Hey guys - those of you that are experienced and knowledgeable on shooting traditional - what is the average gap between arrow point and target say at shooting 15 to 20yds? I've been playing around with buddy's recurve today and just wondering how much that gap should be and if would change if move knock up or down? I'm referring to shooting gap style of course.
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There is no average as every one has different face shapes and sizes and they anchor in different places on those faces. The best way to shoot gap is with 3 fingers under the arrow. I anchor with my index knuckle under my cheek bone and my thumb knuckle behind my jaw bone. A double anchor is best. That way you have an up/down reference, a draw check, and a head tilt reference.
If you are shooting 3 under, I can tell you a quick, easy way to get all your gaps fast. After you practice at it a while you will automatically go to the right gap for what ever distance your shooting. You wont have to know the yardage, you will just go there.
Take a large piece of card board,[about 3' sq.] put a big plus on it. Then measure 4" up and put a mark, another 4" put a mark and so on to 18". Then do the same downward.
Start shooting at ten yds. with the point on the center of the plus, and shoot. It will hit high. Shoot again with the point that low below the plus. You should be on the center of the plus if you have good form. Shoot again at twenty and find your gap below that you need to hold. Shoot at thirty and then at forty.
For me, I hold 12" low at 10 yds., 6" low at twenty, and am point on at 32 yds. I hold over 16" at 40 yds. and 30" over at 50 yds.
I hope this helps and if you have any more questions feel free to ask. I think I'm the only one on here that will admit that he gaps. -
Good advise from Draco. I went to a range and shot my bow and put the tip of the arrow on the bullseye. When I found the distance that hit dead on, that was my "Point On" range. That was what I started with and found what to hold over or under from there.
I can tell you my carbons shoot higher than the surewood shafts I have been playing with. The surewood weight a ton more and seems to drop the arrow faster.
Oh well, hang on and let folks smarter than me chime in and help ya.Comment
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Forgive my ignorance, but I though gap shooting you had the same gap no matter where the target. My father was describing it to me and that is what he was saying. That you aimed the same from 5yds to 50yds. The gap was always the same. Is this different or am I just reading it wrong.Comment
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My point on is about 43 paces...Comment
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I am point on at 50yds using carbons and a 50 lb bow. About 4"gap at 20 and so forth. This will change with different bow and arrow weight. I don't shoot that way but tried a long time ago. I shoot instintive because of my cross dominant eyes. Good luck, and if you decide to practice a lot. A whole lot and proctice guessing distance. BobComment
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P.S. I forgot to add that arrow length will change everything too.Comment
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Awesome! Thanks for the information.Originally posted by Draco View Post
Would you do anything specific if hitting left or right? I found that if I use my arrow point to aim, I always hit about 8"-12" to the right of my point of aim (depending upon distance). I was consistently hitting right, so I stopped using my point to aim. I shoot three under with little or no cant, and usually anchor my middle finger to the corner of my mouth.
Any thoughts?
Now I just draw and shoot, but I suck at anything beyond 10-12 yards.Comment
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Holy crap, Draco, I tried to figure this out when I was shooting yesterday. Man, I could have saved some time AND arrows if I'd read this earlier.
Thanks a BUNCH for the tip.Comment
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My point is on the target at 28 yards, and I 'cheat' and have a small orange dot on the rear of my sight window corresponding to 20 yards. With those 2 references, I'm good for almost all trad shooting.
To answer the question, gap shooting would require a different position of the tip of the arrow relative to your target for different distances. Maybe you're thinking of what is called string walking which the aim point remains the same, and where the arrow is on the string varies with range?Comment
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Gap shooting isn't the do all-end all of bow shooting, it's just another way to do it. I shot instinctive for over 40 years and did just fine with it. But due to eye problems I changed to gap shooting and actually wish I had changed sooner. As LivetoHunt mentioned, when you change arrows it doesn't take long to adjust to get back on. I've known guys who shot instinctive who tried lighter arrows and could never get on because their instincts couldn't adjust to a flatter trajectory.
Huntinfool, it would be impossible to be point on at all ranges because of the trajectory of the arrow dropping. You could reduce it with light arrows but heavy arrows tend to hunt best.Comment
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I switched to gap shooting when I took some lessons a year plus back and my problem was at 15-20 yards I was shooting OK, but at 25+ my arrows were all over the place. Mike said it was common that some people do not develop eye-muscle coordination to just shoot instinctively like you throw a ball without aiming, and I was one of them. People who watch me shoot my recurve ask "did you used to shoot a compound?" because I draw, anchor, then close my left eye, align left/right on the arrow, then align up/down with the gap, then release. More of a target style of shooting with hunting equipment.Comment
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another way to gap is to put gap mark tape on the back of the riser for different distances
for me, these are 10~40
I shoot split-finger with the tip of my index finger in the corner of my mouth
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