3 under vs split noise

[Pfranchise]

Last night a buddy and I were experimenting with shooting split finger, we both shoot 3 under normally. There was a considerable noise difference between the two styles, split being noticeably quieter for both of us. We are both shooting Belcher Union Jacks, mine is 55@28 and his is 71@28. Haven’t tested our recurves yet but I’m thinking the results will be similar. Can anyone shed some light on why split finger is quieter?

[Doeslayer_67]

Last night a buddy and I were experimenting with shooting split finger, we both shoot 3 under normally. There was a considerable noise difference between the two styles, split being noticeably quieter for both of us. We are both shooting Belcher Union Jacks, mine is 55@28 and his is 71@28. Haven’t tested our recurves yet but I’m thinking the results will be similar. Can anyone shed some light on why split finger is quieter?

I haven't found that to be true for me. I switched from split to 3 under about 18 months ago. After re tuning my bow set up, it seems as quiet if not more for me

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[wingnut]

The key is tuning.  If the bow is set up with a positive tiller for split you need to work the tune to get 3U to shoot as quiet.

Easier with an ILF bow.

Mike

[Tedd]

It seems like all the best shooters shoot 3 under. I watch them on video. Sometimes they are louder and sometimes not. Sometimes really loud.
 It is louder for me for me when I try 3 under. But I'm not very good at shooting that way either!
(I was watching an Africa hunting video yesterday on youtube. The guy shot an animal and I noticed the sound. It sounded like a 3 under shot. I backed up the video and yes he shot 3 under. He did hit and kill the animal perfectly. Just saying. It was noticeable and recognizable.
  I have never been around anyone using an ILF bow, maybe those are quieter?

[mec lineman]

I put off shooting 3 under for 13 years because it always seemed noisy to me. I have some bows that are quieter than others shooting 3 under. I dont even notice the difference now. I committed to 3 under this spring, i can not say that i am a better shot now, but i can tell you that for some reason i don't hit my arm with the string as much. i was telling someone this and i don't think they could understand why.  It just works for me is all I know.

[McDave]

I like shooting 3 under and seem to be more accurate with it, but I’ll have to admit it is mostly noisier.  I’m a tuning freak, and every bow I shoot has been bare shaft tuned until the arrows go where I’m looking and fly straight.  Most of my bows have been specifically tillered for 3 under.  Most of the time I’m shooting recurves, but occasionally I’ll switch to longbows with wood arrows, either just because I feel like switching, or because a longbow tournament is coming up that I want to shoot in.  I hadn’t shot a longbow in a long time, and got the yen to shoot my Toelke Lynx with wood arrows.  It was so quiet that I thought I’d forgotten to put in my hearing aids!  Of course, I was shooting it 3 under, same as always.  I guess it’s a combination of a longbow, that particular longbow, and wood arrows (10 gpp) being heavier than the carbon arrows I normally shoot in recurves.  Doesn’t make me want to stop shooting my recurves with 8 gpp arrows, but I do have to accept that they are going to be noisier.

[bucknut]

I switched a couple years ago to 3 under, if my bows got louder it was very little. On the deer I shot this year I had a doe at 5 yards that had no idea a shot had ever happened. 3 under works really well in the Eastern Whitetail woods. Out to 25 yards I'm pretty deadly on game with no reference of aim "Instinctive". I'm in the middle of switching back to split now for an elk trip this year to extend my range a bit. When shooting 3 under I shot with fingers directly under the arrow not walking or crawl. When I did the sound went up big time.  If I shot ILF or bows specifically tillered for crawl type shooting I'm sure that sound would have been a non issue.

[DocWolf]

I switched to three under this past summer. I noticed the difference as well. About two months ago I had my daughter to stand in front of the bow and off to the side (safely of course). I had her to use the voice memo app on my phone to record the sounds. I shot three shots split and three shot with 3 under. We did this experiment three separate times. Each time the result was the same. 3 under was quieter out front of the bow. Lastly, I had her stand behind me a record. 3 under was louder than split from behind the bow
As a hunter the noised bothered me. But I could not ignore the improved accuracy.  But from past experience I know that sound and direction mesh differently, like a siren is loud coming at you, but nowhere near as loud going away.

[Pfranchise]

The Union Jack is tillered even.

[Krex1010]

I noticed this too when I switched to 3 under...I increased my brace height a bit and that got my bows just about as quiet as when I shot split.

[awry]

YouTube video with decibel meter on the difference

[Alexander Traditional]

Good little test,and video.

It seems like you would get a better comparison if you used the same bow throughout the test.

[McDave]

I enjoyed the video; well done!

Two points: he mentioned that he normally didn't shoot split, and in fact missed the target a couple of times when he shot split.  Release has a great deal to do with noise, and I wonder if he had a better release shooting 3 under.  If so then 3 under could be noisier than split fingers if both were shot with an equally good release.

Second, he mentioned the sound of the arrow going through the air.  The sound of the arrow being shot travels downrange at the speed of sound.  Therefore, it will reach the target sooner than the sound of the arrow going through the air, because that sound is made by the arrow going through the air at less than the speed of sound, so it will always get to the target after the sound of the shot.

As an edit, when I was in Vietnam, we always heard the sound of the bullet before we heard the sound of the shot, kind of a whishBANG sound, but that was because the bullet was traveling faster than the speed of sound.

[JDunlap]

I switched a few years ago from split to 3 under. When I did my bows were definitely louder and out of tune. I tried an elevated rest - bear weather - and it fixed the noise problem because it raised the point where my fingers were on the string, thus compensating for the tiller issue. However, I did have to go to lighter spine shafts.

[bear mike]

3 under is noisier for me I switched to split like 4 years ago and I will not switch back to 3 under that's just me tho. The video was cool makes since I guess thought it was louder guess not just different

[BigJim]

You can't just move your fingers around and expect things to work the same. You have to tune the bow to they style.. this is mostly about nock height and if you go to 3 under, you will find having nock points above and below the arrow to be very important... unless your arrow nocks grip the string so tightly that they won't allow it to slide up and down the string.

Tillering for 3 under or split is also a gimmick. I'm not saying there is absolutely no benefit in it, but no need. As long as you properly tune for nock height, this will negate the tillering issues.

I can't tell you exactly why 3 under is noisier than split for certain people except that the tune may be off.

I will tell you for me, it is all in the release. When I use at least a modicum of back pressure, my shots are quiet as a mouse fart. If I pluck, they are noisy and it is obvious to me what I have done.
Other than improved arrow flight, I realized very little differences between 3 under and split. I know some will see better accuracy as it puts the arrow closer to the eye.

I have never had as good and consistent arrow flight as I do with 3 under. If you have finger pinch issues, this will also help.
If your bow is noisier 3 under, start by moving your nock points up higher than you could imagine (must use above and below nocks) and work your way down. You are essentially changing your tiller this way.
If you still can't quiet it up, you may need professional help!
BigJim