Calling all bowhunters

Who all shoots 3 fingers below the knock? I shoot one above and 2 below. I find 3 below the knock makes it more difficult for longer ranges.....just wondering if anyone found the same thing?
 
barrabas74 said:
Who all shoots 3 fingers below the knock? I shoot one above and 2 below. I find 3 below the knock makes it more difficult for longer ranges.....just wondering if anyone found the same thing?
Click to expand...

i shoot 3 fungers under the arrow..:D as well as my boys... the vast majority of the folks we shoot with, also shoot 3 fingers under... i have never had a problem what so ever, shooting at long ranges... nor have i ever heard of it being a problem...
 
OK, amateur archer coming through here. . .
Why use 3 fingers? I use two, one above, one below. 50# bow.
Is there an advantage to using 3?
 
Cpl Punishment said:
OK, amateur archer coming through here. . .
Why use 3 fingers? I use two, one above, one below. 50# bow.
Is there an advantage to using 3?
Click to expand...


it is a matter of personal preference... shooting 3 fingers under the arrow, tends to bring the closer the arrow is to your eye, opening up your site window....without having to site over your other finger..
 
I've been making cheapie bows since I was 4 years old. Go outside, break off a descent limb, peel off the bark, and use some fishing/kite string and voila! Now that I'm older I would like to learn how to make a real bow like the rest of you guys. I'm gonna save this post for later reading. Keep up the good responses :thumbup:, J.
 
barrabas74 said:
Who all shoots 3 fingers below the knock? I shoot one above and 2 below. I find 3 below the knock makes it more difficult for longer ranges.....just wondering if anyone found the same thing?
Click to expand...

I shoot same way as you,any other method is very uncomfortable for me.With three fingers under I feel that I don't have full control over release.
 
barrabas74 said:
Who all shoots 3 fingers below the knock? I shoot one above and 2 below. I find 3 below the knock makes it more difficult for longer ranges.....just wondering if anyone found the same thing?
Click to expand...

I shoot Mediterranean style with two fingers under, one over. This is the style I teach also. Since we are all engineered differently, we eventually develop our own individual styles or variations of the standard. This can be a good thing as long as we don't develop any bad habits. Archery is simply about 'practiced consistency'.

Note: If one is going to build a selfbow for an archer that shoots with three fingers under the knock, the limbs will need to be tillered for that style. Three fingers under the knock will put more stress on the lower limb, so this will need to be compensated for. Some bowyers don't worry about it, but I see the difference myself and make that adjustment. I like perfectly balanced limbs at the archers draw length.
 
I agree with Dannyboy about the tiller and 3 under.I shoot ILF bows in 3D competition.I shoot 3 under and adjust my bows to zero tiller.

Everyone should use the method that works best for them.I shot split finger untill last year when a world champ gave me some pointers.I switched to 3 under.It felt akward for a while but I kept with it and it increased my scores about 20 points average that year.
 
mtnfolk mike said:
it is a matter of personal preference... shooting 3 fingers under the arrow, tends to bring the closer the arrow is to your eye, opening up your site window....without having to site over your other finger..
Click to expand...

Many traditional and primitive archers shoot purely instinctively, that is, no point of reference (arrow point) in their shooting vision. Myself, I shoot much like Howard Hill using the 'indirect reference' method, which is a combination of both. I don't necessarily need to see my arrow shaft in my vision to hit my target. I will often shoot candle flames out at 20-yards on dark nights just to keep my instinctive skills honed. And no, I can't see any of my equipment on those dark nights. Most everybody possesses good instinctive skills (how many of us site along the top of a basketball before we shoot it?). And, through lots of practice, it is amazing what many people can do with their natural born instinctive skills.

For many years, I was a competition shooter, using a vertical held bow, rigid posture and neck. I won many competitions shooting with traditional laminated recurves, and later, with compound bows, aluminum arrows and releases (God forbid). For years, I gave archery lessons, both privately, and for some local archery shops and clubs. These days, I shoot almost all primitive equipment...though I own and appreciate many dozens of laminated bows, too. Through the years, it has been my observation with traditional and primitive equipment, that most people are going to shoot best using the Mediterranean style of release and, a consistent anchor point on the face...usually the corner of the mouth. Notice I said "most", not "all" people. We all have different facial and vision characteristics.

I find that if one has a problem getting the arrow shaft under his eye using the Mediterranean style of release, he simply has to cant his bow over more and let the neck come into a natural relaxed position. This usually solves the problem and gives him a better release to boot under hunting or field conditions. I have successfully hunted countless small and big game around the world using the canted bow and relaxed neck (even shot a few larger animals laying on my stomach with a horizontal bow).

Notice the relaxed neck, canted bow, shooting eye directly over the arrow shaft.
primitiveshootingdr3.jpg
 
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This is turned into a great thread,
The wife and I were talking and after we get moved and settled I am going to sell my compound stuff and look into a traditional bow,

all this talk of two under or three leads me to ask does anyone shoot with a release or is that like using training wheel so to speak, I have a great release (jim fletcher) and was wondering if I should bother to keep it,


thanks for the great info guys

jimi
 
J.Wade
You could possibly use your release.I'm not familiar with the style or even what style would work well with a recurve.All the shooters I know shoot gloves or tabs and a release is illegal in the competition I shoot.

