Over the years I have tried all sorts of aiming styles from instinctive to gap,split fingered,three under,etc.What seems to work best for me is split fingered with the arrow drawn under my eye so I can see that it is pointed straight at the spot I want to hit.For longer shots I raise my bow hand to what I guess is the right elevation. Not sure how to define how I shoot because I do see my arrow and I don't have a defined point of aim or gapping system.Seems closer to Byron Fergusons style of seeing arrow in secondary vision as opposed to Asbell's not seeing arrow at all. Just wondering what other people do?

I aim very similar to you except I shoot 3 under.

I shoot split vision, split fingers, and a deep hook. My way of shooting works for me but may not work for someone else. Best to try different methods and see what works for you.

Instinctive for me. No conscious thought used to align or reference any part of the bow or arrow with the target. All focus on the mark.

It's still aiming by the way, since aiming simply means to direct the arrow to the target... and that doesn't mean it can't be done subconsciously.

Same as Nemo.

I do gap off the tip of my arrow past my point on distance when I'm target shooting.

I've tried different shooting styles and this is what works for me.

I have read both of Asbell's books and try as hard as I can I can't not see my arrow!

If you can't look for your arrow and see it you have a major alignment issue.

I use my arrow also. I shoot split finger, and just like in the picture above adjust windage, and gap, and then release. I never really put a name to what I do, I just shoot, and ty to see what works for me. How I start out with any bow is to find out what happens when I hold dead on the bull---figure out what yardage I am hitting at when I aim like that. From there I learn to gap as the yardage come down. Some bows I shot were dead on at 30 yards so I know from there, or learn to gap at shorter yardages. Each bow is different. So--I guess in the end I actually do aim.

So called instinctive for me, however I learned it thru hours and hours and hours and hours of practice.

Mine is split finger, anchor at corner of mouth at full elbow extension, instinctive. I look at spot, draw to anchor, focus on spot, pull my elbow back till it breaks. For me, if I see my arrow point I have to let down and start over because I've lost focus on my spot.

Raise bow hand to target, loose. The arrow is on the hand so.....

Same as Jeff Durnell. If I take my full focus off my spot the shot is lost.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I shoot both split or 3-under depending on the given bow, how much shelf there is etc. For the last year it has mostly been 3- under and using the arrow as a reference, but not “strict-gapping” as I no longer consider the exact distance to the target. Rather, after shooting this way for months, the gaps are set in my head out to about 30 yards. The benefit to me for this is that my left/right is controlled by the arrow and my eyes/brain correct for elevation due to familiarity. My groups are tighter doing this and I no longer launch the occasional arrow over the top of my target like I did shooting split/instinctive. I think it benefited me shooting both ways; I use tools from both methods.

I shoot cross-dominant LH and right eye with the blurred arrow angled from the left toward target. The triangulation for windage was fairly easy to master but TP limits the amount of shooting at targets so except for some longer shots while roving distance has been limited to 20yds and elevation adjustment is instinctive based on repetition.

This seems like your other thread so I posted there.

Posted on other thread.

Split finger here never needed to change

Instinctive. Like throwing a ball to first base. But not everyone can do that. So aim away.

OP, what you're describing is split vision aiming. That's what Howard Hill used. Works for me as well whether I shoot split or 3 under.

Sights have helped a lot of bow and arrow shooters. Most cannot shoot instinctively so may as well buy a real sight with pins. Very common in the 1960's.

Knowing how to aim and adjust are 2 different things.

Drawing with a high anchor does not work for me. I find it very difficult to engage my back with a high anchor. Shooting 3 under moves the arrow higher on my face with my usual comfortable anchor and changes gaps considerably for me. Most of the games I play and the game I hunt are 30 yards and in so it just works for me. If the high anchor and split finger works for you, I'd stick with it.

Nemophilist.....yep....same

I gap shoot, and this is what I see and learn as I match the gap to the distance.

For years I struggled with this. I tried all manner of 'sighting'. Coupled with this I tried various anchors, split vs 3U, glove vs tab, all sorts of stuff. Nothing ever worked.

Then one day after reading some Asbell and Howard Hill writings, I went out and did this-

I chose an anchor that was easy for me to replicate. That ended up being middle finger to corner of mouth and index finger next to my nose in a hollow above a tooth. I've never varied from that to this day.

I then chose to stick with a glove vs a tab. Just personal choice and what I like. I then picked 1 glove that fit me perfectly. Went and bought several identical. Will not vary from this.

