Split, 3-under, fact or opinion

[JohnnyBa]

I guess archery, sort of like golf, is a very unique sport/activity. One persons sweet spot is another’s forbidden fruit. I first picked up a bow and as a kid, but it never stuck and later in life, after retiring from USAF, I picked up a Samick Sage. I shot the bow pretty well, but again, it just did not “stick”. I can’t even remember the bows # or how I shot, 3 under or split, I think split due to at the time I don’t think I had ever heard of 3 under. I knew squat, put the nock on the string at 0, bought arrows and shot. I don’t remember how they even flew. Well, as time progressed, 20 years later and in 2022, I again picked up a bow after playing with making a self bow. I got the cheap Black Hunter Long bow that was all the rage on YouTube for best budget bow. I immediately fell in love and when I first shot it, I shot split. For some reason that just is not comfortable on the inside of my top draw finger. Gloves were ok but tabs were out. This is when I saw a vid on 3 under, high, under the eye anchor and that’s been what I do since. Today, I tried split again and the discomfort is there but darn, the bow was quiet. I just could not get used to aiming, I shoot instinctive and I was always high left. Did not want to spend too much time there as my current style just can’t afford to be side tracked. But what is up with the quietness of the split release? I just can’t make it quiet 3 under, not like split.

[LookMomNoSights]

The noise you hear when shooting 3 under are the whisperings of the archery spirits long past,  telling you that your hand is in the wrong place.

In all seriousness,  I wonder about this too and will be watching to see what people say.  Maybe has to do with the nock end of the arrow only supported on the underside of the nock during the draw and release cycle?  Nock point height a factor too?  Interested to see what people say .........  but I have also noticed this to be absolutely true from my personal experience.  I shoot a tab,  split.

[BAK]

Well, shooting instinctive never required that I site down the arrow shaft.  I don't like how it feels, and I don't like the noise it makes.  I seem to hit plenty close enough to the bullseye shooting split so for all of that, that is where I'll stay.  You do what makes you happy.   

[Terry Green]

The noise is from the bow not being tillered for 3 under.

I shoot split so I have control over arrow when I have to reverse cant.

[lopey15]

The noise is from the bow not being tillered for 3 under.

I shoot split so I have control over arrow when I have to reverse cant.

I believe Terry is right…I have a Toelke Whistler that is tillered for split but I shoot 3 under. It’s quiet but not as quiet as my Toelke Whip that is tillered for 3 under. I will say that my heavier wood arrows really make a big difference as far as sound is concerned. It’s an actual whisper when I shoot them out of either bow! 

[black velvet]

Try raising the nocking point.

[Pat B]

30+ years ago I learned to shoot split fingers, to nock over the nocking point and draw so my middle finger touches the corner of my mouth then release. So far it has worked very well for me so why change. 

[JohnnyBa]

30+ years ago I learned to shoot split fingers, to nock over the nocking point and draw so my middle finger touches the corner of my mouth then release. So far it has worked very well for me so why change. 

Sorry, this topic was not meant to convince anyone to change shooting styles, just had new archer questions. Glad your shooting style has worked for you, ask me in 29 years how mine has…..

[JohnnyBa]

Thanks all for the great info. I guess I was “underestimating” nock heights for the two styles, a lot closer than I thought. I played and have it set at right ‘tween 1/2 and 5/8’s and my groups immediately became more consistent! 

[M60gunner]

Raising the nock point should’ve made the bow less noisy as well. I just can’t get into 3 under, tried it some years back and it seemed to go well until I tried shooting from an elevated stand. I shot over all the time. I went back to split.

[Pine]

[Terry Green]

 

[GCook]

I've shot both.  Split is less loud.  The tiller of the bow does matter noise wise although as said raising the nock point allows one tillered more for split to be shot three under just as well.  Just a little different sound.
A bow tillered for three under allows me to have a lower nock point, similar to what my split bows were when I shot split, so I've had them adjusted.

[katman]

This may help
https://www.fenderarchery.com/blogs/archery-info/basic-tuning

[SeaBear]

Moving over from the compound world and a career in shooting firearms I was convinced I would be a 3 under gap shooter. I tried both gap and instinctive. When I got to trying 3 under and gap I hit low, adjusted, then skimmed over the target and killed a spray paint can I use to paint target faces  I tried it again later and skimmed over the target and killed a 2x4 in my shed. After that I found myself shooting split finger and relatively vertical with little to no cant. when i do try to cant to bow I start flinging arrows. I was shooting really well but couldn't figure out why I was more inconsistent at certain ranges until I tried closing my non-dominant eye. I realized my anchor was too low and at some ranges my dominant eye was staring at limb. I raised my anchor point and bought/trimmed a tab. It was like magic and I've been shooting really well/consistent since. I did get really bad pain on the inside of my pointer finger when drawing and found out that my wrist was not matching the angle of my bow. I spent a day relaxing my forearm and matching the angle/cant of my bow with my hand and wrist and no longer get a sore index finger which was from being wedged. I love shooting a glove and a tab but find myself primarily using a tab because my glove started to stink after sweating in it.

