Bow Quiver affecting shooting?

Hopewell Tom · May 05, 2010, 08:20:00 PM

How does a bow quiver affect shooting? Having 4,5or 6 arrows hanging off the bow must have some affect on hitting the "spot". And what happens as you start to empty the quiver? I have a 5 arrow Selway, but like the compactness of the 4 arrow say... Anneewakee. I like more arrows, but in a tree stand, theoretically at least, you probably only get one shot. If there is an effect, should you practise with one arrow out of the quiver?

May 05, 2010, 08:38:00 PM

it doesnt bother some people but some it does, doesnt bother me any.

Ground Hunter · May 05, 2010, 08:40:00 PM

I don't like them. They throw off the balance of the bow, and hurt the looks. Loose loose for me. H

cbCrow · May 06, 2010, 07:28:00 AM

I've tried just about everything out there in way of a bow quiver and cannot get used to them.

They make my bow feel akward. I keep returning to my old trusty hip quiver.

joe skipp · May 06, 2010, 07:34:00 AM

I mostly hunt with m backquiver or Catquiver but I do like the bowquiver under certain conditions. I use and really like my GN Adjustable. Lightweight and doesn't affect my shooting.

Uncle Buck · May 06, 2010, 07:47:00 AM

I wrote a paper on this subject in college. It was a long time ago and most of the availble studies concerned the effect of a quiver mounted on a compound bow. There is a defifinite change in balance and harmonics whith a quiver mounted. While practical accuracy may not suffer, the point of impact can change. Bottom line is that if you have acceptable accuracy with the quiver attached you should practice with the number of arrows in it you would have when taking a shot in the field. Keep in mind this study was done concerning compound bows. I wish I still had the paper and research notes, but it was 30 yrs ago and they have been lost.

mrpenguin · May 06, 2010, 08:25:00 AM

Check out this article on the subject... the author suggests that, indeed, it will affect your shooting. I know for me it certainly does. I tend to shoot a little better with a quiver on some bows, and better without one on others. Either way, adding a quiver does change the mass of the bow and balance. For some shooters this is critical, for others it is not. A quiver will absorb some energy from the bow, this reduces the energy going from the limbs to the string to the arrow.

2fletch · May 06, 2010, 09:00:00 AM

Anything attached to the bow will theorically have some effect. The weight of the bow, shooting style, weight of the bow quiver, how it attaches, and distance of the quiver weight from the bow attachment are all factors in how much the shooting will be affected.

You have several choices. You can go with a heavier quiver and adjust or tune the bow to it, or you can use a lightweight quiver that fastens close to the bow which will have minimal effect. If you use a heavier quiver then you should not be putting it on and taking it off as the point of arrow impact will change.

At EFA we are dedicated to making lightweight quivers that don't affect how the bow shoots. I shoot a lightweight Beeler longbow and I would not consider using a heavier quiver. I believe that an idea bow quiver should not change how the bow shoots except in a positive way such as making a lightweight bow a little more stable and possibly quieter.

Flying Dutchman · May 06, 2010, 10:22:00 AM

I shot my longbow for about a year and a half without quiver, using POC's from about 12 gpp. I shot really accurate with them.
Then I wanted to shoot faster. So I got new arrows, which brought me to 9.4 gpp. I also installed an ultraskinny string, I went from 16 to 6 strands (with padded loops however).
In my new set-up, the bow felt a little unstable and was developing more handshock and vibration.
I ordered a Tunderhorn strap-on quiver which can hold six arrows.(wrote a review about it, see the review dept.)
For me it was just great! It reduced the handshock and made the bow much more stable. You are adding appr. 1 lbs weigth to your bow with a empty Thunderhorn quiver.
I retuned my setup with bareshafting and ended up with adding 20 grains more to the point.
Typically, a bowquiver will affect your dynamic spine with 3-5 lbs less. This is the same I noticed while bareshafting.
My arrows weigh 360 grains each and there are 6 in my quiver.
At training, I can't mention any differences with one, two, three or even all arrows out!
As a matter of fact, I was training at 45 yards yesterday. In the middle of my target there is a small yellow circle of about 4 inches. There was no difference shooting the first or the last arrow out of my quiver. All arrows were very close or in the yellow circle. But this can be my poor form....
I bareshafted with just one arrow out, being the situation you will enter the most.

