How to Aim a Bow: Sight, Gap & Instinctive Shooting
Sights, gaps, or pure instinct — how the three aiming systems actually differ, plus the dominant-eye test and why your anchor point comes before any of them.
By the Archery Care Editorial Team
Ask three archers how they aim and you'll get three different answers. That's because there are three main systems — and picking between them isn't really a matter of taste. It comes down to what you shoot and what discipline you shoot it in.
The three systems
- A sight. The standard route for compound and Olympic recurve. You put a pin or aperture on the target and align it. Simple in theory.
- Gap shooting. No sight — the arrow tip is your reference. You learn how far below the target to hold (the 'gap') at each distance. And yes, that takes time.
- Instinctive. No conscious aiming reference at all. You shoot enough arrows that your eye and subconscious do the work. Common in traditional archery, and harder than it sounds.
Before any of that works
Sort your dominant eye first — the simple triangle test settles it. Then lock down a consistent anchor point. And here's the bit most beginners fight: the sight picture floats. It's supposed to. Your job is to manage that natural drift, not snatch the shot the instant everything looks perfect. Snatching feels decisive. It isn't.
Dialing in a sight
Shooting a sight? Put a group on the target at a known distance, then move the sight in the direction of the error — 'follow your arrow,' as the saying goes. Group lands low and left, the sight goes low and left. Then set marks for each distance you shoot. One thing no sight can fix: sloppy form. A sight is only repeatable if you are.