Toothpick arrow holder never again

[Stinger]

First let me say I have learned a lot of great tips over the years on this site and I still think this one is a good one if the operator isn't a dope like me.

So I'm in my stand and in  comes this large six grunting this hot doe up a storm.  I manage to stop him at 14 yards and have a very small window to shoot through.  I pull, anchor and release and my 14 yard shot goes low and left and just nicks him in the leg and off he runs.  I figure out that the toothpick/rubber band arrow holder I had on didn't release properly and caused the errant shot.  So, the next morning I have been in the stand for 2 1/2 hours and seeing very little.  It started to get cold so I hung the bow on the hook with the toothpick/arrow holder in place.  All of a sudden from behind me comes this doe and her fawn flying down the hill behind me.  I stand up, grab the bow and get ready.  Sure enough here comes the biggest buck I have ever seen charging down toward me not 15 yards behind me.  He's got fire in his eyes and panting hard.  I mouth grunt him as loud as I can and he slams on the breaks just 15 yards in front of me quartering away and looking down the hill away from me.  I start to draw and this time remember the toothpick.  I try to flip it with my thumb but it won't move.  I try harder and it is stuck.  I then reach around with me drawing hand and forcefully remove it.  quickly back to the string goes my hand just in time to see the monster kick it in gear again and tear on down the hill after the doe.

It's ironic that like most of you one of the things I love the most about traditional shooting is the simplicity and lack of accouterments.  But, my old fingers do get tired of holding the arrow on the shelf and the simplicity of the toothpick and rubber band arrow holder seemed like a great idea at the time.  Obviously it's still too complicated for me so I have elected to remove those from my gear list from now on.

Fortunately the big boy is still around.  I have seen him the last 2 mornings in a row cruising through the same area at about 8:30.  Yesterday he was screened by some brush at 20 yards and then decided to reverse direction and go back the way he came.  This morning I had to drop my brother at the airport and got to the stand late.  As I am climbing in the climber about 12 feet up, I hear a noise behind me and turn around to see the big guy just plodding through about 20 yards away absolutely unaware that I was there.  I'll give him one last time tomorrow, but will be sure I don't have the arrow holder on me.

[Whip]

Yeah, I sure don't trust it to come off by itself. Haven't had any trouble flipping it off manually though.

That's really too bad it cost you a chance at a monster buck. But if it weren't for that your arrow falling off the shelf as you grabbed the bow might as easily have done it. I guess the ideal solution is to hold onto it the whole time you are in the stand. But I'm not very good at doing that either.

Good luck on the next encounter - hope that one works for you.

[Stinger]

Thanks Whip!  The first time I was actually using a toothpick.  Since I lost that one I thought I could improve on the device by using a more stout rubber band and a thicker stick.  In his case I cut the end off a wooden chopstick.  I think the problem was that it was too strong to just flip off with the glove I had on.  It worked fine with bare hands, but I think all the excess material on the gloved thumb got in the way.

[Stumpkiller]

With my luck I'd pull back and launch the toothpick into my eye.

Index finger and bow at ready (or across my knees) for me.  I whip thread on my string so it is a snug fit to my Mercury Speed Nocks.

[hvyhitter]

Thats why I put the brass pin in the back of my riser and use pigtail rubberbands....works everytime,all weather, and....NO hands.

[Follower]

I don't like the look of the rubber arrow holder glued to the side of my riser but in all honesty its the best solution i can come up with.  

Stay after him and get another crack!

[Hawkeye]

Saunders Kwik-lok.....

[30coupe]

Originally posted by Hawkeye:
Saunders Kwik-lok.....

Make that X 2!

[lpcjon2]

That really stinks. I always have bow in hand with finger on the arrow.

[Bowwild]

I use a "stay-jack".  Once I take the bow from its hook (prime times and when I see or hear something coming)I release its hold on the shaft and simply use the finger method. Haven't dropped an arrow from the tree yet this year.

[Pointer]

Kwik-lok...no other is better..

[Ray]

Murphys law strikes again.
I had the most perfect opportunity once ground hunting.Eight yards away slightly quartering away the little buck with its head down to the ground chewing looking away from me.As I neeled and drew back unoticed by the deer,it happens.My arrow falls or pulls away from the shelf.At full draw I am trying to use body english to put the arrow back on the shelf.After enough attempts at this with no avail the little buck eventually turned to catch all the comotion and decided it was time to leave.All I could do was laugh afterward.
If it can go wrong,it will-happy hunting.

[Lefty]

Patrick,
 PM me your address and I will send you one, like this, if you want to try it.
Chris

[rastaman]

Chris, that is exactly what i use and is very hard to beat.  They are hard to find now.  i think Bohning used to make them, maybe still does.

[njloco]

It doesn't take very long to just put the arrow on the string, it's easier than holding the bow and the arrow the whole time waiting for a deer to show up. It's also much easier to move around or turn from side to side depending on which side of the tree the deer show up.  Although I would hold the bow with arrow on a windy day since I can't hear anymore and had a huge buck 10 yards from my tree and never saw or heard him walk in, never could get a shot as he stopped under a fallen tree that still had growth o it.

[Stinger]

Lefty,

Thanks for your very generous offer.  I actually have one just like that and took it off another bow to put it on my longbow for this season, but the tape is all worn out.  I couldn't find anything else that was double sided that was strong enough to hold it on.

[LV2HUNT]

I never rely on it to come off on its own either. It works fine for the longbow but I use the rubber thing on my recurve which works even better.

[Mark Baker]

I'm with Hvy Hitter....I install a brass pin on the riser next to the arrow with a small rubber band, and it always works, manually or not.   It's become a necessity for me in cold weather, and having an arrow "at ready" really helps.  Here's a pic of one on one of my bows.    

[Mark Baker]

Sorry for the out of focus on this one.  But you get the idea.

[Irish Archer]

Mark,

What kind of brass do you use for the pin? I'd assume that you just drill a hole in your riser and insert some kind of brass rod?

Any better photos? I can't really make that out very well. Thanks.