# Elevated rest vs off the shelf



## AReric (Mar 6, 2010)

I have bows set up both ways, and I am really coming to prefer the elevated rest (in my case a NAP Centerest flipper) over the off the shelf. Does anyone else feel this way? I am very interested in the feedback....


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

eric -

Yes.

But it's an on-going debate in "trad" land. 

Viper1 out.


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## rembrandt (Jan 17, 2004)

I prefer the elevated rest. I shot both ways for a while but the elevated rest gave me more accuracy it seems.......I now shoot with a rest and plunger.....I like it!


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## 187 BOWHUNTER (Feb 13, 2011)

off the shelf, no extras on my bow


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## mitchell (Mar 5, 2005)

Elevated rest is more forgiving, at least it seems so to me. Also, it will allow for vanes in bad weather areas. And then if you use some of the metal riser bows you can add a plunger if you want to go crazy.

Off the shelf keeps the arrow closer to the hand which some people feel is essential.

I guess it depends on what is most important to you personally.


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## deepsprayj (Nov 4, 2011)

I used to shoot off an elevated rest as I thought it was more accurate. I then tried off the shelf and I am no worse for it so,
K.I.S.S. it is for me.

I am blessed with a wife that shares my addictions


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## MAC 11700 (Feb 22, 2011)

AReric said:


> I have bows set up both ways, and I am really coming to prefer the elevated rest (in my case a NAP Centerest flipper) over the off the shelf. Does anyone else feel this way? I am very interested in the feedback....


Yup...except I prefer the original center rest to the flipper type..Much more durable..and still easliy tuned.

Much can be said for off the shelf though..provided you have it tuned well enough for excellent flight..but..a elevated rest like mine/yours allows the use of vanes easier and cleaner....and that is more important to me than having the arrow right on top of my hand with my shooting style..or what someone at some match might think..


Mac


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## jbw59 (Jun 27, 2010)

AR, I'm still pretty new to this. I started off the shelf. I shoot a one piece recurve and it's not drilled for a rest. I just put a stick on rest on the other day and it may be psychological, but I just feel more comfortable with the rest. I just feel like I get better clearence from the riser thus getting a better arrow flight.


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## WindWalker (Jan 23, 2005)

> I guess it depends on what is most important to you personally.....


But more important; what setup provides the best performance and better accuracy and consistent accuracy. 

As far as I am concerned, the individual can use what ever he or she likes. However, I have no doubt that there are those who are shorting themselves of better bow performance and accuracy by being and remaining loyal to the "trad" thing and/or keeping (it) _too_ simple.


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## c-lo (Jan 8, 2012)

One of my dad's old bows has a feather rest which keeps it traditional looking and elevates it. I don't have enough experience with these to say if they are as good as a modern elevated rest but they do look nice. See pic below:


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## rickstix (Nov 11, 2009)

I practice with both..but only hunt shooting off the shelf. For me, off the shelf makes it easier when I travel with an arrow at-the-ready. Just a practical matter, I suppose…and I wouldn’t want to envision adding something to the equation that has the potential to distract my focus from predator-mode. If I couldn't achieve my objectives using either method I wouldn't continue with it...Works for me. Enjoy, Rick.


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## rembrandt (Jan 17, 2004)

c-lo said:


> One of my dad's old bows has a feather rest which keeps it traditional looking and elevates it. I don't have enough experience with these to say if they are as good as a modern elevated rest but they do look nice. See pic below:
> 
> View attachment 1357045


I can remember shooting off the feather rest like that back in the 60s. My brother and I used them all the time. I had forgot about that, thanks for posting that....


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## WindWalker (Jan 23, 2005)

That one appears to have been homemade. The more common commercial feather rests were much smaller in length and height, thus making them stouter. 

Nevertheless, though they do work they generally have a short life if shot off a lot, and especially when used under hunting conditions and exposed to a lot of moisture. They commonly wore down quite early due to to the weight and friction of the shaft, they will collapse when wet, and if shooting alloy they were sometimes noisy when you drew the arrow.


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## Brianlocal3 (Dec 14, 2011)

Ill look for some pics around the house, i was making them out of plastic vanes and they worked awsome. I used 5 vanes the two on the left and the two on the right where the "same" height and the middle vane i would cut down some and it gave me a channel. Never stuck with them it was more of a bordem and resources thing.


