By 3 inches of set I mean this: I reflexed the tips two inches back. After being shot in, they stayed one inch towards the belly. The two iches of reflex I lost plus the one inch string follow ( result of set ) equal 3 inches. Honestly, performance wise, its an average bow, nothing terrible about it in speed or anything. Where the set is on your bow may be hurting more than the fact it has set. 2 inches is acceptable.