I decided to try 'aiming' in this manner somewhat similar to Hill's split vision. I keep both eyes open. I see the arrow and use it as windage correction. I simply line up the arrow point left to right with my intended target. The 'gap' I see is not a highly defined gap. Meaning I have no idea if the gap is 18" at target or 1/2" gap at bow like some use. It is simply a matter of 'feel' When my feeble brain says "hey idiot that gap looks right" the arrow is released. My main focus at full draw is on what I want to hit but I am conscious of what ever 'gap' is there. It seemed to work ok that day and I've NEVER varied from it, EXCEPT that as time goes on there is less and less thinking about the 'gap' and it has become more automatic as time has gone on.

What anyone should take away from this post is this-

Pick something that should work and that has some logic and reasoning behind it. You don't have to do what someone else does, but it may help you if you look at what some of the archery greats have used as their shooting style to lead you down the right path. And then STICK WITH IT. PERIOD. END. OF. STORY. Quit getting distracted by each 'new shiny thing' that comes along so to speak. It will take time and lots of practice for everything to mesh. What works for me may not work for you but find something and stick with it.

Wild Bill, I know practically nothing about gap shooting, so bear with me while I try to understand something.

When I've heard people talk about gapping, I guess I just assumed the gap would be the space from the arrow tip to the intended point of impact, the center of the X in the picture above rather than the bottom of the white circle. Because, what if the distance remained the same but in following shots the targets' sizes, shapes, backgrounds, or such changed? For instance, what if the next shot was just a X on that background with no white circle around it? We'd have to learn a new gap even though the distance hasn't changed right? Did you mean to draw that upper red line through the center of the X? If not, then 5 different looking targets at the same distance could potentially result in 5 different gaps?

As an addendum to my previous post-

Nemophilist's pic in this thread is exactly my sight picture.

My emphasis on sticking with something comes from watching others constantly try new equipment looking for that perfect bow, glove, arrow, method of sighting, whatever. And most of those folks rarely if ever get beyond a basic 15 or 20 yard maximum shot distance for hunting. Or even target shooting. It takes time, LOTS OF TIME, and practice to train your brain. Every time you change something up your brain now needs to relearn the new item. Especially when it comes to aiming. But even with equipment. Say you want to shoot a much lighter or heavier arrow. Well now your gaps will change. Your brain now has to learn the new gaps. Anchor points change the gap. Arrow length changes the gap. A much faster or slower bow changes the gap. If you stick to one way of doing things, over time it will become more automatic.

Excellent posts JimG.

I do as others above. I go through my shot process and pick an existing arrow hole or a shadow, discoloration of some kind. When I try to pay attention to where my arrow tip is, it takes me out of my sequence and my concentration is broken. For me. I think my brain uses my bow hand location up or down left or right in relation to my body more than where the arrow is. I’m sure the brain takes that visual arrow cue into the calculation subconsciously. I don’t need my eyes to know where my hand is in relation to my body. After some practice most people can pick a tiny object to stare at for a second. Close their eyes and point at that object. Then open their dominant eye. After only a few attempts they should be able to point at the small object accurately with their eyes closed. Now after years and thousands of shots the bow hand is told where to hold for the correct height for that distance. Just my method. I don’t doubt gap shooting can be more accurate but it’s not how I shoot.

Interesting to hear the descriptions of how folks shoot. And interesting as well that in effect most everyone is describing the same process in a different way. Because in the end everyone aims. This is similar to written descriptions of back tension and so on. Different individuals describe it different ways, which has a tendency to make it unintentionally comicated.

All that shooting "instinctively" means is that you are not using an accessory sight. Any aiming process is a learned behavior.

Sounds like rxbob has the right prescription!

I shoot exactly as Frank/Nemo described and illustrated. Almost.

For me, the primary benefit of that glance down the shaft is to make sure my nock is indeed directly below my eyeball. My anchor is consistent enough that typically I can achieve the correct windage simply by increasing or decreasing my cant by a small amount. Then when I am shooting with a deliberately exaggerated cant, I generally have to make a much larger effort.

And I can get darn close just by getting the nock into the vertical plane with my eyeball.

When I layer on the checking of the alignment of the point under the target, good things happen.

“ If I take my full focus off my spot the shot is lost.”

That’s why I shoot probably better than most, but not as well fas the hard-core gappers. What works best for me, gapstinctively, is to have confirmed the sight picture (again, as per Nemo’s illustration), but then shift my focus entirely to the mark.

This requires a solid anchor, so if you are over-bowed, it’s probably not going to work for you. Once you have that correct “frame“ created by your eyeball, anchor point, and bowhand, everything has to stay locked up like that, and for me that includes my degree of cant. The only thing which is still variable is the elevation of the boat hand, provided it stays within the correct plane.

