I'm seeking opinions on the best(in terms of providing good arrow flight and durability) simple elevated rest...
I'm curently using Flipper II's. I'm getting 1,000-1,200 shots/2 months out of one before the launcher arm (wire) breaks. Can't help but think a rest should last longer than this...
T-300: have a couple laying around that I didn't shoot enough to wear out. The launcher seems much more durable than the Flipper II, but on one I lost the spine point a few shots after I put it on, and I've been suspicious of them ever since. I suspect they might be the simple rest that provides the best arrow flight, though.
Rubber "Weather Rests": My options are limited here as I'm left handed. No matter if it's Bear, Hoyt, or Gametracker, the left hand rubber rests all have a big arrow holder hook on the launcher arm that A: I don't like, B: doesn't work well with 2413 aluminium shafts I use. They appear to pretty much be identical, other than the Game Trackers have two plunger holes in them.
Also, I suspect the launcher arm will lose it's strength & consistency (rather than break off when it fails) and poor arrow flight will sneak up gradually.
I have used Flippers off and on over the years with my trad bows and they were the only thing I used with my compounds.
If you are getting that amount of breakage with them I suspect that you have a tuning problem or finger pinch problem that is putting too much stress on them. You should be getting a lot more life expectancy than you are with them.
I love my brush rests. They last forever. There is nothing to break. They have a traditional appearance. They are waterproof. The rest can be trimmed so that it is very close to the riser which some archers believe helps with instinctive aiming. The only problem I have found is the double sided tape. I attach mine with barge cement.
ND...sent you an email. If you have any questions we'll be leaving for a week long bear hunt...but the rest I sent you info on is really one of the best for bowhunting.
Appreciate it guys...
You didn't say whether or not your riser was tapped for a plunger but if it is, you might want to give the NAP center rest a try. I am currently shooting off the shelf but I have used these for years and I'm not sure you could ever wear one out.
I have found them to be literally bomb proof.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/kcummings/centerest.jpg)
I've also use the NAP centerest for years, never wore one out, always carried a spare just in case, just pull the head off and put the new one on.
I use the shoot lefty and have a cavilier 300 I'm not useing, I'll send it to if you want it, if you decide to try the centerest I have a few lefty heads I'll send you too.
I used the Hoyt stick-on for years, but never shot 3/8" arrows (24/64th's). I never had an issue with that retaining finger. I just stuck a new one on each year. More simple than re-doing a shelf rest.
I have this one on my Bear Takedown. It's an old Shakespeare rest that is simply an elevated platform with some soft velcro on top. This photo is a Shakespeare Ocala with the factory rest installed. I replaced the arrowhead shaped side plate with a narrow piece of soft velcro.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/oldearcher46/shakespearerest.jpg)
Actually, I have one or two of those NAP Centershot Rests in a tackle box somewhere. I have a Hunter II arriving next week and on which I plan to install a plunger insert.
What I'm talking about here are the stick on type rests...
Hey ND I have been thinking of giving one of those NAP Center rest (exactly like the one pictured above) a try. I currently have a stick-on Bear cheapo rest.
If you can find an extra one of those rests in your tackle box that you wouldn't mind getting rid of let me know and maybe we can work something out.
Nala
I have a Widow on the way and will be considering the same thing. From my research, the "spring" rests seem to be the way to go, if you have a plunger hole.
They sell them at martinarchery.com for about $6, which is not bad for an experiment.
I also have a T300 that I have yet to mount on a riser, and it's about to become an experiment on a home-made ILF riser.
In the reading that I have done, I have yet to hear of "worse" performance from an elevated rest over shooting from the shelf, as long as the setup is tuned and the arrows are spined properly.
One interesting note: while tuning my Border, I put a piece of masking tape on the riser so I could remove the rest material without screwing up the finish, while I was shimming it in/out to tune.
The stupid thing stuck to the tape so well I left it on that way for a year, thru rain, sleet, and snow....I just trimmed the tape so the feathers wouldn't lift a corner of it...
Take Care,
Marc
I would use the T300 over the spring rest. They are more durable.
That rubber Hoyt stick-on rest should serve well for those big shafts.
If you're breaking Flipper II rests after a thousand of so shots, I'd suggest bareshaft tuning to see if your nock point is a touch low. I've put tens of thousands of shots through those rests and only ever broke one (which was my own fault).
Stuck on one of the T-300's I have lying around.
Got great flight, considerably better than with the Flipper.
Think I'll go this route with my new Hunter II...
I have a flipper rest 2 on my martin hunter. I have been shooting it for many years with no problems. Its a great rest.
Is the T-300 rest that is being talked about made by Cavalier and has a flipper type arm on it and a hole for a plunger?
Thanks
Nala
Yes. That's the one.
Could you all post some more photos of these rests actually on your bow?
Especially the "plunger" type.
I've seen them in catalogs but have not seen one in action.
Someone posted pictures of how to make cheap/free rests out of tabs used to display merchandise in the aisles of grocery stores. They were little plastic tabs in a verticle strip that you hang multiple items on through their holes in the packaging. He would cut one out and use double-sided tape to attach it to his bow. Very similar in shape to the center-rest. I'll see if I can do a search and find it.
Make your own from a piece of 8 oz. leather, have them on almost all my bows, last forever. You just have to sand your strike plate down to the thickness you want, if you need a pic p.m. me, very easy to make..
Probably should add that 90% of the time I shoot vanes, not feathers, hence the need for a shoot around type elevated rest...
ND, I use the weather rest made by Satalite archery. Cheap and easy and last a long time. I can shoot feathers or veins. 3 rivers has them.
Started out 45 years ago using the Bear brush rest. Changed to the Bear weather rest shortly after and have been using one since. Simple, quiet and durable.!
Barry Wensel gave me this idea in camp a fews back - works great for me. I take a classic Bear Weatherest and trim the bottom off (below the "finger") so that it fits snug against the crowned shelf of my Morrison Shawnee. I then cover it with moleskin which makes it absolutely silent. This setup gives me the best of both worlds, arrow clearance/forgiveness AND it sits very close to my bow hand for "point and shoot" barebow shots.
i use an elevated rest on bow that are made for installing a plunger.