Gap Shooting, An Intermediate Archery Skill

Q

"New to traditional archery. Am I the only one to use the part circled to aim? Is it a bad habit I should break?

Justin M."




A


Hello Justin!

It is called Gap Shooting.

Rare for a beginner. It is more of an intermediate skill that archers learn after they have been shooting for a longer time period.

Gap Shooting is useful for shooting at moving targets; Aiming off the arrowhead is slower to adjust your aim compared to Gap Shooting which lets you keep your eye on the target.

Gap Shooting is not so good for shooting long distances as it means you are aiming above the target and often cannot see it any more because the bow is physically in the way.

If you learn both styles of aiming (traditional aiming off the arrowhead and gap shooting) it makes you a more versatile archer.

Some archers even put marks and/or dots on the side of the riser next to where they are aiming so they can improve their accuracy. This is known as a "Gap Shooting Cheat Sheet". It isn't really cheating, it just makes it easier to remember exactly where you are aiming.

In the example to the right is a "Gap Shooting Cheat Sheet" which uses an alternating dot pattern, making it easier to remember which set of dots you are using for aiming purposes.

The archer then aims to the side of the marks or dots, using the gap between the target and the side of the bow as a measuring device. An archer using a right handed bow with too much gap would see their arrow go to the right. Too small of a gap and their arrow goes left. (For archers using a left handed bow the reverse would be true.)

Happy Shooting!

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
CardioTrek.ca