I was at a 3-D shoot a couple of weeks ago and one of the fellows in or group was shooting three fingers under the string and was shooting very well.I shoot with old two fingers under an one above,as does most of the shooters I know .But I was just curious how many of you guys shoot 3 under compared to mediterranean stye and in your opinion what are the pros and cons of each.Looking forward to your thoughts,Dell.
3 Under! :thumbsup:
split finger, three under seems more like aiming to me- depends on the person though.
3 under, it just feels more natural to me
Never shot anything else than mediterranean style. I can't imagine not having the arrow locked in control between 2 fingers.
Split finger since 1956 and ain't about to change anytime soon.
3 under; I shoot more accurately that way. The only "con" I've noticed is that some bows are a little noiser if you're not careful to set a deep hook on your third finger. 2 nock points on the string solves any problem of arrow control.
Split finger, 3 under just didn't feel right.
Dave
Hi Dell-
I switched to three under a long time ago. Made me more accurate and no finger pinch against nocks. I think it has something to do with bringing the haft closer to your eye. The pinch was the biggee for me. Hope that helps.
Hey Dell,
I just started shooting 3 under and was determined to try it long enough to make a proper evaluation. What i found was for me it is easier to keep my bow on target on the draw. It somehow just balances better - with both my bows. So far at least, it also seems easier to minimize left/right errors, probably because the arrow is more in my sight line. As far as up/down, it doesn't make much difference at longer ranges, but I find I'm more accurate at less than 15 yds. I still have a lot to learn, but so far I like it and don't think I'll switch back any time soon. Good shootin' with you!!
Harry
QuoteOriginally posted by maxwell:
split finger, three under seems more like aiming to me- depends on the person though.
3 Under forever for me. What's wrong with aiming? There's no external devices involved, still just a stick and a string. And if ya shoot better by "aiming", then aim. Whether you realize it or not, if you shoot "instinctive" you are still aiming because your eyes can't help but see your arrow at full draw and make you allow for the proper position of your bow arm to move into position for the shot. That is, unless you shoot in total darkness!
Split finger here also. Tried 3 under for 3 arrows and did not like it. I have always used
split finger, so that's what I am used too. Beside's, I dont think I could get 70 meters with the fita rig with that high of an anchor.
A shooter who doesn't experiment is doing himself a big disservice.
Archery, like almost everything else in life, is not "one size fits all."
That which doesn't work can be discarded. That which works is kept as the archer focuses on another aspect of his shooting.
Things to experiment with:
- types of tabs
- anchor points
- split vs. 3-under vs. 2-under
- different bows
- different arrows
- a 1-second hold vs. 2 seconds vs. 3 seconds or
more
- etc.
Mark
I have used split tab [cordovan] for many years. I recently tried it w 3 fingers under and was impressed enough that next year I may practice with it. Its too late for this season to change what has worked though.
Never thought i would but ...3 under (Welch style) It has helped me greatly.
You won't know unless you give it an honest try. I'm not talking a day nor two but several weeks or more. I found 3 under a little unnatural at first, but having shot this way all summer I won't ever go back to split. My shooting has greatly improved. Some guys swear by it and some despise it, the aiming thing I believe. I haven't changed how I aim whatsoever. I look at what I want to hit and shoot. Granted the arrow is closer to the eye, that doesn't mean your using it to align the shot. It just means there's less adjusting for your noggin to deal with. Your bow hand is your front sight, and your eye is your rear sight. I believe the closer the arrow is to that plane the less room for error. Give it a fair shake, you may like, you may not. The object is to get the arrow where you want it, be it a ten ring or behind the front shoulder of a whitetail.
I shot the Fita 3D world champs last month and they allow 3 under in Longbow but only around half the shooters were using 3 under and the top four shooters were all Split-finger shooters.
I use split for Longbow and 3 under with Recurve they both work, just do what's the most comfortable for you.
Maxfit, I agree completly split finger for 35 years and now three fingers under and like it better.
I've been using three under with the arrow sandwiched between an upper and lower string nock...no pinch on the nock and a quiet draw...and I like the sight picture much better than split finger...top nock is brass and bottom is served on...works for me.
Never tried three under. I would be too worried that the arrow would slip off the string. I like the reassurance that split gives me as i literally have a hold on the back of the arrow. The last thing i feel my shooting needs is me worrying every time i draw as to whether the arrow has stayed nocked properly with three under.
