Barebow Cheat Sheet

The key takeaways for beginners – learning to aim without a sight, building a repeatable anchor, and finding your own shot rhythm.

Barebow gear

Item	Priority	Tip
Weight add-on	High	Up to 28 ounces allowed, must pass through the 12.2 cm ring – mounted firmly, no dampener.
Plunger	High	Handles all fine-tuning with no sight to help.
Tab	Medium	With a string-walking scale – makes finger position per distance exactly repeatable.
Draw weight	Medium	Start at 25–30 lbs, top archers usually shoot 35–40 – noticeably lighter than many recurve competitors.

The pure bow with no sight

Official only since 2019: A field archery classic since 1969, only official in target archery since 2019 – growing fast.
Very little is allowed: Only an arrow rest, plunger, tab and a fixed weight add-on – no sight, stabiliser or clicker.
Ring test before the tournament: The unstrung bow must fit completely through a 12.2 cm ring – the simplest self-check there is.
The fastest-growing class: From under 100 to over 200 entrants at the NFAA Vegas Shoot in just two years.

The 3 golden technique rules

Factor 1: A three-point anchor instead of a kisser button

Concept: Without a kisser button you lose recurve's mechanical aiming aid – your replacement is a repeatable body anchor. Tip: Index finger at the corner of your mouth, hand against your cheekbone, string against your nose – hundreds of deliberate reps until it's automatic.

Factor 2: Gap shooting before instinct

Concept: Instinctive aiming only emerges after thousands of reps – not a starting point for beginners. Tip: Start with the gap method: use the arrow tip as a reference, find your point-on distance, and log the gap for shorter and longer ranges.

Factor 3: Cant opens you up, a loose grip protects you

Concept: With no stabiliser, nothing damps torque – every twist of your grip hand on release feeds straight into the arrow's flight. Tip: Tilt the bow slightly until your dominant eye sits right over the arrow shaft. Deliberately relax your grip: the bow rests in your hand, it isn't held.

String walking & tuning

Topic	In short
Crawl table	Build it from a fixed reference distance (e.g. 50 m) using the walk-back method in 5-metre steps.
FOC sweet spot	Aim for 10 to 15% – going from 100 to 125 grain point weight adds roughly 2–3 percentage points.
Bare-shaft test	Shoot bare shafts alongside fletched arrows, correct any deviation via point weight or the plunger.

Releasing without a clicker

Timing comes entirely from you: World Archery bans mechanical draw-check devices and psychological triggers alike.
A fixed shot process as your substitute: Set-up, anchor, aiming picture, back tension, release – the same order every single time.
Practise command shooting: Actively command the release moment instead of waiting reflexively for it – it protects you from target panic.

Pro tip: Barebow is growing faster than any other bow class – which is exactly why start slots run out. Register early, as soon as your ring test passes and your first crawl table is set.