And the reason I have become such a big fan of shooting at vertical lines is that even when I shift my attention to the Mark, my subconscious mind and peripheral vision will maintain the alignment that much better for me. So I am no longer THINKING about the range, or the alignment, either; I’m just already lined up and I can expand into my release.

And the really interesting thing about focusing my eyeballs on the target is that whenever you focus intently on something, it will be coming in and out of ultra sharp focus. It doesn’t matter for me whether I’m shooting with sights, or a scope, or just working off of my arrow; for a split second, the target snaps into ultra high definition, and that is my “trigger“. I never know exactly when that’s going to happen, so I never know exactly when my release is going to happen. But I always know when my release happened at the right instant, because hitting the middle of the target feels very much like a foregone conclusion.

Jeff,

"Did you mean to draw that upper red line through the center of the X?"

YES, my mistake.

"I know practically nothing about gap shooting" - not true, you get it.

Thank you.

This is one of those times when it all came together… At 30 yards. First attempt.

I’m not about to pretend that it happens this way all the time, but we all have those good shots and bad shots, and the trick for me is just getting to where I know when the good ones are coming. If you can’t hold solidly at fulldraw until the target snaps in the focus, you’re not gonna hit much. Some guys can do it so fluidly that it looks like they’re snap shooting, but the difference is that they hit what they’re looking at.

In correcting the picture for Jeff I realized that it also shows the canting of my bow, so as to bring the rear of the arrow under my dominant eye. The mistake I often make is a more verticle position of the bow, and thus the rear of the arrow moves farther to the right of my line of sight. When I don't get over the arrow with my eye, the impact is left of the X.

I shoot split vision, split fingers, middle finger in corner of mouth, visually aware of windage.

Thanks for the clarification, Bill.

Well , after reading this, I have serious shooting issues...lol.. I have always started my shot by pointing my index knuckle towards the target, not the arrow persay, Pick the smallest part of what I am shooting at, come to full draw, maintaining eye focus ,release.. I can assure you, the arrow isn't used what so ever.. I actually tried last night to utilize it, no thank you...lol Been shooting like this since the 60s..

If I see that picture, I need to let down and start over.

For a long time I was anchoring to the corner of my mouth with the arrow on the side of my face.What I didn't realize was that this was putting the arrow at a slight angle so my arrow was hitting to the side of where I was aiming.I have adjusted my style so that the arrow is directly under my eye and everything is lined up and this has made a world of differce in my shooting.

I do not look/see the arrow. I concentrate on the target to the point that only an area about fist size is on focus and the rest is blurry . 100% of my attention is on the target , if I see the arrow is a distraction that WILL make the shot a bad one. I also SEE the arrow trajectory BEFORE I aim , so I know if I have a clear shot or not. I look at my target, close my eyes and see the spot in my mind, bring the bow up , and as I start my draw I open my eyes just to see the spot and nothing else. I do hold for a fraction of a second and drop the shot . I say drop , not release , because is the closest to dropping a heavy grocery bag when you get home, sort of thing. Everybody knows how to drop a bag , yet, many have trouble releasing an arrow that is hanging from your elbow. That's wright, your elbow , not your fingers.the elbow should be relaxed all the way from the moment you start to draw.

Juancho said-

I do hold for a fraction of a second and drop the shot . I say drop , not release , because is the closest to dropping a heavy grocery bag when you get home, sort of thing. Everybody knows how to drop a bag , yet, many have trouble releasing an arrow that is hanging from your elbow. That's wright, your elbow , not your fingers.the elbow should be relaxed all the way from the moment you start to draw

That is one of the best explanations for a proper release that I've ever read!

Look, point, draw to anchor, release. That easy. Do it correctly many times, and you can become accurate enough to kill squirrels with head shots at 15 yards consistently and deer out to 25 yards with proper arrow placemen

“ For a long time I was anchoring to the corner of my mouth with the arrow on the side of my face.What I didn't realize was that this was putting the arrow at a slight angle so my arrow was hitting to the side of where I was aiming.I have adjusted my style so that the arrow is directly under my eye and everything is lined up and this has made a world of differce in my shooting.”

Yep. And to accomplish that, you have your choice of canting your bow (AND your head along with it) or moving your anchor point.

Both work. As does bringing the arrow up into your peripheral vision as you draw. I’m pretty sure that’s what is meant when people talk about the Swing Draw.

If you align the point of your arrow with your target as your bow hand comes up, then all you have to do is hit your anchor, and the shot can go about as accurately as any other way of shooting. But it’s not Instinctive; it’s the result of lots and lots and lots and lots of practicing… And getting it right. If you practice Wrong, you can struggle for years and never make sense of it.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here