I'm shooting two almost Oly setups...

40# with 310gm arrows shoots so flat that gap is minimal to 30 yds and crawl seems too small to attempt.

50# with 420gm arrows seems easier to shoot fixed crawl (plus gap beyond 30 yds).

This is a work in progress...not sure.

What's your experience with fixed crawl Vs gap?

Peoples brains are all wired a little differently for how they aim, so you just have to run with what works best "for you".

My experience:

I've always been a decent gap shooter, but I'm always a bit more accurate when I'm aiming "on my spot", than when gaping & aiming "off the spot".

That being the case, I am more accurate when I crawl the string for the distance I am shooting, and aim "on the spot".

When I say "on the spot", that isn't totally true, because I "lollipop aim" where the tip of my arrow is directly below, and visually touching the bottom of the spot I want to hit, but never covering that spot.

All that said, the above is primarily just for target shooting where 1" of arrow placement can make a huge difference in score.

For hunting I use a fixed crawl, and gap off of it. I use a 15 yard fixed crawl, and just gap high/low depending on the distance from point blank out to 25 yards without the tip of my arrow ever having to be held more than a couple of inches off the spot I want to hit, and never outside the kill zone. It's just easier, quicker, and more reliable in low light conditions for me to do it that way.

YMMV

Rick

I'm too thick-headed to learn a new way, so I focus on doing it the same way...but better through form consistency. I've shot split-finger, one anchor since I first picked up a bow. By not changing what I do, I've become pretty good at it and that's from five feet to eighty yards. Relatively good anyway. At 73 I'm not as good as I once was, but the fundamentals don't change. You can shoot accurately with one anchor, one hold, and not trying to reinvent yourself. I can still hit 400 on a 28 target field round with my antiquated style.

I agree. It is never nearly as accurate for me to estimate the distance to hold off the target. I use a 15 yard fixed crawl with a tied on nock for it. It is in the vitals from 6 feet to 20 yard. I don't shoot at game any farther. If I want to hold off for even closer accuracy the distances are very small,so not misjudged near as easy or as far. >>>>------> Ken

John, I've shot both a fixed crawl and gap extensively. Both have their give and takes. The crawl was really easy to use in the woods this year and worked out well on deer an squirrels. It took a bit of tuning and with my one piece longbow i never could get it really quiet and needed to raise my nock height higher than i like. After hunting season i have begun gapping at the riser--- i installed a sideplate that i use the top of at 15 yards and adjust from there till im at my point on range. My focus is on the target, the riser only serves as an initial reference. Its been very quick and repeatable for me and the bow is much quieter, with both limbs in time. Jimmy Blackmon's aiming references video is a excellent source for this type of shooting. Hope this is helpful.

Ok, let's throw a curve... If you shoot 3D a fixed crawl is not legal in most shoots.

If you don't care about 3D, there's nothing more accurate that string walking.

If you shoot 3D, learn to gap.

A fixed crawl can be used in string walking to a degree. You can move your string hand up to compensate for longer shots.

Ben, under new "trad rules" you are right I guess, but I don't care about rules that can't include all types of shooting. Wouldn't be that difficult for them to allow different classes as long as they don't shoot against others without aids. Clubs would be smart to know that there are many freestyle shooters who use recurves that would attend the so-called 'trad' shoots. I've shot an elevated rest since 1967 and it's illegal in 'trad' classes too, so I'll just not compete in their silliness.

If I shoot a normal anchor (three under, middle finger in the corner of the mouth) my gaps are ridiculously large. With my hunting bow I'm point-on at 65 yards, and that's shooting a 500- grain arrow right around 200 fps. With my high anchor I can cut that point-on to 40 yards. With a fixed crawl it's down to 20.

I prefer 20.

Personally, I set my rigs up to be point on at 20 and 4 or 5 inches low at 30.

I do this with arrow length and tune so I do not need a fixed crawl.

I hunt, therefore I do not need an FC.

If you do? Go for it!

Ben is correct about many 3D shoots prohibiting string walking and many place you in a different class. I shot at one shoot last year that put me in unlimited class and I was shooting my bare longbow against one Olympic shooter and many other great shots that used equipment with stabilizers, plungers, etc. No problem for me as I chose to shoot there.

Most of the shoots I compete in require one finger to touch the arrow so...

I did get to thinking about it and when I got home I modified some arrows to be 35" long which gave me a point on around 18 yards. At the rest of the shoots that year this worked very well---just put the point on and release. I had to laugh a bit, because I had now modified my equipment and that was okay with the rules, yet placing my fingers differently on the string was not. The arrows worked so well I even used them to squirrel hunt with a bit. I did find them pretty cumbersome to tote around in the woods on my short longbow.

As said above after season, I adopted a new system that allows me to use any length arrow and makes gaps very manageable as I measure them in fractions of an inch at the riser versus feet at the target. Its quick, accurate, and "rule friendly".

I like to shoot a fixed crawl gap. So I shoot a fixed crawl of 30 yards for t 3d and then just gap off the distances from that crawl. For hunting, I'll shoot a 20 yard fixed crawl and gap from there. If I don't fixed crawl anything and just gap shot, I would need to change my ancher.

For hunting, marking a fixed crawl and walking from there as needed is more accurate. Squirrel accuracy when I was on my game

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