The Art of StringWalking

Book excerpt: This book will guide you through the 'mysteries' and 'black magic' of StringWalking so you will see that there are neither 'mysteries' nor 'black magic' involved. StringWalking is complex, but you can easily tune your bow to shoot accurately where you aim. To stringwalk, you hold the string at different places (crawls) according to the distance to the target and use the tip of the arrow to aim. You grip the string closer to the nock for longer distance targets and grip it farther down from the nock for closer targets. However, drawing the string from different places is stressful on the bow, since its parameters (tiller, power stroke, etc.) change from shot to shot as the crawl changes. Therefore, the correct tuning of the bow to its arrows is trickier than for other shooting techniques. If you want to obtain good results, you must tune the bow so that it works, more or less, accurately at all distances, when using different crawls. We will start by defining the Barebow Class and the many ways of aiming without sights, which includes StringWalking. We will analyze bow mechanics, both in a simple situation (gripping the string from one point) and when StringWalking (gripping the string from different points). We will also consider criteria for equipment selection, the riser, limbs, bow length, draw weight, balance, etc. There are special sections on rest, button, tab, arrows, etc. Then, we will analyze how to set up our equipment and the different ways of tuning it. Tuning is therefore very personal, but with a little work and dedication, you can achieve excellent results. Then you will enjoy the sight of your arrows flying, with accuracy, from a well-tuned, well-behaved bow.Finally, we introduce the form of competition in which the barebow is at home. We explain the rules and how the competition works. Preparation for a day in the field is explained and we give hints on how to approach shooting in natural surroundings and how to perfect your distance judgement skills.So, at the end of this book not only will you will be able to enjoy the sight of your arrows flying accurately from a well behaved bow, but from that bow in a natural and enjoyable setting.