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## Flint Hills Tex (Nov 3, 2008)

Well, I have tried both. If your bow and arrows are really well tuned, I think you can be fairly accurate off the shelf. But I just got back from the eye doctor, who told me that my visual accuity on my right eye (dominant eye) can only be corrected to 70% (left eye is even worse, so switching hands is not an option). I find that I can shoot more accurately with an elevated rest. That precludes my participating at certain shoots, where an elevated rest ist considered non-trad and therefore prohibited by the rules. But there are so many other shoots I can go to... I have a Cartel magnetic flipper. The finger was pretty long, so I trimmed it. No problems there.


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

I was screwing a bracket on my Sage to mount a quiver and I cracked the riser.
My fault, I didn't relialize the bolt was just long enough that it bottomed out and damaged the riser.
Ordered a Bear Wolverine which is basically the same bow.
This bow came with a rest so I fixed it up.
Cut off the little side flap to make it more center shot.


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## Phil Magistro (Apr 19, 2004)

I've shot both ways on many bows for decades. I keep wanting to use a shelf because of the simplicity but it seems I always go back to an elevated rest. I have Hoyt rests, Flipper IIs, Cavalier t-300s, Bear Weatherrest, feather rests, several old rests from vintage Brownings, Cavalier Champion II, and others. For some time now I've gone back to a springy rest. It is by far the easiest for me to tune and it gives excellent arrow flight


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## Dartwick (Oct 28, 2019)

Elevated rests offer 2 primary advantages over the shelf. 

1 they dampen the contact between the arrow and riser. 2 hard contact points can amplify variation induced during release. A dampening contact point helps. You can get a similar effect from velcro, furniture pads and etc. 

2 They provide clearance. You can get a similar effect from a teeny tiny shelf. 


I will say i totally understand people who just dont like the rest hanging there because it conflicts with primal perspective on a bow.
When i was a kid I got an old bearcat at a yard sale as my first real bow. Pretty much the first then i did was rip off the old plastic rest because it just didnt seem right.

I then proceeded to try and learn to shoot off the large hard flat shelf - in retrospect that was a bad idea.


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/X7DhqhgXZUj1bpK6A


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

Viper1 said:


> eric -
> 
> Yes.
> 
> ...


When we got into bowhunting in the mid 70s, most archers I saw had sights on their bows.
The Neo Trads are at attention now..lol


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

What happen to the first page of this thread?


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

Lol..I'm sorry, I got this thread mixed up with the one I started.


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## lameduck (Jul 24, 2019)

Dartwick said:


> Elevated rests offer 2 primary advantages over the shelf.
> 
> 1 they dampen the contact between the arrow and riser. 2 hard contact points can amplify variation induced during release. A dampening contact point helps. You can get a similar effect from velcro, furniture pads and etc.
> 
> 2 They provide clearance. You can get a similar effect from a teeny tiny shelf.


I don't know if it's just my lack of experience in archery, but I also find it difficult to tune at lower bow poundage when shooting off the shelf. It seems like there is a minimum required arrow speed or minimum arrow weight to prevent the feather fletching resistance from affecting the arrow flight. But an elevated rest is so friendly to low a poundage setup as long as you match it with the right arrow spine.




Dartwick said:


> I will say i totally understand people who just dont like the rest hanging there because it conflicts with primal perspective on a bow.
> When i was a kid I got an old bearcat at a yard sale as my first real bow. Pretty much the first then i did was rip off the old plastic rest because it just didnt seem right..


I share the same sentiment about traditional archery. This is the reason why I decided to learn shooting off the shelf, even though I found it easier to shoot with an elevated rest.


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## GCook (Aug 22, 2016)

I don't consider it right or wrong. Just what works for you.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


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## jewalker7842 (Aug 15, 2011)

I shot off the shelf for a few months and I wasn't a big fan. I just prefer it being off the shelf. I like the arrow close to my hand, and prefer the traditional feel to it. I moved over from compound for that very reason. The reason was to get away from technology--to a certain extent. I do after all use a modern bow with carbon arrows and steel broadheads.


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## Bill 2311 (Jun 24, 2005)

Expect a difference in nock height beyond the difference of the rest height. It will affect the limbs like a change in tiller.


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