Gap shooting, 3 fingers under and string walking with a trad bow.

[Tommy D]

I have always shot a bow I guess what would be called “instinctive” .... though I think if we are being technical it’s probably more of a split vision method because I am conscious of my bow hand in my periphery. I used to shoot much heavier bows but have been building some lighter bamboo backed ipe bows and am really trying to work on form and consistency. I watched an interesting film on you tube by a guy who has merged a crawl with gap shooting. I believe he calls it the “fixed crawl”. It’s about minute 40 on this long schooler. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1E1vKkSSoNs.

Essentially he shoots 3 fingers under at a fixed distance under the arrow ... so the arrow is nocked and then he has another nock day an inch or so below this that corresponds to a realistic hunting range ... say 20 yards. From here he will gap shoot if his quarry is closer or further. Essentially he is bringing his point on distance closer than you would get with split finger or three under. What it also does is mean that his gaps at hunting distances are much less. It’s an interesting method.

I was wondering what people thought? I also wondered whether or how one might tiller a self-bow or a bamboo backed bow to tolerate this method?

[mmattockx]

Essentially he shoots 3 fingers under at a fixed distance under the arrow ... so the arrow is nocked and then he has another nock day an inch or so below this that corresponds to a realistic hunting range ... say 20 yards. From here he will gap shoot if his quarry is closer or further. Essentially he is bringing his point on distance closer than you would get with split finger or three under. What it also does is mean that his gaps at hunting distances are much less. It’s an interesting method.

Sounds pretty much like what the barebow target shooters do, using a fixed crawl to get the sight picture (such as it is) to what they like. It is akin to adjusting your zero on a rifle to get the most useful point blank range for what you are doing.

I was wondering what people thought? I also wondered whether or how one might tiller a self-bow or a bamboo backed bow to tolerate this method?

I have never bow hunted (done plenty of rifle hunting, though), but it seems perfectly reasonable to me as a way to minimize sighting/range estimating errors while dealing with the pressures of making a shot quickly on a game animal.

Pulling the string well below center will load the bottom limb more than the top and will require that be considered during tillering. To tiller that you will need to either set your tree up to simulate how you are drawing in the hand or do lots of hand drawing and take pictures to check the tiller as you go. I believe you want to end up with balanced limbs at full draw in the hand regardless of how it looks at brace. There are guys here that almost never use a tree and do most of their tillering by hand drawing, so it isn't that unusual of an approach.


Mark

[Pat B]

I've always shot instinctively, not seeing the bow or arrow but concentration only where the arrow will go. I've never tried other methods because I'm completely satisfied with my method. With a selfbow or even an all wood backed or trilam bow consistency is key. Using 2 nock points or string walking can be injurious to these bows.IMO. Others that have used these other methods may have a different take on it.

[mullet]

I know of a few people that hunt using that method and they all shoot glass bows and are very successful doing it. I think you could tiller a bow made from wood and shoot like that. I have a Horn bow made by James Parker that has two different limbs. The top limb is the stronger of the two when using a thumb ring and shooting with the right hand off the right side. Or I can flip the bow over and put that limb on the bottom and shoot two fingers under nock shooting off the left side with the right hand.

[Tommy D]

Essentially he shoots 3 fingers under at a fixed distance under the arrow ... so the arrow is nocked and then he has another nock day an inch or so below this that corresponds to a realistic hunting range ... say 20 yards. From here he will gap shoot if his quarry is closer or further. Essentially he is bringing his point on distance closer than you would get with split finger or three under. What it also does is mean that his gaps at hunting distances are much less. It’s an interesting method.

Sounds pretty much like what the barebow target shooters do, using a fixed crawl to get the sight picture (such as it is) to what they like. It is akin to adjusting your zero on a rifle to get the most useful point blank range for what you are doing.

I was wondering what people thought? I also wondered whether or how one might tiller a self-bow or a bamboo backed bow to tolerate this method?

I have never bow hunted (done plenty of rifle hunting, though), but it seems perfectly reasonable to me as a way to minimize sighting/range estimating errors while dealing with the pressures of making a shot quickly on a game animal.

Pulling the string well below center will load the bottom limb more than the top and will require that be considered during tillering. To tiller that you will need to either set your tree up to simulate how you are drawing in the hand or do lots of hand drawing and take pictures to check the tiller as you go. I believe you want to end up with balanced limbs at full draw in the hand regardless of how it looks at brace. There are guys here that almost never use a tree and do most of their tillering by hand drawing, so it isn't that unusual of an approach.


Mark

Yes - it’s exactly the same principle. I wish more clients sighted their rifles like this.

[HH~]

I shoot all my hunt selfbows at really close shots at game 3 under. Have target selfbows that have never been shot split finger!

You make them just like any selfbow. Maybe a little stiffer on bottom limb as they will take some set shooting 3 under.  Have a HHB 66" in hunting rig thats killed more game than smallpox and its never been shot split unless it was a 45yd poke at a coyote or rabbit maybe?

No, I would not string Walk with a selfbow! To much stress on bottom limb.


HH~

[Azmdted]

Hi,

I'm relatively new to primitive archery, but in the last year I've come to shoot my self bows 3 finger with a half inch gap below my arrow nock.  I've found this gives me a dead on point at 28 yards, but more importantly I can keep all my shots at shorter distances on target by aiming no more than 12" or so below the target.  Whenever I try straight 3 under I have a much higher trajectory. Maybe I'm just not doing traditional 3 under properly, but leaving a half inch gap works well for me.  I'm open to ideas.

As to this stressing the lower limb more, would adding an extra inch of length to the lower limb help distribute that stress better?

[HH~]

No
Itll just change tiller.

HH~

[Tommy D]

Hi,

I'm relatively new to primitive archery, but in the last year I've come to shoot my self bows 3 finger with a half inch gap below my arrow nock.  I've found this gives me a dead on point at 28 yards, but more importantly I can keep all my shots at shorter distances on target by aiming no more than 12" or so below the target.  Whenever I try straight 3 under I have a much higher trajectory. Maybe I'm just not doing traditional 3 under properly, but leaving a half inch gap works well for me.  I'm open to ideas.

As to this stressing the lower limb more, would adding an extra inch of length to the lower limb help distribute that stress better?

Yes this is exactly what the guy in the video I posted was saying. I have never been a gap shooter until I watched that video mainly because whenever I tried it, it seemed quite hard to see be “aiming” at some spot on the ground and having the arrow hit the target (at closer ranges) - I am fine with the concept when the point of the arrow and where you want to hit are in the same vicinity! I can definitely see a reason for a “fixed crawl” or whatever this technique is called!