Shooting a bow in the traditional or instinctive manner like Fred Bear, Ben Pearson and Howard Hill requires time, concentration, dedication and perseverance. I know because I am still trying to master the skill. And, it does not require just the use of longbow or recurve.

In fact one of my life long friends hunts instinctively and has taken many large game animals with his compound and aluminum arrows. However, shooting a compound without a sight is different than shooting with a recurve or longbow. 

With a traditional bow you can get the handle and the arrow close to each other. Hand and eye are the key. The hand and the arrow should be close together so the arrow is an extension of you. Great traditional shooters knew this. With a compound the arrow usually sits higher bringing the arrow higher. Also, with a recurve, the bow is slightly canted so the eye can see down the arrow. The compound shooting instinctive should also be canted so one can see down the shaft from stem to stern. Arrows are another consideration. 

Wood, aluminum or carbon can be shot from traditional gear but one should not consider wood shafts for compounds. To much stress from the force of the compounds can produce hair line cracks or complete failure during a shot.  Safety is the main concern.

How To Shoot: Looking down the shaft you can eyeball the arrow lower then the bull's eye. That is one way. Finger gloves or tabs are the main ingredient here. If the arrow point is aimed lower then the target and hits higher, lower the point of the arrow....this is called "gap" shooting. The closer you are the lower the arrow is in relationship to the target. As you walk back further the arrow raises and at some point the arrow and center of the target will meet. This, in old French Archery, was called "point white", as they put a white stake there. This is where we get the term POINT BLANK from as the word blanc in French means 'white'.

Another method is pure instinctive. That is just looking where you want the arrow to go and mentally putting all your concentration in the whole shot and willing it into the spot. Like throwing a baseball into a glove or bowling a ball into the pins. The mind/body concentration works together to make it happen. That means form.

TRADITIONAL SHOOTING FORM
Form is not any different then shooting with sights. A smooth draw, a smooth release and a solid follow through.  I was talking to some one the other day about just this. The slower the arrow goes the longer one must retain form. This means holding the bow steady and vertical longer through the shot and not dropping the bow arm until you hear the arrow hitting the target.   At 50 yards the bow has to be held in position longer than at 30 yards. The release, as always, should be crisp and clean.

Letting the string go is just as important if not more so then the holding the bow steady. 

The string hand should not fly off the face. A relaxing of the fingers will let the string come off naturally, with the hand coming straight back or just sitting on the face as the fingers relax. You want a good tab or glove to protect the fingers....The string should sit in the first joint of the finger, no deeper. If you can put the string half way between the tip and the joint so much the better but one must be careful not to pre-release. The string hand should be firm against your face, not real tight or loose but firm. Good finger shooters shoot with the middle finger next to their mouth. A lot of old timers use their index fingers but the closer to your eye the arrow is the better your hand/eye coordination will be.

So whichever way you prefer, draw smooth, anchor against your face snug, take aim, control breathing, relax your fingers. Now hold you hand and bow steady as you watch your arrow into the target.

That's the way I see it in my "View From Behind The String".