Drop away rests

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Matt, there are some items where you can tell the difference in quality; just by the way it feels. A simple example is scissors or sometimes pliers.
Using a pair of quality scissors shows up how unsuitable some cheaper ones are.
But items that cost so much more and are not "used" in the sense that you can't tell which one you are using, seems to me to be advertising hype.
I can set up my rest exactly as I want it and there are calibration marks on it. Once in place ,the blade is all that moves, and I can't feel that. I know it is smooth, by the way the arrows slide, it is polished where it needs to be; I did it.heehee.
It drops away when it should, and only just a few mm... no big slap down.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
I’d still like to try one. The Vapor Trail Gen 7 looks like a good one but £160 on something that might not be right is a risk too far.
When it comes to knives, tools and scissors I cut no corners (oh what a pun!). I have two S90V steel pocket knives that are incredible but they are also cheap for what they are; £55 which is about £100 less than the nearest competitor (Spyderco); it’s all about research and being a bit nerdy!
I’ve also got a few Leathermans (way superior to the Gerber I have; an SAK is in a different category IMO). Bike parts too; lightness isn’t a major worry but robustness is. My brakes were more than a useable whole bike. The forks more than a decent one. But they are lovely carbon and various alloys and work a treat.
But if I can save, I will. Some can’t bring themselves to save a bit of money!
I’ll give my blade a bit of tlc; it is actually pretty quiet.
 

AndyW

Well-known member
Have you thought about a prong rest like a quicktune 800? They're low cost and will hold the arrow a lot more securely.
Like all types you can go as expensive as you like but for a basic one at 30 - 40 it might be worth a go.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
Have you thought about a prong rest like a quicktune 800? They're low cost and will hold the arrow a lot more securely.
Like all types you can go as expensive as you like but for a basic one at 30 - 40 it might be worth a go.
My son has one (a cheap one) which I might experiment with but I’ll look that up too; thanks!
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
TBH what I need is a decent bit of coaching with a real person.
I initially had great coaching but as I improved it stopped. And while my club is brilliant for teaching beginners, it’s hard to get slightly higher level coaching and most are not compound archers. The two that are aren’t particularly good!
Maybe one day when we’re all allowed to arrow fling in groups again!
 
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little-else

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
When you reach a certain standard unless you have access to a national coach you will be hard pushed to find a coach who specialises in different bow styles and compunders and longbow archers suffer from ths dearth of formal expertise.
Someone who is a good archer who understands what you are trying to do is a better bet and they should be able to help you in most aspects and you can then go back to a formal coach to have a look at aspects of your technique that is cmmon to all archers (particularly errors of stance and release)
The coaching system itself is a hurdle that is difficult to surmount and AGB should devise coaching courses specifically fo different bow styles that dont have to cover all of the introduction to archery that a lavel 1 coaching course is grounded in nor require the would be coach to do this course before getting stuck in to the object of the exercise..
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
My wire has arrived and I think my plan would work but I’ve just been checking flight paths of the arrow on the rest; just before the arrow leaves the rest, the blade clips the hen vanes. I’ve not noticed this before. However to clear the vanes completely, the tongue/blade would have to be incredibly narrow. Is this just normal?! It’s always been like this but seems odd. Is the tail of the arrow clear of the rest just before it runs over it?!
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
I think I’ll try my son’s prong rest.
I have a narrow blade that does clear the vanes but it’s so narrow, it’ll just worry me. The prongs clear my arrows perfectly and as Andy says, they hold the arrow a bit more securely.
If my son (who has zero draw/accidental-realease anxieties) gets on with the blade rest, all good. If not I’ll buy another prong rest and possibly sell the blade one.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
A compound arrow, shot with a release aid, bends slightly in the vertical plane. The initial bend is usually an "arch" and that gives the blade a bit of a push downwards. The arrow bend will reverse after a short period of time, and if you are lucky the tail will pass over the blade without contact. Sometimes the blade bends down and back up again just as the fletchings pass over and you get contact. Some blade users fit a short piece of thin steel on top of the v blade so it can bend down on its own but when it springs back up, it is held back by the strip of metal above it. The upper piece of steel is shorter than the v blade, so it does not cover the V in any way.
Sometimes a prong rest being heavier and stiffer than a blade, when pushed down by the arrow setting off, won't spring back up fast enough to catch the fletchings.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
Well being an indecisive goon, I did some checking out, looked at some reviews and ordered a Spot Hogg Premier rest; it’s very adjustable and comes with blades as well as prongs so I can swap if/when needed. If I get on with it I’ll bung my Trophy Taker SS2 on EBay for twenty quid or so.
Thanks for the info Geoff!
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
Yep Kidcurry, that’s the one!
Geoff; interesting! Maybe the best of all worlds (for me anyway)?!
 

Michael Burrows

Member
AIUK Saviour
I’ve been toying with the idea of one of these for a while now and did a bit of research; it seems that the limb driven ones are best (the arrows remains in contact for far longer than cable driven) but prices vary from £40 to almost £200.
The Vapor Trail v7 looks very good but it’s not cheap.
As I don’t do target at all and many of our shots are at weird angles, the added confidence would be handy although I’d not go back to the slightly iffy “biscuit” rest of old.
Anyone tried these or some kind of full capture rest? Completely removing any chance of an arrow bouncing off would be good but I also fancy trying one. My SS2 is okay but looking a bit sorry for itself.
It might be a daft idea though...!
Not cheap but Hamskea or QAD, both have full containment options
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
Well my makeshift arrow capture device works well and my bungee exercises are paying off.
However I did select an ACG, drew it, it immediately fell off the rest. It was one of my sons shorter carbon arrows which look very similar! Flicked the nock off the string, kept well away from the release trigger, drew down under plenty of control. Phew.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
I’m mystified as to why my arrows, which BADLY clipped the previous rest, seemed to actually shoot straight; I’ve been using it for years.
I know that release aids tend to result in vertical flex (hands result in horizontal) but they must have been flexing at exactly the right time and by the right amount; amazing really!
But my brain is much happier with a rest that doesn’t touch the arrow at all. It definitely seems to be very smooth (and quiet).
 
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