3 under anchor points

[TexasStick81]

With the off season arriving, I'm going to go back to the basics and I've decided to make the switch to three under.  I'm struggling to find a comfortable 2-3 anchor points.  I've read through some helpful threads on various aspects to making the switch but didn't see much on anchors.  I'd like to hear some suggestions.  Thanks.

[moebow]

Tex,

Use the same ones you use now.  I presume you are changing from split to 3 under so your anchor points should not change.  Everything stays the same except for arrow position related to the fingers.

Arne

[TexasStick81]

Thanks Arne.  After messing with it some tonight I think I am basically keeping the same.  I have modified it slightly as a result of just examining my anchors.

I was using a double anchor of my middle finger in the corner of my mouth and the base of my thumb at the point where the back of my jaw meets my ear.  The slight modification is that when I get my middle finger into my mouth I shift the focus to my index finger and place upward pressure into my cheek bone which gives me a solid bone anchor rather than moving soft tissue of my mouth.  

We'll see how it goes.

[TexasStick81]

Arne,

For split I have focused on having the vast majority of my pressure on my middle finger but my understanding about that was it was due to it being directly below the nock.  If that's true, should my focus be on my index finger now?

[moebow]

A GENERAL recommendation is for weight to be distributed like this:  40% index finger, 50% middle finger, and 10% on the ring finger.  There is LITTLE perceived weight difference on the index and middle finger but fairly equal on the index and middle finger.  So everyone will have a little different perception of where that string weight really is.

One of the advantages of 3 under is that it reduces "gaps" (raises the arrow in relation to the eye). An aiming accommodation.

One of the disadvantages of 3 under is that it does "de-tune" the bow a little by moving the pressure on the string from the fingers down some.  This is why you find the need for a higher nocking point and get a little more noise out of the bow when shot.

There are always compromises and trade offs.  You have to play with it to see what compromises YOU are willing to accept.

Arne

[McDave]

Some anchors seem to work better for 3 under than for split.  Examples are touching the cock feather to the end of (or under) the nose, and thumb knuckle to earlobe.

If you have only a limited range of distances you intend to shoot, for example, 15-30 yards, you should be able to pick an anchor that gives you a point on somewhere in that range.  If you intend to shoot a broader range of distances, for example, 15-60 yards, then it is convenient to have a close point on and a long point on.  For example, my regular anchor which I have used for years gives me a point on of about 45 yards.  I recently have started using a fixed crawl, which gives me a point on of about 25 yards.  Having this option has greatly increased my accuracy at close distances.

I suppose if you shoot instinctively, you probably don't care about this.  However, I wonder what instinctive shooters do when they're shooting at their point-on distances?  I would find it impossible to ignore the arrow point if it was right on the target, and if I couldn't ignore it, I might as well use it.  I suppose it's possible that true instinctive shooters do ignore their arrow points at their point on distances, but I don't know how they do it.