Author Topic: Drop away arrow rest vs Fixed rest (Read 4553 times)

njirilodge · « **on:** February 26, 2003, 04:43:06 AM »

:roll: What are the advantages of a drop away rest vs. a fixed rest.I have changed to a drop away rest now and feel that my groupings are far better.I now know for sure that I am not getting any fletches touching the rest as they go by.

ccanevit · « **Reply #1 on:** February 26, 2003, 05:48:08 AM »

Hi,
I'm new to the forum.

Drop away rests are supposed to give less contact, however fixed rests are less complicated. Going by the simple rule of K.I.S.S (Keep it simple stupid) a fixed rest would be better, in that there are fewer things to go wrong.

Arrroman · « **Reply #2 on:** February 26, 2003, 06:42:32 AM »

After thirty years of tuning bows with flipper rests, prong rests, wheel rests, and springy rests I too was ready for something different. The old recurves shot best when you had the nocksets higher and that was my cure most of the time when dealing with the older fixed rests. If you were successful you got the arrow to clear the rest with little or no fletching touching the rest, but everything had to be perfect. In the real world things change nocks turn, fletches start to lean, and things rapidly start to go to hell as far as your shooting is concerned.The fall-away rests can help some of these problems and that is good, but they still are mechanical, noisey solutions to the problem and they bring their own timing and tuning issues with them. With the whisker biscuit rest the arrow can fly off the bow at 90 degrees to the string and they fly straight. There are no mechanical clicks or squeaks with a whisker biscuit and there are no timing adjustments to fail. These rests are accurate, quiet, and completely reliable, and they don't need nail polish or moleskin to work. I've shot these rests myself for over three years and never had a single problem with this rest. As far as durability I have heard of one rest being shot on a 76# bow 100 shots a day for 18 months straight without a failure and it was still going strong. This is a true hunters rest you can stalk and even run with an arrow on your rest and it stays where it belongs. If the arrow bumps a branch or hangs up on tall grass the bristle are resilient enough to lift the arrow back into its shooting position, and they don't sag even if you leave the arrow on the bow all day long. The bristles are made of a proprietory material that does not absorb water and cannot freeze, they remain flexible at 150 degrees below zero. As far as speed lose with a whisker biscuit is concerned, I shoot 4" straight fletch on my arrows and my speed lose was less than 1%. Maintainence of a biscuit is simple, just clean it with soap and water. To get back to the main thread the pro and con of dropaway rests vs. fixed rests I'd say that all dropaway rest are not equal and I know of one fixed rest that I do believe is the best rest out there and its a whisker biscuit rest.

ARMallardSlayer · « **Reply #3 on:** February 26, 2003, 09:09:18 AM »

:-D But I will stay with my bodoodle for right now. You never know when that new fangled stuff is going to let you down when you need it.....

njirilodge · « **Reply #4 on:** February 26, 2003, 09:33:17 AM »

Arroman many thanks for the info.I shoot a Trophy Taker but would like some more info on the whisker biscuit as I cant imagine how it works.Maybe a web site with pictures would help

Thomas Krupinski · « **Reply #5 on:** February 26, 2003, 09:35:23 AM »

I tried one of those drop away rest when I first started shooting a compound. After having trouble keeping the arrow on the rest while still hunting, with brush and other things bumping into it, I went to a wisker biscuit and that's what is on both my bows now.

It's easy to tune, shoots more accurately than I can see (even with my glasses on) and extremly durable and I feel more secure with it over rough thick terain.

Now I suspect that the drop away style rests may be slightly more accurate, but for field use I will take the biscut all the time.

Tony D · « **Reply #6 on:** February 26, 2003, 10:14:29 AM »

Have you seen that Carolinal Archery Products has a newer version of the WB out this year called the quick shot? I looks like the original, but it has a wedge cut out of it at about the 10 o'clock position. No more having to pass the point through the rest - just load it from the side as in a conventional rest. I think I will be changing from my Bodoodle this year!

