Understanding Archery; How to Shoot a Barebow Recurve
Author: Alec Potts Date Posted:5 September 2018
This is the third installment in our understanding archery series, and today we’re going to look at how to shoot a barebow recurve.
A barebow recurve is essentially just a bare recurve bow, we have removed all forms of sights and stabilizers, and all you are allowed to use is a small weight attached to the riser. The aiming process with a barebow is slightly different to a sighted recurve, as we use a method called String-Walking to aim.
This is where the string is hooked higher or lower, in order to change the arrows point of impact. The closer we hold the string to the nock, the higher the arrow will impact. So for example, shooting 18m I might hook the string towards the bottom of the serving, but if I was to shoot 50m, then my top finger may be touching the underside of the nock.
As always, the first step, is to stand on the line with your feet about shoulder width apart. Load your arrow onto the string, and now this is where we begin to string walk. For 18m, my fingers will be approximately 2 finger widths below the arrow. Hook the string and then draw the bow back until your index finger touches the corner of your mouth. Then aim the tip of the arrow at the center of the target. When you are ready to release, just relax your fingers off the bowstring.
And that’s how to shoot a barebow recurve!