Trying to challenge myself today, after watching some of Mr Terry Greens shooting vids, by doing some awkward shots with my longbow, I had to switch to a glove instead of my tab and shoot split finger instead of my usual 3 under. First of all, wish I would have tried split finger with a glove a long time ago, really like the feel of it. But the biggest surprise was how much quieter my already quiet Great Northern 'lil creep shot with this style of shooting, I am sure some of it could be form, mine is not even close to perfect, but my groups got tighter, I mean a lot tighter....please share any experiences y'all may have along these lines...
Thanks
Mike
That's typical for 3 under to be louder than split .
Most Bows are tillered for split . If you shoot 3 under your bow should be tillered for that .
Some say adding an extra silencer the top limb will help slow it down slightly to match the bottom limbs speed better and quite the bow a bit more.
I also found that 3 under produced quite a bit more release noise from my tab than with split finger.
I do not usually wear my hearing aids when shooting, but I sense the same thing
On every bow I have ever tried it on, 3-under was louder than split.
Bisch
2 under and 2 finger split are quiet enough and taking that third finger out of the equation makes my worst shots better...watch some video of Mr. Hyek the defending Olympic Gold Medallist
DDave
I too have noticed that every bow I've ever owned (and shot both ways) is louder with 3-under...regardless of specific tiller. Maybe it's limb/tiller related and maybe it's something else. Though I haven't ever shot a bow through a chronograph I have noted repeatedly that my release is cleaner and arrows hit harder/penetrate deeper in my target. I also require a stiffer arrow for 3-under vs split. I shot split most of my life and changed to 3-under a number of years ago. The benefits far outweigh the only negative for me, which is noise. I counter that with good silencers.
Interesting. I think I will start training myself to shoot split finger.
No doubt three under is louder than split. I have tested various locations on my ILF bow and it does not appear to make a difference with respect to noise.
A Tradganger straightened me out with 3 under. I always shot split finger. I wanted to try 3 under but all bows sounded like I was dry firing them.
A Tradganger told me I was putting too much pressure on the string with my bottom finger. He did this and recommended I try it. To straighten out my 3 under he had me place a piece of tape around the first joint above my knuckle on my bottom finger. That forced me to not put much pressure on the string with that finger until I could do the same thing without the tape.
It worked great and quieted the bow down quite a bit.
Good luck
Gil
PS - I switched back to a wrist tab. Many people would not consider that traditional, but it works great for me.
Thanks for the response...good stuff!
I am really enjoying split finger, think I am going to try it for a while.
Gil, will give that a try if I try 3under again.
PS- If you shoot a bow with only one string I think it is traditional...
A high elbow ( draw hand ) will also cause more tension on that third finger and cause more noise. I recently switched to 3 under. And the longer I've been doing it the quieter my bow has gotten. I switched from a glove to a 3 under Cordovan tab which also helped. Split still feels more natural to me but Kevin Dill hit the nail on the head with where I'm at. I do require a stiffer arrow shooting 3 under. And as much as I love split my accuracy shooting 3 under is ridiculously better and it kinda makes me mad. I was on a Howard Hill / John Schulz. Kick back quiver and everything lol. But I cannot shoot as consistent split as I do 3 under.
Recent YouTube video came to interesting conclusion
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o39rcbkPixk
Awry,
Thanks for sharing. I had my wife listen to me shoot to see if she could hear a difference. She said she didn't really know if it was louder just had a little more of twang sound. And after watching your vid. I wonder if it's a certain tone that we are more sensitive to but not necessarily louder.
I've read plenty of theories that the increased sound level (3 under) is caused by uneven limb forces...limbs recoiling out of synchrony...weird string vibrations...other stuff. I can't prove a darned thing. One might reason a mechanical release would produce the most even string / limb pressures and therefore quietest (or quieter) shot. Having seen more than a few recurves shot with a release I noticed they were plenty loud too.
My own theory is that (split finger) the index finger pressure does something to the string (above the nock) upon release to somehow dampen or affect the vibration/harmonics. How much proof do I have?
0
Kevin I agree with the release aid being louder. When I shot compound I always shot fingers and my bow,was always quieter. Than anyone,shooting a release.
Try raising nock a little. Worked for a friend but there could have been other variables.
I agree with the video...the sound of the arrow in flight may have a lot to do with animals ducking the shot. I've seen foxes dive out of the way of my arrow just feet before it hit them. Their sudden reaction seemed to indicate that they heard the "wooosh" or hum of the feathers. :scared:
Not only have I noticed my bows are louder when I have tried 3-under, but on several, the vibration is enough that my brush buttons vibrate away from the limb tips.
Personally, I have never liked the feel of three under and recently shifted from 2nd finger in corner of mouth to a very high split-finger anchor with first finger right at the bottom edge of my eye socket, which gives me the same 25 yard on target arrow tip view as the fixed crawl.
QuoteOriginally posted by Bisch:
On every bow I have ever tried it on, 3-under was louder than split.
Bisch
Same here. Some MUCH more than others.
seemed the shorter the bow the louder 3 under got.
...kinda makes sense when you think about it.
I've gone from 2 split to 2 under and hate tbe noise but love the arrow a bit closer to my eye. Due to a shoulder injury it is hard for me to do split with a high anchor. Played with different tiller and lime others I didn't find any difference.
I experimented with 3 under and it felt awkward to me. That along with the much louder sound at the shot was the deal killer for me. I shoot split only. Every bow that I have tried was louder. That is only a few bows so it is not an exhaustive test on my part.
I tried three fingers under for a while on a few bows I own and it was noisier for me too.
I have noticed that kids and beginners I sometimes coach are immediately more accurate at close range using three under, but long term, I personally prefer split for reasons mentioned and other.
Double post... first time!
The critters I have pursued have never displayed that they discerned a difference, yet we are aware there is some distinction.
I shoot three under and can tell if I get a smooth release or not by the noise level. If I do my job right, my bow is quiet, If I pluck the string, it twangs quite loudly.
I switched to 3 under a few years ago. I wouldn't go back to split. I like the feel of my anchor now, I am noticeably more accurate, I haven't met a Bow I couldn't get quiet enough to hunt, and reading an animals body language is more important to me anyway.
You can also move your anchor to a higher check anchor and still keep split. The reason three under is more accurate is because people are using the arrow tip to aim - the more directly under the eye it is, and the closer the gap between arrow tip and target the more accurate most will be. I actually anchor using my top finger (split) into bottom of my eye orbit and it gives me about the same sight picture as using three under anchoring at ear or corner of mouth
I said bottom but meant inside edge of eye orbit
My 3-under anchor is the same as my split anchor was...index finger at corner of mouth. The only difference is the arrow nock is above my index finger instead of below it. The arrow is 3/4" nearer my eye but still 2-1/2 below it. I agree that having the arrow more closely aligned to the eye will tend to aid accuracy for many. But there's one more thing....
If I try to anchor with my hand higher on my face I find my anchor tends to move laterally due to the fact my face isn't square...it's tapered. (Consider the position of your cheekbone to the corner of your mouth.) I can correct for that movement by moving the anchor inward toward my eye, but (for me) 2 things happen: my release isn't as clean and comfortable and every so often I'll manage to abuse the side of my nose.
My most solid and reliable anchor is 3-under / index at corner of mouth / thumb under jaw. I use this anchor and otherwise shoot exactly the same way I do (did) split. Clean release and clean arrow flight.