:grin:
:grin:

Arrroman · « **Reply #7 on:** February 26, 2003, 07:03:56 PM »

If you want pictures go to www.carolinaarcheryprod.com the site has tuning tips too. I've used these rests for over three years and they work. I keep a loose arrow to biscuit fit like they suggest and the arrows just fly like darts. I'll admit to putting 2512 aluminium arrows through the biscuit, it was a real tight fit and they didn't fly that fast but you are not supposed to have a tight arrow to biscuit fit when you use this rest. For the most part using this rest is just common sense, you square it up to the bow with the arrow at 90 degrees to the string and it launches an arrow straight. If your nockpoint is set a half inch high to accomodate some old prong rest you will have to move it. I usually center the grip with the string and sight the biscuit down the middle for a starting setup. The biscuit should be perpendicular to the arrow when you are through. If one side of the biscuit looks a little bit thicker than the other that side should face the bow and the thinner side should face the string. There are four different biscuits, there is one for the original carbon arrows with external nocks and outserts, there is one for the newer carbon arrows with internal components or ICS , there is a biscuit for aluminium arrows, and there is one for the heavy fish arrows. You can shoot carbon arrows through the aluminium biscuit because the hole in the biscuit is bigger so if you want to shoot both carbon and aluminium get the bigger biscuit. If you are only going to shoot the new ICS carbons get that biscuit. The biscuits are made with a split in the ring so it is possible to open them up to a degree.One night a took a pair of sissors to both sides of a biscuit and trimmed it level on both sides. I mounted that biscuit on a 67# Martin Fury and shot 385grain arrows at 306f.p.s.. The same bow with a prong rest shot 301f.p.s. the night before, so if you are looking for speed this rest can still work.

JeffG · « **Reply #8 on:** March 10, 2003, 02:07:06 PM »

Wow, I was sold on my Bodoodle drop away. The only rests I ever gave a sideways glance to was an Alpine archery silicone rest and the Whisker Biscuit. Now Biscuits have a side loading port? Sheez! I may have to go get one of those. By the way, my Bodoodle performs flawlessly.

Dalton · « **Reply #9 on:** March 11, 2003, 03:48:40 AM »

The difference between a standard rest and a fall away rest is simple. A fall away rest eliminates contact between the arrow flething and the rest itself. This makes the bow easier to tune and should provide better arrow flight.

I have not used any fall away rests as of yet, but I am thinking about it. I shoot with my fingers and have always used the simple flipper rests. I guess right now I am just in a mode of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". If however I were in the market for a new rest, I would take a serious look at the fall aways.

Arrroman · « **Reply #10 on:** March 11, 2003, 06:57:24 AM »

It will only take one failure with a fallaway to make you wish you had a whisker biscuit on you bow.

Dalton · « **Reply #11 on:** March 12, 2003, 01:58:03 AM »

Quote from: Arrroman

It will only take one failure with a fallaway to make you wish you had a whisker biscuit on you bow.

The Whisker Biscuit is a neat idea. However there are two things I don't like about them.

1.) They are not very forgiving for people who shoot with their fingers. I went to my local archery shop here in St. Louis and we tried for two hours to paper tune two different Whisker Biscuits on two different bows. I had another gentlemen who finger shoots try it as well with the same poor results. I don't believe that they have the correct left to right forgiveness to be useful to someone who shoots with fingers. I get almost a perfect bullet hole with a NAP flipper rest. I would suspect a fall away would produce the same bullet hole pattern.

2.) Feathers don't last in them. For those of us who prefer shooting with feathers, stick to a different rest. If you use the biscuit go with vanes.

Arrroman · « **Reply #12 on:** March 14, 2003, 02:44:43 AM »

Dalton: Sounds like you just gave up when you didn't get a perfect tear with fingers. Here is the scoop, when shooting a whisker biscuit with fingers a slight left tear is both predictable and acceptable. I set my bows up with fingers and tune both the sight and rest to shoot with fingers. Over 20 yards I will shoot with a release and the bow still shoots straight. You have to have a loose arrow to biscuit fit for the rest to perform in the correct manner. A tight biscuit will raise hell with feathers and even wrinkle vanes. The aluminium biscuit has a .36 hole and has the least amount of restriction of all the biscuits. I believe that speed lose and wear on fletches is also less with the larger size biscuit. If you give the biscuit a chance I think you will be suprised at how well this rest works.

