Gap Shooting with Aron Snyder
Equipment
It's most certainly one of those different strokes for different folks things. It is effective if you master it, just like stringwalking, but it isn't the do all end all method by any means.
I started shooting a recurve this winter. After watching that video and another he did with Tom Clum I learned a lot. Another guy I watched was Clay Hayes. Gap shooting is the easiest for me to learn. I have been doing it for years with pins as well.
Recurve here. i draw and set my gap, then focus on the spot and let my mind maintain the correct gap in my peripheral vision- Gap- stinctive? Peripheral vision? I’m not sure what to call it.
I had problems on what to do if I missed when shooting instinctive. The mantra of “ shoot more” didn’t resonate…and then I realized the effective range of the true instinctive guys is very short. Its rare for one of the instinctive guys ever win a large tournament against other guys with an aiming system.
I tried shooting off the gap at the arrow and shot worse than when I focused on the spot.
Drawing to a set gap is essentially my backup to know that I will be right there- then I focus on shot execution. Works for me.
^^^^^^that is pretty well what I do as well^^^^^^ the 'gap stinctive' kind of thing.
Gapstinctive for the Win for my purposes. Though to be honest, if you shoot 3U, I don’t know how you can make any credible claim to be doing otherwise…. If you anchor under your eyeball and the full length of your arrow is NOT in line with the path from your eye to the mark, you’re 100% GONNA MISS, barring some major tuning issue or form error….. and an insane amount of luck…..
And if it makes you happy to tell yourself that you’re somehow “not ‘looking down’ your arrow” at the target…. Suit yourself. May as well say that the guys shooting peep sights “don’t ‘look through’ their peep”, but you do you….
Myself, I go Gapstinctive (shooting split) because I think I’m a pretty poor judge of distance (at least consciously) and am not particularly interested in addressing the range issue because I’m better off focused on my form and relying on subconscious range estimation. I do have a few semi-soft gaps, though, for shooting from the pads marked 60 yards on up to 80. More like pick-a-point at that kind of range…. I use that the same way as Beendare’s hard gaps…. I just string my groups probably a lot more….
I've tried all but am more comfortable with split instinctive. I can hit good with it out to 30 yards if my yipping is under control, lol. That being said, most of my shots are the avg 10 - 15 on deer.
I mostly shoot split but I did shoot 3 under for a couple years. I dropped 1 finger lower on my anchor when shooting 3 under so my arrow is basically in the same spot with either style.
I dont consciously gap but its obviously part of what we see so it plays a part. I am point-on at 40 with my usual bow/arrow combos.
First Rule, Timex! — If it Ain’t Broke….
I about ruined my shooting trying to get “more instinctive”… had to re-build my whole shot process. But on a good day, I like where I am now. I’m really not as consistent as I was, but I’m getting another inch or inch-and-a-half power stroke, and I have a lot more freedom to cant as needs be….
I don't like the gap shooting concept. I only have two things I concentrate on, the spot I want to hit and my form. I practice mostly at 17 yards, have been doing that for years. That allows me to forget about everything else except the spot I want to hit on shots out to probably 25 yards. After over 50 years of doing the same thing over and over I'm careful not to try and tweak anything or even think much about my shooting.
I shoot one over and two under, and I see the shaft in my peripheral vision while staring at the spot. Not sure what it's called but it seems to work.
Back when Aron was killing stuff with a compound at 125 yards and was getting bored with it, he started talking to me about switching to trad, aiming systems, etc. I knew he would excel at it no matter what style he chose. That's who he is. Amazing human.
Most gap shooters become somewhat instinctive at typical trad hunting ranges fairly quickly. The subconscious is trained to recognize the site picture and adjust automatically. It's a much faster path to "instinctive" shooting than the bore a hole while "ignoring" the arrow in front of your eye and flinging. The later method is a long road to mediocrity (if that) for the majority, than to start with a gap and let it evolve.
With all due respect to a great man, G. Fred's "instinctive" method of drawing while raising the bow, then essentially snap shooting at anchor, created a whole bunch of crappy trad shooters. NO competent competitive shooters shoot that way, and in a hunting situation it creates way too much unnecessary movement. It looks kind of cool, but is not a recipe for accuracy.
I’ve had the good fortune to shoot with some great trad guys. Learned a lot from them. Not a single one shoot hunched over in the Asbell style. They all use a Gap or String walk system of aiming with 3 under. If you are hunched, there is a good chance you aren’t coming to the same DL every time. 1/4” difference in varied DL matters with a stickbow.
Its like a lot of technical shooting sports, you can learn a lot from SME’s or the pros. Its much like the very high FOC hoax….not a single pro in any of the archery disciplines shoots that. They are all in the Easton range.
The Jake Kaminsky channel has many great free vids on shooting.
There is shooting for hunting that requires all different body contortions and then there is Olympic/target shooting. Two completely different styles. If you want to hunt with your bow, you will need to know how to shoot hunched, sitting, bent over, canted 90 degs, etc. If you are just a target shooter, then straight up, bow vertical.
Sort of off the subject. Well I tried it all but switched to a one pin adjustable sight that improved my "consistent" accuracy 100% out to 30 yards. This bull did not care what type of "sighting" I used at 20 yards, he was dead quickly . Being a compound bow shooter also with pins, made the transition much more easy from instinctive/gap to pins. And also, not shooting the stick in practice a lot to re-fine[tune gap or instinctive shooting, made the transition to a single pin an easy choice.
"Gapstinctive" for the past 10 yrs. 34 inch arrows for a point-on distance of 25 yds. Still in the "brown" on a whitetail at 20 yds. 30 yds is a 6 inch "stack". On closer than 20, much more instictive, but if my form is good, all is well.
Started with Mr Asbells books and although he emphasized a solid bow arm in a seminar I attended, the other components of his style didn't yield consistency for me.
"Gapstinctive" for the past 10 yrs. 34 inch arrows for a point-on distance of 25 yds. Still in the "brown" on a whitetail at 20 yds. 30 yds is a 6 inch "stack". On closer than 20, much more instictive, but if my form is good, all is well.
Started with Mr Asbells books and although he emphasized a solid bow arm in a seminar I attended, the other components of his style didn't yield consistency for me.
Aron and I used to shoot a lot of 3D tournaments together back when he didn't have a pot to piss in. I'll never forget when he modified a Blowtech General to get 5-10 pounds of extra draw weight out of it. He was shooting well with it in a tournament, and of course, constantly bragging about his ingenious modification. Until he stepped up to a target and the General literally blew up in dozens of pieces when he was at full draw. I nearly split a gut laughing.
Oh, the stories I could tell you about Aron Snyder.......great dude, but he used to do some stupid and funny sh!t.
Those 3 posts from Steve, Timex & Lou… couldn’t agree more.
Live2hunt’s Not Wrong about hunters benefitting by being able to shoot from many different/occasionally contorted positions…. although that doesn’t seem to be an insurmountable obstacle for all of the guys shooting peep&pin set-ups…..
But — just sayin’….. there’s nothing as effective in becoming a better Archer than BECOMING A BETTER ARCHER. And ADDING a competency in shooting from longer ranges in more “conventional” stances will only improve your accuracy from unconventional positions and at shorter distances… And JMO, being a more accurate archer is useful more than just “occasionally”….
Gapstinctive, Yep thats me. Started with a basic gap then it kind of simply went away. Definitely line up then focus on the spot. Good timing with the post thanks. I have been shooting the compound for the last couple years because my son in law got into archery, but he is into the target shooting and I am getting back to the recurve.
