To drop away or not to drop away...

[Bow Walker]

Drop away (d/a) arrow rests are not new - they've been around now for a number years. The early ones were, by nature, rather experimental but continual improvements have brought this style of arrow rest to the forefront as far as reliable and accurate archery equipment are concerned.

Just what is a drop away arrow rest? The name describes the action and functionality of this rest – drop away. This type of rest is usually in the "down" position until the archer is almost at full draw - it only comes to the "up" position and contacts or supports the arrow during the last four to six inches of the shaft length.

At the release of the shot, the reverse action happens - the rest supports and is in contact with the arrow shaft only during the first (and crucial) portion of the shot - that is the first four to six inches of arrow travel. Then the arrow rest "falls away" by means of spring action, and has no further contact with the arrow shaft allowing free and unhindered travel of the arrow.

What are the advantages to using this type of arrow rest? There are several obvious benefits in using a d/a style of rest over the more common type of spring steel or prong arrow rests. First and foremost is the increase in accuracy of the shot. Secondly there is the benefit of having virtually no fletching contact with the arrow rest as the shaft leaves the bow. Thirdly there is the increase in the speed of the arrow itself.

There are some things that just should not happen at the moment of arrow release – minor flinching or jerking, minutely dropping the bow hand, convulsively grabbing the bow grip, or fletching contact with the arrow rest all adversely affect the accuracy of the shot. The archer, through the arrow rest’s contact with the shaft, can impart these things into the arrow, as it travels from the bow. Also the longer the arrow rest is contacting the shaft during the shot, the greater the friction and drag that is imparted to the arrow, thus reducing the speed of the arrow.

The huge advantage of a drop away arrow rest is that before any of the above mentioned movements or issues could affect the flight of the arrow, the arrow rest has dropped away and is no longer in contact with the shaft. Also, by dropping away from the arrow shaft, the speed of the arrow is increase by a measurable amount, typically from two to three feet per second.

If the arrow rest is in contact with the shaft during the full cycle of the shot there is the real possibility of the archer introducing bow-hand torque at the moment of the release and adversely influencing the accuracy of the arrow as it speeds down range to the intended target. Optimally the archer does not want the rest contacting the arrow shaft for any longer than is necessary for that rest to guide the arrow on its way to the target.

Of course proper setup, tuning, and maintenance of the drop away rest is critical in getting the full benefit of all the advantages of this type of arrow rest. Fortunately today’s drop away rests are very easy to install, setup, and maintain. Many of them are “full containment” types, which is a characteristic much in demand by bow hunters everywhere.

Have a look at some of these drop away arrow rests on any one of these major retailer's websites…you may just pick up a few more points or bag that big one you've been after.

Ye Olde Archery Shoppe - Archery Supplies, Compound Bows Lancaster Archery Supply Welcome To Eagle Archery, LLC Treestands, Archery Supplies, Bowhunting Supplies :: Bowhunters Superstore Mountain Archery Corp. Your Archery Supply Leader Hunter's Friend, the Bowhunter's Pro-Shop.....Discount Compound Bow Systems Online.


Authored by: “Bow Walker” 10/18/2007

[bruin]

I have been wondering about drop aways. I just picked up a compound for teh first time after several years of hunting with a recurve. My bow has a Whisker Bisket on it and I missed an opporunity on a big buck because it is so loud on the draw also I think it may be effecting my accuracy at longer distances. Have you found that to be true? Do you find these rests to be fairly quiet?? I do like the fact that these drop aways holds the arrow in place,. Thanks for posting, good read.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

...
What are the advantages to using this type of arrow rest? There are several obvious benefits in using a d/a style of rest over the more common type of spring steel or prong arrow rests. First and foremost is the increase in accuracy of the shot. ...

While i agree with most of this .... I Have to take exeption to this point ... the reason being .... are not more accurate ... they are more forgiving ....maybe .... but there is a trade off ... there is more moving parts ...therefore more to mess up ..... If you look at a shooting line of most any archery compition you wont see many drop aways .... you will however see more Blade and basket launchers, ... Because they are simple and predictible ... while the drop aways are not, String failure ... not fully up ...etc....

I am not a fan of Dropaways for hunting ... I prefer containment rests ... less to go wrong ... arrow wont fall off, string tie point moved etc...etc.... ya sure ...you might loose 1 or 2 fps with a containment rest or up to 5fps(alegedally...Personally I have not lost any speed from my blade to to Whisker Bisquit) with the whisker types ....But IMHO ...give up a little ...gain alot.

