows, as well as shooting instinctive is Howard Hill's " hunting the hard way ", if you can find it. Chuck Adams also has a great book on instictive shooting. Both stress the need to pick a VERY mi-nute spot on the target your shooting, whether on the range or in the woods. I am far from an expert, and stress that I have found what works for me! Additionally, I NEVER shoot over 25 yards. |
RE: aiming a traditional bow
As much as I've bowhunted, I've never heard of " gap " shooting/aiming! What is it, and how do you do it?? One other thing I'd add is that most gap shooters measure the gap at the target. For instance, for a particular bow shooting at 25 yards, the gap is about 18". Another person may measure the gap at the actual arrow point. For instance, the gap at 25 yards maybe 1/2". Some people use the gap at the target for shots less then their point on and gap at the arrow for distances above. Was I about as clear as mud? Anyhow, check out Bob Wesley's book if you ever get the chance. You can really get a good sense of what gap shooting is all about. He is still alive as far as I know, so you may want him to sign it. |
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 11:32 PM. |
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.