[JohnnyBa]

Moving over from the compound world and a career in shooting firearms I was convinced I would be a 3 under gap shooter. I tried both gap and instinctive. When I got to trying 3 under and gap I hit low, adjusted, then skimmed over the target and killed a spray paint can I use to paint target faces  I tried it again later and skimmed over the target and killed a 2x4 in my shed. After that I found myself shooting split finger and relatively vertical with little to no cant. when i do try to cant to bow I start flinging arrows. I was shooting really well but couldn't figure out why I was more inconsistent at certain ranges until I tried closing my non-dominant eye. I realized my anchor was too low and at some ranges my dominant eye was staring at limb. I raised my anchor point and bought/trimmed a tab. It was like magic and I've been shooting really well/consistent since. I did get really bad pain on the inside of my pointer finger when drawing and found out that my wrist was not matching the angle of my bow. I spent a day relaxing my forearm and matching the angle/cant of my bow with my hand and wrist and no longer get a sore index finger which was from being wedged. I love shooting a glove and a tab but find myself primarily using a tab because my glove started to stink after sweating in it.

Thanks SeaBear, I am plagued by the same issues you seem to have fought through and I appreciate the feedback. I will work on hand, wrist, forearm alignment as my pointer finger suffers a bit too. I also seem to shoot more consistent when bow has zero cant. Not sure what the “real deal” is with canting but I do know it changes aim point and angle to target immediately showing inconsistencies. I guess some can’t get used to it, but right now, all the math my brain can do is get on target with bow straight up and down.

[two4hooking]

Split is quieter for me for sure, also the benefit is the ability to reverse the cant and take game shots that would otherwise be unavailable to me especially with a long longbow like I prefer.  Reverse can't with a 3 under and the arrow falls away from the rest unless your nock is way too tight.

[JohnnyBa]

Split is quieter for me for sure, also the benefit is the ability to reverse the cant and take game shots that would otherwise be unavailable to me especially with a long longbow like I prefer.  Reverse can't with a 3 under and the arrow falls away from the rest unless your nock is way too tight.

Yep, that is a witnessed fact that Terry G. Showed me when he came to rescue my deplorable backyard, unsupervised shooting. One of the reasons I am trying my darndest to re-convert to split. I can still see where 3 under is beneficial to some tactics.

[smokin joe]

I switched to 3 under about 15 tears ago. I liked it, so I stayed with it. I think going back to split, if I wanted to,  would be fairly easy.

Some thoughts:
-- 3-under can be very quiet, but you have to tune your set up for 3-under. The tune --brace height and nock height--  will not be the same as it would be for split.
-- Your ring finger will be farther from the arrow with 3 under. If you have a tendency to drag that ring finger it might make your bow louder. The solution to that is to take the ring finger off of the string completely and shoot two under with just your pointer and second fingers.
-- The point of split vs 3-under is to go with a style that is comfortable and repeatable. I don't think that one is superior to the other.
-- As we age, arthritis becomes a factor. I think that 3-under is a touch more comfortable for my arthritic fingers.

Your results may be different from mine.

[JohnnyBa]

I switched to 3 under about 15 tears ago. I liked it, so I stayed with it. I think going back to split, if I wanted to,  would be fairly easy.

Some thoughts:
-- 3-under can be very quiet, but you have to tune your set up for 3-under. The tune --brace height and nock height--  will not be the same as it would be for split.
-- Your ring finger will be farther from the arrow with 3 under. If you have a tendency to drag that ring finger it might make your bow louder. The solution to that is to take the ring finger off of the string completely and shoot two under with just your pointer and second fingers.
-- The point of split vs 3-under is to go with a style that is comfortable and repeatable. I don't think that one is superior to the other.
-- As we age, arthritis becomes a factor. I think that 3-under is a touch more comfortable for my arthritic fingers.

Your results may be different from mine.

I hear ya on the arthritic finger pain, this pursuit of changing to split may be a moot point. Will try a thing or two, but may be back to three under. At this point my knock height or brace height has not changed and arrow flight is spot on either way with me doing my part.