JimB · May 06, 2010, 10:42:00 AM

Tom,you will get a lot of different answers.It is a good idea to tune the setup with a full quiver minus one arrow.The larger the quiver,naturally,the more chance of it affecting the bow.Mounting the quiver way out to the side or forward of the riser can increase the affect.Occasionally you will see someone with the their quiver mounted so it is out past the fadeouts,ie. on the working part of the limb and this is not good either.

I have the EFA quiver and see zero affect on 3 different bows that I have tried it on.I still tune with it on and 3 arrows in it plus practice that way.These quivers only weigh 4-5 ounces,are silent and hold the arrows well.

I have some other quivers that weigh a little more and hold more arrows and I feel some difference from bare bow to quiver on but as long as I tune and practice with it on,it is no problem.The extra mass may even help a little.

As far as emptying the quiver,the change,arrow to arrow,will be so slight that you probably won't notice and you will be too busy to worry about it anyway.

inn8hunter · May 06, 2010, 10:59:00 AM

I had never considered a quiver for a trad bow, but again I am still a newbie.

But I saw a youtube vid that a guy made a "quiver blind" to shield the draw arm and it really intrigued me as I will be stalking and hunting off of the ground exclusively this year.

I know for a fact for me that a quiver on my wheelie bows noticeably changed my shot.

I'll certainly have to check into these efa quivers.

Tim

Over&Under · May 06, 2010, 11:02:00 AM

I tend to shoot very light weight bows (mass weight) and the bow quiver actually helps me shoot a better as it has a stabilizing effect and adds a little weight to the bow.

Flying Dutchman · May 06, 2010, 11:04:00 AM

I agree, I forgot to tell, the mass weight of my bow is also very low.

LimbLover · May 06, 2010, 11:04:00 AM

Yes, it does affect the bow somewhat. It will add a bit of weight to the riser and what not as stated above. I think they hurt some bows and help others. A bow that is light in the riser can benefit from the extra weight.

I love a bowquiver on my longbows. My Great Northern is perfect. It helps me to keep my bow arm still and decreases handshock.

There is also something about having more mass to the right of the riser visually. It feels like I have a more focused site window.

wharvey · May 06, 2010, 01:34:00 PM

Never tried one on a longbow but saw no difference with my recurves other than making them quieter. Chrono'd them and found no drop in arrow speed. Just heavier bow. Actually helped my shooting. FWIW, a heavy Selway.

Northwest_Bowhunter · May 06, 2010, 01:43:00 PM

I use a bow quiver on my longbow, I can't really see any difference in my shots. It's nice to have the arrows right there, bad shoulder keeps me from reaching back to get the arrow in a back quiver and a hip quiver snags on everything I walk past.

John Dill · May 06, 2010, 08:17:00 PM

I love a bow quiver on a bow....thats why we make them!

ranger42 · May 08, 2010, 05:26:00 PM

A bow quiver helps me with stability on my longbow. Also dampens vibrations somewhat, if you place it near the fade of the riser section

excelpoint · May 08, 2010, 05:46:00 PM

I've always shot with a bow quiver be it on a Longbow or Recurve. I find it helps the bow naturally fall into the cant I like. I have found I actually shoot better with one on but that's probably just because I am so used to them being on the bow.

joevan125 · May 08, 2010, 05:46:00 PM

I have a Eagle flight Quiver on all my bows and the extra weight, however slight it is helps my shooting.

These really are great quivers!!!!!