How to Aim a Traditional Bow
Instinctive shooting works for a lot of people, but I’ve always been hot or cold shooting that way. This inconsistency pushed me to find a better way to aim a traditional bow.
One of the first techniques I tried was gapping which is like aiming a compound bow with a single fixed pin. With a traditional bow, the point of your arrow becomes your sight pin. You’ll hold the point of your arrow high, low or right on the kill zone depending on the distance.
Gapping is a lot like Kentucky windage.
Hold the point of your arrow low at closer distances and higher at farther distances.
With gap shooting and all the aiming techniques discussed in this article, it is best to shoot three fingers under the nock. When shooting three-under, the arrow is moved closer to your eye allowing it to rest in your peripheral vision. You can shoot split finger, but you will have to use a very high anchor point to achieve the same results as three-under.
To determine your gap at various distances, place the point of your arrow on the target and execute a good shot. Measure the distance from the center of the target to the arrow. This distance is your gap. For example, if you shoot at 15 yards and the arrow hits 24 inches above the spot. Then at 15 yards, you have to hold 24 inches low to hit dead center. Continue this process in five-yard increments until you reach the point when you hold the point of the arrow on the spot and it hits dead on. This is called your point on.
As you start gapping you’ll notice that the shorter your gaps are the easier it is to aim. The question then becomes how do you shrink your gaps at the shorter distances? To shrink your gaps, you can use a longer arrow, a heavier arrow, raise your nocking point, raise your anchor point, shoot three fingers under and use a fixed crawl. All of these things will reduce your gaps and give you a shorter point on distance.
A Fixed Crawl is the most effective gap shrinking method.
A fixed crawl is a modified version of string walking that will allow you to manipulate your gaps. String walking is a technique used by many competitive barebow archers. When string walking, the archer grips the string at various distances below the arrow.
By gripping the string below your nocking point you will bring the arrow closer to your eye and reduce your gap. The distance between your bottom nocking point and your fixed crawl will depend on your desired point on distance. The further down the string you set your crawl the shorter your point on distance will be.
String walkers will typically have marks on their tab to determine their crawl. To make it more practical for hunting a nocking point can be placed at the desired crawl distance. This will give a tactile feel that can be addressed quickly without looking at the string.
The average shot distance for a whitetail hunter is 20 yards so I like to set my fixed crawl for a 30 yards point on. With that setup, I place my point at the belly of the deer at 20 yards. This allows my point to always be on or close to the body of the deer making for a very consistent sight picture. When I find my desired crawl I place a crawl locator on my string. A crawl locator is a nocking point placed at your crawl distance so you can quickly address the string.
An ILF (international limb fitting) riser with adjustable tiller is ideally suited for a fixed crawl. When you pull from outside of a bow’s true center the bow will be out of tiller. This will result in a loud bow with excess vibration. An ILF riser has adjustable limb bolts that will allow you to adjust the tiller. It will allow you to keep the limbs pulling in unison as your drawing hand moves further from the true center of the bow. You can use a bow with a non-adjustable tiller, but your crawl should be kept to a maximum of one inch long. The bow will tell you how much of a crawl it will tolerate. If it gets loud and vibration becomes excessive you know your crawl is too long for that bow. You can always use a short crawl in conjunction with a high nocking point and a longer arrow to get the gaps you want.
If you love the fluidity of looking at a spot and shooting it then instinctive gapping is your aiming technique.
Instinctive gapping is a subconscious aiming technique and my preferred aiming method for shots inside of 20 yards. Of course, it could be effective at any distance if the archer did their part in executing a perfect shot. With instinctive gapping it is best to shoot with three fingers under the nock, so the point of the arrow is in your peripheral vision. Place all your focus on the target and allow your subconscious to set the gap. Through practice, your subconscious will learn where in relation the arrow needs to be in relation to the target. It is an aiming method that perfectly mirrors the simplicity and effectiveness of traditional equipment.
Aiming can solve one problem and bring on several others. Here are some troubleshooting tips for common aiming issues.
• Don’t over aim. If you try to aim too hard it will cause a lot of mental shooting problems in the future. It is best to take a relaxed approach to aiming.
• Target in focus or point in focus? I choose to have the target in focus because it makes my gaps smaller and it having a blurred point allows me to relax while aiming. Either way will work so experiment to find what works best for you.
• Aiming isn't everything! You still need to do your part and execute a good shot. I like to use a limb mounted clicker to train for good shot execution.
• Is your windage off? If your arrows are hitting left or right consistently, you first need to make sure your arrow is sitting directly in line with your dominant eye. Canting the bow can help with bringing the arrow in line with your eye. If that doesn't work, you can manipulate your arrow spine by experimenting with different point weights. Adjusting your bow’s center shot is another option to get your windage in line.
“Measure your success in proportion to your effort,” Mike Mitten. Traditional Archery is work. There is no way to avoid that reality. Having an aiming system will improve your consistency and effectiveness in the field. Yet aiming is no substitute for good archery form and shot execution. The struggle stick will test your patience, commitment and mental fortitude. It also offers the greatest feeling of accomplishment bowhunting has to offer.