Barebow fever taking over?
Changing from Olympic recurve to barebow is not as big a jump as you might think. If you have already learned with an Olympic bow, the form requirements are already there, and you’ll just need to modify several aspects of your shot to become an adequate barebow archer.
To start the transition to barebow, you’ll obviously need to remove your sight, stabilizers and clicker – none of these accessories are allowed in the barebow division. Changing your finger tab will, however, not be as important; you can shoot a barebow with either an Olympic “split finger” tab or with a regular barebow tab with all three fingers together. Your tiller measurement will also have to change to a “negative tiller” where the bottom measurement is longer than the top by about 1/8 to 1/4 inch.
Hooking the string with your string fingers can be done either the same way as an Olympic archer called “split finger” (index finger above, middle and ring finger below the arrow) using an Olympic finger tab, or you can hook the string with all three fingers under the arrow, often known as “three under.” Using the “split finger” method is not as common in barebow, and most archers will choose to shoot with the “three under” method, giving them a closer distance between the rear of the arrow and their aiming eye – a desirable method for aiming with barebow.
Next, you’ll want to add some mass weight to your riser to stabilize your aiming. You’ll have to be careful here, though, because your riser and weights must be able to fit through a 12.2 cm ring that will be tested when going through equipment inspection prior to competition. Several companies produce their own versions of barebow weights, so make sure to find the system that makes the most sense to you.
Anchoring and aiming can be a little bit of a challenge to someone who is already used to Olympic recurve. First, your anchor will most likely not be under the jaw, but your anchor point will move up. The most common anchor point for barebow is with the tip of your index finger on your string hand touching the corner of your lips; this raises the arrow closer to your eye, making it easier to aim by looking down the arrow shaft. Another change with your anchor and string hook is the act of string-walking. String-walking is when the archer hooks the string at a pre-determined location below the nocked arrow to move the rear of the arrow even closer to their eye, making the arrow point lower. The further (lower) the string-walk from the arrow, the shorter the distance the arrow will impact.
To aim, point the arrow at a repeatable spot on the target and experiment with different string-walking positions. A lot of archers like to aim with the point of the arrow floating just below the middle of the target; however, other archers feel more comfortable aiming at another location on the target. Changing the left-right impact of the arrows can be done in two ways with barebow. You can move your point of aim on the target, or some archers prefer to increase or decrease spring tension in their plunger button to move their arrows left or right.
Releasing the string is generally done the same way as an Olympic bow, so not much change happens here.
If you know that you have your sights set on barebow (yes, pun intended) it may be easier to start on barebow and forgo shooting Olympic recurve. There has been a big increase in barebow popularity, and the resources for this style of shooting are currently too numerous to count. Since the Lancaster Classic has just finished up, you can find plenty of video of great barebow form on the internet. As with anything, practice makes perfect.
