Well I tried the three under tonight fof the 1st

[Jerry Wald]

Time.

Watched Rick Welch's video last night (vol 1).

WOW...a bit of getting used to and trying to find an anchor point and still working on that cause it all feels wierd.

I have been shooting split finger all my life and I think I have been torqueing the string and putting down pressure on the nock.

I was always worried I guess of dry firing the bow using 3 under.

I shot my ACS tonight and the shrew (still waiting for the test arrows to show up for her), but they came out of their way cleaner and I was hitting the spots on the broadhead target way better than normal    .

Hope it isn't beginners luck
  :rolleyes:  
Jer Bear

[bowhunterfrompast]

I switched to three under about twenty years ago. I shoot with a glove and anchor in the corner of my mouth with my index finger. I shoot instinctive..but I read somewhere that you could not shoot instinctively with three under. It has worked for me!..bhfp

[Jack Whitmire Jr]

I switched after watching Ricks videod 2 summers ago. I like it a lot better , with almost instant results. Stick with it you will like it.By the way I read you can't shoot instinctive also, but I do!
Jack

[NDTerminator]

I find it easier on my fingers and gives me a stronger & more sure draw.  The Three Under combined with shooting off an elevated rest gives me extremely fine arrow flight too...

[McDave]

I also recently switched to 3 under, since that's what Rick recommends.

It's not real clear on his videos how to use the anchor he recommends, but this may help:

Your thumb is naturally on top when you hold the string. You cock back your thumb a little more so the first knuckle (the one nearest the end of the thumb) is cocked up in the air a little bit. You draw and touch that first knuckle to the bottom of your ear-lobe. Then you rotate your head a little bit until your nose touches the back of the cock feather.  In order for this to happen, the cock feather has to be specially positioned so that when you rotate your head a little into the arrow, your nose is exactly behind and touching the cock feather.  This means the fletching has to be mounted about an inch further forward than usual, but you have to figure this out based on your own nose, etc.  For example, the fletching would have to be further forward for pinocchio than it would for tweety bird.  Since the cock feather is an integral part of your anchor, there isn't much leeway on rotating it up or down to get fletching clearance, but with a left-wing feather, it is possible to get fletching clearance and still have the back of the cock feather where you need it to be for the anchor.  It doesn't seem to be possible to do this with a right-wing feather.

You can sort of get the same effect by just rotating your nose to touch the side of the cock feather you already have on your arrow, but this doesn't assure that you will always be in the same front-to-back orientation with every shot.

I never had any idea that all this foolishness was necessary in order to shoot a bow and arrow, but the results are good enough that I've bought into it.

[Jerry Wald]

I got the first dvd hows the second one....I am really concentrating on the setup and the actual method more than the hunting. I found the first one didn't spend much time on the setup of the equipment and focussed more on hunting (which is ok), but I want more on the process

Jer Bear

[McDave]

The second one is better than the first one as far as technique is concerned.  There are a couple of things I would have missed from the videos that he emphasized in person.

The first is keeping your shoulders alligned perpendicular to the target.  He trains you to do this initially by standing with your bow held between your legs, rather than the usual position where the lower limb is held to the side of your leg.  When you reach over to grab the string with the bow held to the side of your legs, you move your shoulders to the left of the target, then you have to move them back into allignment when you draw.  When your bow is held between your legs, your shoulders are perfectly alligned with the target with your fingers on the string and an arrow nocked.  All you have to do is to maintain the allignment as you draw.

The second thing I would have missed is that it is really important to hold for a full second at full draw before you release.  Touching your nose to the cock feather, pausing briefly, and then releasing, doesn't cut it.  It has to be a full second.

If you do everything correctly, it practically eliminates side-to-side errors.  If you miss to the left, it's because you either moved your shoulders to the left or didn't keep a slight bend in your bow arm elbow.  If you miss to the right, it's because you plucked the string.  It's about as simple as that.

[dragon rider]

I have heard that to shoot three under you should have a bow that's tillered for that approach.  Does anyone know whether that's true and, if it is can whatever problme is generated by solved any other way?  I've also been told that it's a slightly noiser way to shoot than split finger.  Am I getting good advice, trad bow legends or is this one of those issues on which nobody knows for sure that there even is a right answer beyond "do what works for you?"

[JoeM]

Thanks David very good tips!  I'll play with some of these in the morning, while doing some bale work.

[McDave]

For most bows, you can tune for three fingers under by adjusting the nock point.  You can tell if you need to adjust the nock point by shooting a bare shaft and seeing how it flies compared with your fletched shafts.  I had to raise my nock point about 1/16" to get the same bare shaft flight using 3 under as I got with split fingers.

It may be a little noisier.

Rick recommends using 3 under because he feels that it is more forgiving if you have less than a perfect release.

[dragon rider]

Thanks. I'll try that and adjust as needed.

[Bear Heart]

I have found 5/8 to be the best for my 3 under shooting.  None of my bows are tillered for it though.  To achieve that full second I breath in on the draw.  Hold breath at full draw, settle in and release.  Air goes out on impact not release.

[Weedhopper]

I've tried the 3 finger under, but consistently hit alot lower than split. What am I doing wrong? Do I need to move the nock point?? Thanks!

[McDave]

You will inevitably hit lower with 3 under than split if you use the same anchor point, if you are shooting instinctively.  For example, if you anchor with your middle finger in the corner of your mouth, the nock end of your arrow will be about 1" higher with 3 under, while the point end will be the same, so of course the arrow will shoot lower.  Generally, if you are grouping well, it means you are shooting well, and you just have to bear with it for a while until your brain adjusts.  The arrows will move up the target without you having to do anything specific about it.  It helps to start close to the target where the difference isn't so great, and move back as your brain adjusts.

When you change your anchor, as most people do who try Rick's method, it doesn't seem to be as hard to adjust.  In his school, the first arrow I ever shot using 3 under was also the first arrow I ever shot using his recommended anchor.  Maybe the location of his recommended anchor counteracts to some degree the difference between 3 under and split.

Rick recommends adjusting the nock point, but there is very little adjustment you can do with the nock point without creating porpousing.  That is more of a fine tuning technique after everything else is working right - maybe to get two bows to hit in the same place.  He also recommends trying different shelf material.  Leather, velcro, and fleece on the shelf all have an effect on where the arrow hits.  But again, this is fine tuning - maybe moving the groups up or down an inch or so at 20 yards.

[Weedhopper]

Makes sense. Thanks!

[Ssamac]

I noticed on Masters of the Barebow that most of the shooters shot 3 under. So I tried and I did get as Jack stated, almost instant results. It takes some adjusting. I shot above the nock split finger but with 3 below I shot below the nock so had to raise it a bit. the nock sort of sat on top of my index finger. The only trouble at all that I had and some of you guys might have had was if I used a classic nock it was really hard to keep the arrow on the string. 2 solutions: thicker serving or snap on nocks. for some reason, the glove seems easier 3 under.  

sam