kodiak outdoors · « **Reply #13 on:** April 07, 2003, 07:09:44 PM »

this is a interesting subject. i shoot a drop away rest now. from what i am reading, "please correct me if i am wrong," the WB rest will launch any arrow properly as long as you buy the one with the right clearance for the arrow that is shot.

my next question is about helical fletching. i can understand straight fletchin flying fine, but what about the helical? i shoot a fairly extreme helical and am told that i can because of my drop away rest. could i shoot the same with the WB rest and maintain speed and distance?

i do not hunt out of a tree stand or blind. i strictly hunt spot and stalk and i rarely have a shot of less than 20 yards. most are 30 to 50 yard shots. that's just the way fair chase west coast hunting is. i have pins for up to 70 yards and am consistant to 70 yards.

although the WB rest may hold the arrow in place i do not see myself "running" to get into position with a knocked arrow.

i'm not talking about shooting through paper or how fast it registers through a chrono. just plain old hunting in the field. i'd like to hear from anyone that truly spot and stalk hunts and get their opinion.

i'm not disqualifying nor praising the WB rest, just trying to determine if it would be worth changing.

S.B. · « **Reply #14 on:** April 22, 2003, 10:45:17 AM »

We were at the local bow shop just last week and two of my buddies were testing WB's against their regular rests(not drop aways). The average speed loss was between 1-3 fps. Negligible to me. I just received a new WB for my Matthews and will put it on this week. Paper tuning of my friends bows went very smooth with the results being just as good as the other rests they had on before putting the WB's on. I'm sold.

JeffG · « **Reply #15 on:** May 18, 2003, 05:23:36 AM »

Just an update. I bought a Whisker Biscuit Quick Shot, and installed it on my bow. I am very impressed with it, it was very easy to tune. I will probably buy, and break in an additional biscuit in case of a field problem. I guess the little guy has a nice Bodoodle waiting for him when he gets his first hunting weight bow...

fast*eddie · « **Reply #16 on:** June 15, 2003, 07:30:54 AM »

I was in the new Gander Mountain store in Henrietta ,New York last Friday looking at the Whisker Biscuits. They make seperate biscuits for the aluminun and carbon arrows. I'm kinda leaning towards gettin one but I would get the newer model with the "cutout" for easier loading. I think they were $45 for the aluminum arrows and $48 for the carbons. Don't know why the difference in price ?

JeffG · « **Reply #17 on:** June 15, 2003, 02:59:57 PM »

Dunno, maybe it's availability... :roll:

Arrroman · « **Reply #18 on:** June 16, 2003, 05:59:45 AM »

I've been shooting ICS carbon arrows through an aluminium biscuit for years with no problems, the aluminium biscuit has a .36" hole and the ICS carbon biscuit has a .32" hole. Occasionally I change sights and when I do I will shoot 2219 aluminium arrows at 15yards from an elevated stand to zero the bow. I believe the heavier arrows show less variation and give a better read as to what is going on with the bow than the lighter arrows do. The lighter, flatter shooting carbon arrows will still be hitting center at 20yards and you save few steps in the process. I don't think that there should be a difference in price. Maybe new stock gets a new price or the aluminium biscuits were not selling. All I know is that they work for me.

fast*eddie · « **Reply #19 on:** June 21, 2003, 04:57:58 PM »

Will the Whisker Biscuit tear the fletching on arrows that have helical fletching ? Do the arrows have to have straight fletching ? thanks..............

Thomas Krupinski · « **Reply #20 on:** June 22, 2003, 01:02:12 PM »

Nope, have the biscuits on both of my Cougars and although they sometimes wrinkle the helical fletched 4" vanes a tad, nothing that makes any difference in how they shoot.

Never had a biscuit tear a vane either, but Carolina Archery Products recommends placing a small drop of fletching cement at the front end of the vane.

Dalton · « **Reply #21 on:** August 04, 2003, 07:58:02 AM »

Quote from: fast*eddie

Will the Whisker Biscuit tear the fletching on arrows that have helical fletching ? Do the arrows have to have straight fletching ? thanks..............