Maybe some may find that silly, but to me it's very important.
How 'bout a compromise between "split finger" and "3 under"? Give "TWO under" a try. You might like it.
Mark
Is the split finger style considered to be more traditional than 3 under? I'm new to traditional archery and I thought that 3 under looked awkward at first until I tried it. I keep going back to split finger once in a while to see if I'm sure about 3 under. I shoot better 3 under. I noticed that most of the "stars" of the longbow shooters are split finger.
After ~25 years spit finger I switched to 3 under a couple years ago...I prefer 3 under. No pinch, and I believe my release is cleaner now with a reduced ability to impart any influence on the arrow nock.
3 under for me from the beginning
I have shot split finger for 25 years and every once in a while have tried 3 under to see if it would work for me. It always felt strange to me since it wasn't what I was used to. Just recently I have been playing around with 3 under again and have shot enough arrows that now it feels more natural. I have found that I can keep the same anchor point that I have always used so it feels now roughly the same but the benefits for me have been a much cleaner release (I think I must have been pinching the nock on release before), and the arrow point is much closer to my eye allowing me to line up the arrow so much easier. I'm also playing with gap shooting now which seems to be much more accurate for me. For me, to notice the benefits, I had to allow myself to shoot 3 under enough to get over the funny feel, but now, I think it might just be the cat's meow.
I have been shooting for awhile now,and it has always been split for the most part.I have had a bow or two that for some reason just would shoot better with three under.Just recently I have decided
to make a solid effort to shoot three under all the
time.It is coming along real well.I am much more
consistent.
Craig
Oldway,
I had been shooting my 60# Hunter recurve three under, and was getting decent arrow flight, but I still got frequent flyers. I could feel it whenever it happened- it was my ring finger failing to go along with the plan. I have started experimemting with only two fingers (under.) Surprizingly, two fingers are plenty strong for the job, and it's very consistant, but I found I had to make some firm rubber pads to put into the finferstalls of my glove because the string pressure was too great. This appears to work well, but now my fingerstalls are a bit crowded. I'm going to buy a new, larger glove and put the pads into it. I have seen a few two finger shooters, but I'm the only one I know of to shoot two under, none over. After I have either shot a full season like this, or abandoned it I will report my results.
John,
Be careful with that two finger deal.I have heard of folks causing damage to themselves using
just two.
Craig
Monkeyball,
I hear ya barking, Dawg. I believe there's achance for nerve damage to the middle finger, that's why I made the pads. Spreads the pressure over a much greater area, works like a charm. Haven't arrived at my decision yet, still in the experimental stage, but looks very promising.
Thanks
QuoteYes Madam, [I'm drunk], and you are ugly, but I will be sober in the morning. Quote
--Sir Winston Churchill
with 3 under do you use the tip of the arrow to aim with//at what range does it work
I've been shooting split finger for about 40 years now. I tried 3 under more than a few times and just could not get used to it. I guess I've been shooting split finger too long to change.
Hello all,
I just posted a response to another post about 3 finger under or Apache Style. Any of y'all ever seen the movie "The Oddysey" with Armon Asanti or whatever his name is? In that movie he shoots Apache Style. In the movie he has this beautiful recurve made of what appears to be horns (in the Illiad and Oddysey by Homer it says it was made of horns of some animal, I forget just now what).
Anyway, at the end of the movie when it is time for a reckoning against the people who had taken over his home and terrorized his wife and son, he shot them all with that bow, and I noticed he was shooting "Apache" Style! That surprised me. I figure you have to be an experienced archer to even know what that is, much less shoot it.
After I asked around and investigated Armond is indeed an avid archer and has bows, and in fact kept the bow he used in the movie. Or so I was told. But I reckon that is his preferred style, the three under or Apache Style.
Just figured y'all'd find that interesting. But you ought to watch that movie if for no other reason but just to watch that awesome scene where he shoots all those bad guys with that bow at the end. And uses Apache Style to boot!
Later,
Freebooter
Was hoping someone had seen that scene!
FB
I have always shot 3 under.split finger don't work for me I shoot mostly 52" mags and string pinch is bad for me shooting split finger.
QuoteOriginally posted by ishoot4thrills:
QuoteOriginally posted by maxwell:
split finger, three under seems more like aiming to me- depends on the person though.
