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Aiming methods

Archers aim in several ways, from a sight pin on a compound to string-walking a barebow, and the method decides what the equipment has to do.

Sighted aiming

The most direct method is a sight. A recurve uses a single moveable pin or ring with no magnification; a compound adds a magnified scope and a rear peep in the string so the eye lines up scope and peep together. The archer puts the aiming point on the target and holds it there.

Sighted aiming is precise but depends entirely on a correctly mounted, repeatable sight and a set of trusted marks. It is the standard for target and most field archery.

Gap and point of aim

Without a sight, an archer can still use the arrow point. In gap shooting the archer holds a known vertical gap between the point and the target centre for each distance. In point of aim, the archer aligns the point with a chosen spot above or below the target that experience says is right for the range.

Both methods make the arrow itself the aiming reference, so arrow length, point weight and a rock-solid anchor become the variables that keep aim consistent.

String-walking and instinctive

String-walkers change their launch angle by hooking the string at a measured distance below the arrow, keeping the point on the target while the arrow's flight path shifts. Instinctive archers use neither a sight nor a conscious gap, aiming by trained feel after many thousands of arrows.

None of these methods uses a sight, but all still need a rest and plunger that suit the bow. The aiming method changes what the archer looks at, not whether the accessories have to fit.

Related

Sources: Wikipedia: Instinctive_shooting · Wikipedia: Barebow · Archery GB