If your form isnt top or you are one to tourqe your bow ... a dropaway might be better for you as those flaws wont show up as bad on the target bag ... but they are still there... dont fool yourself.

but since ae are on the topic of D/a ... I might suggest the Trophy Rigde Dropaway rest found at www.trophyridge.com

[Derek_Erickson]

I swear to god I tried tellin somebody sometyhing like this before, and they said, oh no no, whiskerbisket much better, well look at this


Just watch the video

http://www.qadinc.com/c-5-.aspx

[mark]

I got the drop away and love it!

[blaker_99]

I was told to go with the whisker by Tim at the Vernon Outdoor store when i bought my new Hoyt Vectrix. I really like how i can walk run crawl with an arrow in my rest without having to worry about my arrow falling out. I have yet to try a drop away style rest but why change what's working right? I've been shooting out to 60 yards and have found it to be very accurate and reliable. As far as noise is concerned I find it quite quiet and hae yet to spook any animals when drawing it back.

If anyone wants to check out a pretty cool looking whisker check out what Fuse Archery has to offer, they are made by Hoyt.

http://www.fusearchery.com/

Good luck guys and gals.

[Bow Walker]

To one and all, it was obviously a crappy morning to be out and about, so being bored I sat down in front of the keyboard and had a bout of "verbal diarrhoea...however, that being said....

bruin - personally I find d/a's to be a noticeable quieter type of rest, not a whole lot but then it doesn't take much does it? As for accuracy at longer distances I don't think d/a's give any greater advantage over any other style of arrow rest. It's all in the setup, tuning, and the archer yanking on the string. As has been said many times - "it's not the nut on the bow, but the nut behind the bow."

BZ Mikey - a properly set up and maintained d/a will allow for cleaner, swifter arrow travel over the rest than will a rest that is in constant contact with the arrow shaft as it leaves the bow - whether that rest is a prong style or a WB full containment style.

As I stated in paragraph #8 - the rest needs to be properly set up and maintained - so should all of the equipment on the bow, whatever it is. As for the lineup of competitors, I agree that predominantly the serious target archers tend to go with the spring steel or lizard tongue style of rest. The spring steel type of arrow rest is perhaps the only full contact rest that has minimal arrow shaft contact throughout the shot.

But if memory serves me - that style of rest needs a bit of downward pressure from the arrow to aid in keeping it on the shelf. Once the arrow leaves the string and for all the length of the shaft before it clears the rest, the spring steel exerts an upward "bounce back" effect on the arrow shaft as it passes over the rest.

Speaking of containment, the APA Safari Twister (that I use on both my target and my hunting bows) is full containment, as with many other d/a's now on the market.

Oh yeah, the TR drop away is fairly popular but I've seen more Shakey Hunters than anything else - both on hunting rigs and on target bows.

blake - please be careful as you are pussy footing, crawling, running, jumping, and generally communing with nature. That is a pretty sharp point on the end of that stick you got there. Would hate to have to perform CPR on you. I'm not that way, don't you know.........

[bruin]

Thanks for the input, how do you know my shooting style so well?

[willyqbc]

I'll throw my .02 cents at this discussion. I believe that both the drop-away and the prong/lizard tongue style rests each have their own application where they will shine. For me I have found that for indoor FITA when I am shooting a heavy arrow with a very low poundage bow the prong style rest provides better accuracy. When shooting a light 3D arrow at high speeds the drop away has shown me it is the better choice. I can't say definately why this is but i have surmised a few things during my testing

1. a heavy FITA arrow which is usually accompanied by a very heavy feild point in a very low poundage bow can actually cause some unexplainable low hits when using a drop away rest. I suspect this is because the energy may not be enough to keep the tip of the arrow up and it may actually ride the drop of the rest a short ways before its momentum builds enough to keep it level

2. I think that a fixed rest can cause some erratic shots when used in a high speed 3D bow due to the tourquey nature of these set-ups. A light arrow high speed combination will cause much more flex in the arrow upon release, I surmise this can probably cause it to come off a fixed rest inconsistantly.

so...after having tried lots of different variations for different disciplines I have found that for me the fixed rest for slow heavy arrows and the drop away for the speed demons....just my experience, take it for what its worth!

Chris

[Bow Walker]

Well said Chris - I agree with your "surmises". There is not much use for a prong style rest in hunting. They belong in the target venue.

My brother uses a prong style/lizard tongue rest on his Hoyt that has the aggressive cams. He's pulling about 65 lbs and the arrows (Fatboy 400's) are zinging along at just over 305 fps. Touchy setup but he seems to like it and can obviously handle it. I believe you met him at the Provincials? BOWSITTER, (Ron).

I am a huge fan of the drop away style rests - and especially my APA Safari Twisters. Yup, I use one on my hunting bow and one on my target setup. Although my target bow is not a speed bow by any means.

At the end of the day I still believe that whatever does the job for an individual - that is the rest (or any equipment for that matter) that should be used. Each to their own and may all of us have a ton of enjoyment out of what we are doing.