3 Under forever for me. What's wrong with aiming? There's no external devices involved, still just a stick and a string. And if ya shoot better by "aiming", then aim. Whether you realize it or not, if you shoot "instinctive" you are still aiming because your eyes can't help but see your arrow at full draw and make you allow for the proper position of your bow arm to move into position for the shot. That is, unless you shoot in total darkness! [/b]
Or if you put the arrow on the other side of the bow where you cant see it!!!! This is the way the ancients did it. Make no mistake, they knew what they were doing. And conquered the world doing it that way.
Aiming BAD.......instinct GOOD!!!!
split... 1 above 2 under, that's how i was taught
QuoteOriginally posted by Joseph Garvon:
QuoteOriginally posted by ishoot4thrills:
QuoteOriginally posted by maxwell:
split finger, three under seems more like aiming to me- depends on the person though.
3 Under forever for me. What's wrong with aiming? There's no external devices involved, still just a stick and a string. And if ya shoot better by "aiming", then aim. Whether you realize it or not, if you shoot "instinctive" you are still aiming because your eyes can't help but see your arrow at full draw and make you allow for the proper position of your bow arm to move into position for the shot. That is, unless you shoot in total darkness! [/b]
Or if you put the arrow on the other side of the bow where you cant see it!!!! This is the way the ancients did it. Make no mistake, they knew what they were doing. And conquered the world doing it that way.
Aiming BAD.......instinct GOOD!!!! [/b]
You can still aim while using thumb release. Not that I recommend it, but with a bit of practice, you can aim just as well as with a normal draw.
"Is the split finger style considered to be more traditional than 3 under?"
It is considered more traditional, but only by those who can define what is traditional for you, me, them and everyone else--with exactness. Since I don't have any idea what traditional is, I don't worry about it. :^)
I've shot 3-under for about 40 years.
I wouldn't consider split-finger to be more traditional than 3-under. Anyone who does is undoubtedly "splitting hairs". It would be like saying glass laminated bows aren't as trad as all wood laminated bows.
Played around a bit with 3 under. Noticed right off that I seem to be more accurate at closer in distances (inside of 10 yds) but about the same at distance. Does make a lot more noise.
Shot split for 25 years, then tried 3 under and found my groups tightened up. Good enough for me to switch full time.
Old dogs can learn new tricks.
3 Under is better for close shooting, 35 yards and under. It lowers the impact of the arrow, and gets the shaft closer to the eye. Aiming is not a bad word...missing because of some non valid belief that doesn't even exist to appear to be trad is the real problem. Only the archer has to live with their results.
Hmmm, this thread is six years old. Looks like the dead horse is rising out of the pumpkin patch again, lol.
Three under is better...aiming is not bad...otherwise you'll miss...to be trad is the real problem, yada yada ding dong.
I respectfully disagree. There is no universally better or even zipcode-based better. There's just what works for you and what doesn't.
But If I were you I'd shoot split...it's much more effective. :laughing:
Hmmmm! I was surprised to learn that those of us who shoot 3 under weren't aiming. Now I'm really confused. Always thought that's what one did when shooting a weapon, be it gun, bow, spear, whatever. Could anyone help out here? Please!
These days any question/topic containing the word 'traditional' is probably going to end badly, or at least it'll rile up the masses. Asking whether something is 'more traditional' than something else is an open propane tank waiting for a lit match. Best not go there. At least not unless rational common-sense discussion can be guaranteed, which of course it can't.
It's much better to ask questions like 'Is it considered cheating to gap aim? or "Is it ok to hunt deer with a 14 pound bow? ". Those always make for quiet good-natured conversation. :biglaugh:
3 under was never comfortable enough to stay with long enough to get used to it. A lot of people like it, so, at least for them, it is a good method. Others prefer split finger, so it is obviously a very good method also. So, like many things in archery, it is a simple question of preference.
split finger for me using a glove,, tried 3 under and couldn't hit anything but curious if any selfbow shooters tiller their bows for 3 under?
I came over from the Primitive side of Trad and maybe that's why it really stuck with me.
traditional is any way you want to hold the string a lot of people shoot with two fingers.
I have tried both and prefer split finger over three under simply because spilt finger is more comfortable as I grew up doing it. Three under is slightly more accurate at short distances but past fifteen yards I can't tell a difference as far as accuracy is concerned.