The reason I chose to shoot a trad bow with no sights or release is that it can be just as accurate as a compound at hunting range, BUT, it takes a much greater level of commitment to shoot well.During the competition season I might shoot 500-800 arrows a week,every week for 6-7 months.
 
J.Wade said:
This is turned into a great thread,
The wife and I were talking and after we get moved and settled I am going to sell my compound stuff and look into a traditional bow,

all this talk of two under or three leads me to ask does anyone shoot with a release or is that like using training wheel so to speak, I have a great release (jim fletcher) and was wondering if I should bother to keep it,


thanks for the great info guys

jimi
Click to expand...

I am all for the method that best serves the individual archer. I have seen some fabulous shooters who use the three fingers under method. So, one can hardly argue with the positive results. The method I use just simply serves me best and is a proven method to start with or build upon. Always good to start with the basics.

When I started with archery as a kid, there were no compound bows. And, I had great success in my imagination trying to emulate Fred Bear, Ben Pearson, Howard Hill, and a couple of others. I harvested my first game with a longbow, and later with a recurve. So, those positive memories were etched in my mind over the years. Later, when it became harder to find traditional bows, I moved into the compound archery world with everybody else. I also had many successful hunts with the compound technology, too. Then, one day, looking at my double-decker compound bow toolbox, and all of the complex technology involved with shooting it, I decided that I had had enough. I wanted to escape this modern technology and return to a more relaxed, peaceful, simple period in my life. I spent my entire work day as a mechanical engineer working on the cutting edge of technology and didn't want to spend my free time doing the same.

Once I returned to traditional archery, I started entertaining the idea of building my own equipment. I constructed several fiberglass laminated longbows and recurves and found it very satisfying and rewarding. However, even this represented too much technology for me at the time. Eventually, I started building self and backed primitive bows, hunted successfully with them from one end of the planet to the other, and have never looked back since. I now not only build the bows, I also make strings from sinew and natural cordage, round and taper my own arrow shafts from the douglas fir I cut, and produce my own broadheads from heavy steel banding straps, or simply knap out my own arrow points from our local obsidian (not legal for hunting in some areas). In addition, I also make my own hunting clothes (leather, wool, cloth), moccasins, quivers, shooting gloves, arm guards, the complete ensemble. Some of my hunting friends consider my lapse or fall back into history as "extreme." But, it works for me. ;) Let me add: I have NO PROBLEM with compound bows or the people who shoot them. I have many friends who still use and enjoy them. I just simply prefer to teach and practice the primitive technologies.:)
 
Dannyboy Leather said:
Many traditional and primitive archers shoot purely instinctively, that is, no point of reference (arrow point) in their shooting vision. Myself, I shoot much like Howard Hill using the 'indirect reference' method, which is a combination of both. I don't necessarily need to see my arrow shaft in my vision to hit my target. I will often shoot candle flames out at 20-yards on dark nights just to keep my instinctive skills honed. And no, I can't see any of my equipment on those dark nights. Most everybody possesses good instinctive skills (how many of us site along the top of a basketball before we shoot it?). And, through lots of practice, it is amazing what many people can do with their natural born instinctive skills.

For many years, I was a competition shooter, using a vertical held bow, rigid posture and neck. I won many competitions shooting with traditional laminated recurves, and later, with compound bows, aluminum arrows and releases (God forbid). For years, I gave archery lessons, both privately, and for some local archery shops and clubs. These days, I shoot almost all primitive equipment...though I own and appreciate many dozens of laminated bows, too. Through the years, it has been my observation with traditional and primitive equipment, that most people are going to shoot best using the Mediterranean style of release and, a consistent anchor point on the face...usually the corner of the mouth. Notice I said "most", not "all" people. We all have different facial and vision characteristics.

I find that if one has a problem getting the arrow shaft under his eye using the Mediterranean style of release, he simply has to cant his bow over more and let the neck come into a natural relaxed position. This usually solves the problem and gives him a better release to boot under hunting or field conditions. I have successfully hunted countless small and big game around the world using the canted bow and relaxed neck (even shot a few larger animals laying on my stomach with a horizontal bow).

Notice the relaxed neck, canted bow, shooting eye directly over the arrow shaft.
primitiveshootingdr3.jpg
Click to expand...

Not to get off topic, or anything... but, are you not wearing pants in that picture? :eek:
 
This is a quick link to making your first wooden bow. There is a ton of other information about making and using your archery equipment on this site. Tim Baker used to be (and probably still is) a regular contributor and every once in awhile, Jim Hamm would pop in. These are two of the mainstays of the Traditional Bowyers Bibles, for those that don't recognize the names. There are also many other well known and very capable bowyers on this site.

Doc
 
Not to get off topic, or anything... but, are you not wearing pants in that picture?
Click to expand...

:D Well, sort of. :D We had a historical rendezvous on the property that day (hot as blazes), and I was wearing a traditional breechclout under the hunting shirt. Generally the hunting shirt is longer and covers more of the leg. If you haven't worn a breechclout with leggings in the woods, you have never experienced freedom. :)
 
dannyboy Leather said:
:d Well, Sort Of. :d We Had A Historical Rendezvous On The Property That Day (hot As Blazes), And I Was Wearing A Traditional Breechclout Under The Hunting Shirt. Generally The Hunting Shirt Is Longer And Covers More Of The Leg. If You Haven't Worn A Breechclout With Leggings In The Woods, You Have Never Experienced Freedom. :)
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing but wouldn't have asked, I know how you reenactor types can be.:D
 
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