Slick stick 3 under

[Jacobarmstrong54321]

Hey everyone! I am somewhat new. Been shooting for under a year. Bought a slick stick a month ago and im wondering what yall slick stick shooters use. 3 under or split?. This isnt a debate on which one is better but what you have found works well with the slick stick. I havent been able to find a tiller measurement and I am having issues with pinching the nock with split finger and thinking bout trying 3 under but will have to retune. Let me know your experiences

[Sojurn]

There's no wrong answer here.  Let's start with that.  Anything you can do repeatedly will build consistency,  and that equals accuracy. 
  That being said,  I generally recommend 3 under.  It brings the arrow closer to your eye,  and makes aiming (even if you shoot instinctive) easier. 
  Focus on form,  take lots of video,  and ask many questions.  Welcome to the addiction. 

[McDave]

Could you tell us a little bit more about your bow?  I think the slick stick is made both as a longbow and also a recurve; which do you have?  What is the weight and length of the bow?  Also, what is your draw length?

[Jacobarmstrong54321]

Its a 58in longbow. Drawing 46ish at 28.5in but its a 45#bow.
Consistency is what im going for and it just seems real difficult with shooting split for me personally.

[McDave]

From what I can find on the internet, your brace height should be in the range of 7 - 7 1/2”.  Probably 7 1/4” would be a good place to start.

I don't see many people shooting short longbows 3 under.  This doesn't mean you shouldn't try it, but, as you say, you'll have to re-tune for it by raising the nock point 1/8 - 1/2” over what it should be for split.

Edit: sorry, I meant raise the nock point, not the brace height for 3 under.

[McDave]

As far as tiller is concerned, there isn't much you can do about it, other than measure it as a point of interest.  To measure it, find the distance from the point on the riser where the laminations of the riser end to the string.  We call this the fades, because it is where the riser laminations gradually fade out into nothing leaving only the limb laminations.  A typical measurement would be about 3/16” positive, meaning that the top distance is 3/16” more than the bottom distance.  Sometimes people who prefer 3 under would prefer that the top and bottom measurements be equal, which would be zero tiller.  But I don't think this really matters at this point.  If you want to try 3 under, just try it and see if you like it.

[Jacobarmstrong54321]

Is that because on smaller bows its a steeper angle on the string?

[McDave]

Is that because on smaller bows its a steeper angle on the string?

I believe that's correct. The sharper angle on the string makes the bow more sensitive to finger placement on the string.  A half inch movement of the fingers on the string will cause a greater change in relative force on the limb tips of a short bow than on a longer bow.  That said, the feel of a bow is a very subjective thing.  I have a 58” recurve that I shoot 3 under with no problem.  However, I can feel the bow begin to stack at the end of my 28” draw, so if I had a 28.5” draw it might not work as well.  Or if I had a 58” longbow it might not work as well, because the string angle on a 58” longbow is more acute at full draw than it is on a 58” recurve.  I would just have to try it and see how it felt.

[Jacobarmstrong54321]

I tried it and it felt great and i would say beter on my fingers but it seems to have a dinstint twang to it. Normal or just out of tune?

[McDave]

I shoot every bow I have 3 under, and all of them have nock points between 5/8” and 7/8”, based on bare shaft tuning to get the bare shaft to fly slightly (2* or so) nock high.  If you don't bare shaft tune, I would set the nock point at 3/4”, which might be more nock high than is optimal, but as long as it is true nock high and not shelf bounce, it doesn't matter that much.  I believe the reason for the high nock points is to get your string fingers more in the same position on the string as they would be if you were shooting split fingers.  But the “why” of it doesn't really matter; all that matters is getting good arrow flight.  Arrow flight changes with the relative weight of fingers on the string, so figure out what works best for you and be consistent.  Recommended weight distribution is having most of the weight on the middle finger, next most on the index finger, and very little weight on the ring finger.  Some people leave the ring finger off the string entirely and shoot two under.  A variation of this would be to leave the index finger off the string and shoot with the middle and ring fingers.

As to the noise, if the bow was tillered for split, it is going to be difficult to get the limbs to return at exactly the same time when you shoot 3 under.  However, the noise can be minimized by all the usual methods: good tuning, string silencers, avoiding ultra-lightweight arrows (less than 9 gpp) etc.  Good form and having a good release goes a long way to reducing noise also.

[Sojurn]

Great advice as usual Dave

[Undomesticated]

I do have a light slick stick that I bought for form work/rabbit hunting. 35 pounds. Fun little bow to shoot.

I shoot 3-under and find that the slick stick shoots very well for me. I don't even need to set the knock-point excessively high, despite it being a positive tiller. I'm at a hair under 1/2".

[Rob DiStefano]

The pressure on the fingers used for a split finger release is important.  The middle finger carries the larger percent of the string load, followed by the ring finger, the index finger carries the least load if no load at all.  More than a few top Olympic recurve archers employ a split finger release that's really 2 fingers under and their index finger points forward and no string contact.  No reason a trad bowhunter can't do that as well.

With 3FU it's all about the index and middle finger carrying the lion's share of the load, with little to no pressure on the ring finger.

How the bow's riser is cut, the type of arrow rest and plate, the string nock point(s), and how it's all set up for shooting is Very Important, along with an arrow that matches that bow and that 3FU finger grip.  As to the need for a special 3FU limb tillering, many folks who are excellent archers don't find that a requirement.