I use 6deg. right helical feather fletch on my bow. I have found the biscuit to be too rough on feathers so I stick with a simple flipper rest. My wife uses the Biscuit with a 6deg. right helical fletch, but she is using plastic vanes. I put an extra little dab of glue on the front edge of the vane to hold it on, otherwise they get ripped off rather quickly. I have never tried straight fletching so I don't know if it would alleviate this problem.

Arrroman · « **Reply #22 on:** August 04, 2003, 09:08:01 AM »

I've use straight, straight offset, left helical, and right helical, and Turbonocks, and so far everything that I have tried has been successful in going through the biscuit. I do make sure that the arrow to biscuit fit is loose, and I do make sure that I am using the correct spine arrow for the bow. I've been fletching my own arrows for thirty years and I found out early that a drop of adhesive fore and aft on the fletching kept them on the arrow a whole lot longer. Too lightly spined arrows tend to scrub the fletchings around the inside of the biscuit as they bend their way through the rest. Too high or too low of a nocking point an the arrow is liable to go through the rest a little bit sideways and the biscuit doesn't like that. I like to nock the arrow at a 90degree angle to the string with the biscuit parallel to the bowstring and the bow at an even tiller. I set the windage of the rest for the narrowest group at 50 feet. If the arrow is nock high in the target just add a little tiller by tightening the lower limb bolt. If the bow is setup and tuned in this way the arrow will fly straight through the center of the biscuit. Good luck hunting!

ARMallardSlayer · « **Reply #23 on:** August 19, 2003, 03:36:17 PM »

I can see the advantage to the fall away rests. But I can also see where there are more things to go wrong too.

I'll stay with my bodoodle til it fails me....... :eek:

Sam · « **Reply #24 on:** August 27, 2003, 02:26:24 PM »

I have a NAP4000 on my bow now and has been there all spring and summer. I try to make a shoot once a week ( 30 targets) and I have this on a Revolution Triumph Bow. It shoots like a dream and has given me absolutely no problems. I shot this same rest in an indoor league all winter with the same results. I like it. I also have 2 HighCountry Bows and I use the Golden Premier rest by Futura. They shoot well too but thought I would give the fall away a chance. So far it's been great . I will hunt with this rest if it goes another 2 months without any problems. My 2 cents.
Sam

bigpapascout · « **Reply #25 on:** August 31, 2003, 08:55:25 PM »

I have been shooting fall aways for some time now with no troubles. :agree:

TWOBEARS · « **Reply #26 on:** September 03, 2003, 02:16:18 PM »

TWOBEARS · « **Reply #27 on:** September 03, 2003, 02:19:20 PM »

I'M NEW TO THE FORUM. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT A "QUICKTUNE4000" REST?

Sam · « **Reply #28 on:** September 08, 2003, 07:11:46 AM »

If we're talking about the same rest -- I shoot the New Archery Products NAP 4000 on my bow. It is a fall away rest that is pulled up with a small steel cable upon comeing to full draw. It immediately falls out of the way of the shaft on the launch. It has alot of adjustments . This rest is on my bow that I set up this March. I am shooting a Revolution Triumph. It is and has perfomed great all year. I try to take in a shoot every week. The way it looks now -I'll be hunting with this rest!
Sam

TWOBEARS · « **Reply #29 on:** September 09, 2003, 03:02:25 PM »

THANKS SAM, I HAVE SINCE INSTALED A NAP QT 4000 ON MY PSE FIREFLIGHT AND AM LOOKING FOR TIME TO TRY IT OUT AND TUNE IT IN. I WAS VERY CLOSE TO GETTING A WISKER BISCUIT BUT WENT THIS ROUTE INSTED, AFTER SOMEBODY TOLD ME THAT I WOULD LOSE 2" OFF MY 50 YARD GROUP WITH A WB. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS TRUE, BUT WILL TRY THIS AND SEE HOW IT WORKS . I STILL LIKE THE IDIA OF THE WISKER BISCUIT'S HOLDING THE ARROW AT ALL ANGLES.