| Variation | Arrow position | Fingers used to draw | Draw speed | Draw weight | Horse-back? | Add. tool? | Typical bow | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinch | Inside of the bow | Thumb and index finger | Moderate | Low | Yes | No | Primitive self-bows | Early humans and Comanche |
| Split Fingers | Inside of the bow | Index, middle and ring finger | Slow | Very high | No | Yes, a three finger glove | English longbows | Western europeans and Olympic competitors |
| Slavic | Outside of the bow | Index, middle and ring finger | Fast | Medium | Yes | Yes, a three finger glove | Eastern european recurve bows | Eastern europeans |
| Thumb | Outside of the bow | Thumb, index (and middle) finger | Very fast | High | Yes | Yes, a thumb ring | Asiatic composite bows | Mongols, Chinese and Turks |
