Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Tetsuoh on August 08, 2013, 07:20:11 pm
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Okay guys I'm about to start a bow and I got a question for you all.
What do you all prefer to be shooting?
A Bow with an Arrow Plate, an Arrow Rest, or simply an Arrow Shelf?
I have seen all kinds of things when it comes to this and I have shot really only a bow with a shelf, SO I'm thinking of trying something new.
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I like a hemp wrapped handle with a leather flap for a rest, nice and thin without a bunch of forming. I've done some cutout shelves by request, but I don't like them personally.
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I double over the Buckskin at the top of the grip and add the arrow pass (Buckskin also) when I install the grip. I shoot off the knuckle. Bob
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I prefer an arrow shelf my self it's more accurate and more consistant then shooting off the hand and also I think it looks nice and isn't that hard to carve into a handle at all That's my opinion
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Shelf
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I don't much care for how cut in shelves look on self bows. I like a rest though. I make mine out of golf tees.
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e113/olivewn/IMG_1277.jpg) (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/olivewn/media/IMG_1277.jpg.html)
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depends on what kind of bow i make. bendy handles get floppy arrow rest, stiff handles get a glue on rest and ofcourse center shots get center cut shelfs
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well, i like elb style bows... so of course no arrow rest. just a plate of copper or leather.
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I don't cut the shelf into the wood, but I build the shelf up with leather and then put a leather arrow plate on too... similar to the one pictured above.
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I don't do cut ins. My osage this year has no rest or shelf except for my hand. Jawqe
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Like 'em all. Cut in shelves being my least favorite. Most I build have a built up shelf out of leather or wood, but the last 2 I've built, I shoot off the hand. Like them as well as those with a shelf. I shoot just as poorly with any of them.
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I'm always in perpetual change . . . so I may feel differently in a few months but for the last year or so, I've gone without either. I'm shooting off the hand and no arrow plate. To be honest, I can't tell the difference.
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I build my bows for one thing. Deer hunting. I hunt from a tree stand and prefer to hang my bow from a hook with an arrow nocked. So it's a built up leather shelf or cut in wood shelf for me. I agree that shooting off the hand is fine and I still do that from time to time if I don't plan on hunting with a particular bow. It does look a little more classic without a one but it's all about function when it comes to a hunting bow IMHO
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I just shoot off hand, no strike plate, but I hate cut in rest.
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No no and no, :).
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I usually use a bulbous style handle with a Floppy Rest. If I want a rigid rest I make one from leather and add it to side of the handle.
If you cut in a shelf you have to think about how much wood you have supporting that shelf. All of the leverage from the limbs is concentrated at the handle. Also the shapes near the cutout should be smooth and gradual.
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I don't care for a cut in shelf. I have been using a floppy rest on the last few bows I have made, clean, simple and accurate. Just looks right on a primitive bow> Dan
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I prefer the knuckle, but if i gotta use something else , it would be floppy triangular piece of leather,, the, the, thats all.
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Shoot off the knuckle and i have lately wrapped where the arrow passes. Never used a rest of any kind.
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Off the knuckle - no difference in accuracy as long as you make a handle shape that you can only hold one way without you having to check before a shot.
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No shelf, rest or anything like that. I dod have an old thin leather glove with the fingers cut off that I wear on my bow hand. I left just enoght of the index finger to cover the knuckle.
If you cant the bow it helps too.
Del
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cut in shells have no place on any of my bows. I agreed to do it ONCE for a friend.
Of the hand is my favorite on a D bow
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On previous bows I had always cut a shelf because I thought that was the best way but this last one I glued on a leather shelf and really like it. The first shelf I cut in looked terrible so it takes a little patience to get it right. I think for now I will experiment with leather shelves. They really work good. :)
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What Will H said. :) Some I cut in a bit,some glue on leather shelf depending on the bow,if it has a natural curve in the stave I try and get it in the handle/arrow pass area to help center shot it some. Have some that shoot off the hand and they shoot just fine that way,just need to be sure the feathers and clean at the nose of them. ;) ;D ;D For the bows I hunt with, which is most I build for myself they have to have a shelf of some description to hold the arrow,if I try holding a bow in my hand for any length of time my hands goes to sleep so I usually hang them somewhere till the moment of truth. :) Its all about shooting well and hunting to me and I personally shoot a bow better with a small index for my hand placement and off a shelf. Thats my story and I am sticking to it. ;) ;D ;D ;D
Pappy
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The majority of bows I have used the golf tee method I learned by viewing one of Gordon's build a longs. I tend to shoot more accurately with a consistent rest of some sort. My son prefers a more modern look to his bow and the one I am currently building for him will have a cut in shelf.
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I've tried all of them, but my favorite is no rest at all. Just shooting off the knuckle. IME, it makes me feel closer and more 'one' with the bow. Makes it less like a foreign weapon and more like an extension of my body. And I haven't really noticed much accuracy difference either. On some bows (usually bendy handle bows) I'll put a burn mark where the arrow should go or where the top of my hand should be.
As I've heard it said, "Shelves are for books" ;) ;D
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My favorite style is Native American bows so I shoot off the knuckle with no strike plate.
Grady
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I prefer a built up rest or cut in shelf,i shoot better with those.
So depending on style and Wood any of those.
I find it easier to spine arrows with a deep cut shelf.
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I prefer shootin off the knuckle and i mostly shoot bend inda handle bows. I usually glue on a leather strike plate just for noise dampening. When i make a bow for bowfishin i usually make a larger handle area and cut in or biuld up a shelf...more for safety as i use primitive & modern arrows for fishin( dont want a solid fg arrow running along my knuckle).... Brian
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From the day I named Mickey Lotz's flexible leather arrow rest, now known as a Ferret's Floppy Arrarest (TM), that has been the only rest I use on my bows. It's the closest thing to shooting off your knuckle without the wear and tear on your skin!
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I use a leather plate, and a floppy rest or a glued-up leather rest, but no cut ins as I have seen many failures.
I like a rest of some sort as it helps me with consistent hand placement.
Sean
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Cut-in myself. I've never seen a cut-in shelf fail personally and I don't think I've seen any on these Trad forums in the past ten years..............Art B
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Me either Art... but ive seen a few i thought might go south :o
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I remember reading in The Old Bowhunter where Chet Stevenson built bows up to 65# with 3/8" wide handles and 2 3/8" deep. Even back then they were in pursuit of a more efficient bow/arrow combination. Maybe because these ol' fellows were hunters first and archers second! Art B
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I remember reading in The Old Bowhunter where Chet Stevenson built bows up to 65# with 3/8" wide handles and 2 3/8" deep. Even back then they were in pursuit of a more efficient bow/arrow combination. Maybe because these ol' fellows were hunters first and archers second! Art B
Yep! And I've seen his bows in person. As long as the wood is there handles can be narrow.
It's like holding a board..... Sideways
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Ive always shot with a shelf or rest of some sort even if it was just an extra fold of leather at the top of the handle wrap. The trade bow i got from hunterbob this year is my first shoot off the hand bow and i have to admitt i seem to hit realy well without a rest. Will have to wait untill after hunting season to see if i'm a true convert though. ;)