Preferred shooting style for hunting?

[NBK]

Not sure if this question makes sense, but here goes...
I currently shoot 3under and prefer to shoot 3 under as I feel I'm more accurate, especially at distances over 15 yards.  However, I started shooting split and shot that way for 6 years, so I can switch back and forth and have good accuracy at 15 yards and less.  I love the arrow control and ability to cant the bow easier shooting split.  Do you feel that one style is superior for hunting situations?  i.e. when you have to kneel, cant, make a quick shot, moving targets or to summarize as Terry would say "manufacture a shot"?  I realize that everyone is different and has their own style, but I'd like to hear your opinions and why.  Thanks.

[Brently]

I only shoot 3 under so for me to try shooting another way under pressure or for a fast shot would just not work very well.  I find have complete arrow control with 3 under because when I nock the arrow I just push the nock up against the nocking point on the string and that locks the arrow in place.

[reddogge]

May never come up in your lifetime but you can't shoot a reverse cant 3 under. Otherwise it makes no difference how you place you fingers on the string.

[Don Stokes]

Split definitely gives you more control, which can make the difference between venison and dirt soup.

[Javi]

Split for me.. but I shoot instinctive not off the point... which is where 3 under shines..

[Stumpkiller]

Originally posted by reddogge:
May never come up in your lifetime but you can't shoot a reverse cant 3 under. Otherwise it makes no difference how you place you fingers on the string.

I'm not sure I could split fingered.  Guess I have to try that.

I do remember the first deer I attempted with my then new doodad ranger-finder sighted compound in 1980: I realized just as the arrow was clearing the next hill over I had canted the bow and split fingered the shot out of habit and under pressure.  I never did connect with that stupid compound for various reasons.

Moral: stick to one plan.

[Flingblade]

I shot split for 13 years and last year switched to 3 under.  I shoot much better 3 under.  Last fall I was deer hunting on stand and also had a turkey tag.  A big tom that I hadn't seen on the ground about 40 yards away flew up straight toward me.  I grabbed the string split and realized it before I shot.  The tom flew within feet of me and lit in the tree I was in right above me.  I didn't get that shot off but if I had still been shooting split I would have.  I agree with Stumpkiller.  Stick with one until it is ingrained.  I hadn't been shooting 3 under long enough to have it ingrained, but what a story that would have been if I had been able to shoot that tom in flight.

[Stumpkiller]

I used to shoot in an indoor league and if we were waiting for start time or finished early we'd play "follow the leader" with oddball shots.  Things like point your feet away from the target and shoot, shoot with the bow level, shoot cross-legged sitting on the floor.  One of my favorites was shoot with the arrow passing under a wood chair.  You could lay on your back, squat down, whatever as long as the arrow passed underneath the seat.  

That really showed who was overbowed and was good practice for odd shots that come up in hunting.

[Javi]

Originally posted by Stumpkiller:
I used to shoot in an indoor league and if we were waiting for start time or finished early we'd play "follow the leader" with oddball shots.  Things like point your feet away from the target and shoot, shoot with the bow level, shoot cross-legged sitting on the floor.  One of my favorites was shoot with the arrow passing under a wood chair.  You could lay on your back, squat down, whatever as long as the arrow passed underneath the seat.  

That really showed who was overbowed and was good practice for odd shots that come up in hunting.

We do one with the shooter on their knees with their rear on their heels, facing away from the target shooting at a target behind them..

Haven't tried under the chair yet... but will soon.

[hvyhitter]

I've been shooting 3 under about 16 yrs but to switch I would have to reset my nock point on the string/retune the bow to get good broadhead flight........YMMV

i shot three under many years ago trying to get away from finger pinch.  I went back to split because i was not smooth enough to shoot pheasants and rabbits behind our basset hound. Some need that gun barrel sight picture closer to their eye and some are very smooth with three under, but most of the time three under shooters tend to need to be more deliberate and static with their shooting to get it to work for them.  Even being limited to a slower and static shooting situation it is better to be able to make that shot than having inconsistencies if split does not work for you.

[reddogge]

Stumpkiller, I cup my wrist while taking my deep hook and when you draw your wrist straightens out rotating the string to the right keeping the arrow on the string. Terry Green does it but the difference between Terry and me is he hits what he's aiming at. We were working on it last Sunday at a 3-D shoot.

[Stumpkiller]

I usually use a finger spacer tab, though it would probably still work.  I'll give it a try.

I have also known guys who "taylor" a draw for distance and game.  Say, for a squirrel they line-up and release before reaching anchor but while pulling back in that same line.  Supposedly to save the arrow from whonking the tree or ground at full force.  Not me.  My draw is what it is.  Though I have found myself coming up short when cold and tired.  I recently dropped bow weight and may get back (or not, I'm still at 56# and it seems OK).

Seems I also recall Fred Bear hitting a sheep or mulie by making a "blooper" short-draw shot over a big rock.  I guess a bow virtuoso can do such things, but a duffer like me should probably just stick to one note.