Arrow Rest Suggestions
Equipment
I use the quad ultra rest. Works great. I’ve carried it through a lot of junk. I’d suggest a bowstring cover so the cordage that cocks it doesn’t get pulled out.
Love QAD and the integrated version is even better. Not all do. Some will tell you about multiple monster deer lost when rest did not work, but my history has been clean over 14 years and multiple bows and rests.
Been using this one for almost 30 years. Nothing to go wrong and if the flipper itself breaks pop it off and add a new one in seconds.
Stay away from cable attached drop aways and go to a limb-driven drop away. They offer longer support followed by a much faster drop without bounce-back.
What kind of hunting/shooting are you doing? If you are primarily hunting out of a stand the limb driven rest will probably work well. I had one and didnt care for it when trying to stalk in on game. I currently use a QAD but I have had it fail to lock up twice. Hasnt cost me any animals and if you cant lock it up you are carrying your arrow in the same position as you would on a limb driven rest.
Whatever you get its always a good idea to throw a whisker biscuit in your pack in case something goes wrong, it can save your hunt.
Wisker biscuit for stands, ground blinds and stalking. I keep a extra biscuit in my case or pack.
I shoot off the shelf with my recurve.
Limb driven 100% So easy to install and tune.
Hamskea. I know 2 guys whose hunts were screwed when QAD's malfunctioned on them.
Hamskea hunter hybrid limb driven. I thought it would drive me nuts but so far it has never hung up on anything too bad. I have a spare string and felt blade cover in my bow case . Very quiet and easy to set up.
I currently have QAD HDXs on two bows. I love them. I have a Hamskea Trinity Pro on my other bow. The Hamskea is built like a tank, but definitely adds weight. Limb driven rests are much easier to set up I will say that. I just had a QAD that I've used since 2007 finally fail me last fall. It wouldn't lock up, which is the feature I love about them. So I replaced it with a new one. I'd say 15 years out of a rest is pretty good ROI. I realize they are probably not as reliable as a limb driven Hamskea, but they are reliable enough for me and I may replace my Hamskea in the future because I love that lock up feature.
Click the link and see who wrote the article…
Yep, but don’t let him dissuade you from sharing your knowledge. I for one appreciate it!
I’ve used a Ripcord and QAD cable driven rests for more than 10 years, with zero problems.
Have always used the Ultra rest. Went to a Hamskea the last 2 years and will never look back. Putting one on my wife's bow this summer. Incredibly accurate and bomb proof.
Hunting whisker biscuit. Keep it simple and nothing to go wrong
QAD Integrate for me. If you set them up right, I don’t know how a rest could get any better.
I honestly can’t understand how anyone can trust a QAD at this point. Literally every single year I hear of someone having a failure.
Yeah, the lock up feature is nice, but 2 guys on this thread already said it’s quit on them. They are often a pain to set-up/tune for a lot of guys too. Just sooooo many better options out there.
I also agree a well designed and installed limb driven rest is pretty tough to beat IMO. I personally have been shooting Hamskea for at least 8-10 years now.
—Jim
I got to tour the Hamskea factory a couple weeks ago. It was very apparent that they are all about building a top quality rest that is second to none. They build an impressive product.
^^ Agreed on any rest that locks in the up position. Get a limb driven rest like the Hamskea or Trophy Taker and go hunt. Rest comes up when you draw and gets pulled out of the way when you release. :)
Hamskea for me too. For anyone thinking the cord might get caught on something it’s merely speculation as far as I know and I’ve never had it happen to me before over 12 years of hunting with one.
Currently I have a epsilon on my pse omen and a qad on my pse evl34, I really like both. If I had to choose one it would be tough, probably be the qad as I have more history with it
Does Hamskea make an Integrate version of their rest for my Mathews system? I currently have the QAD Integrate MX, cable version and NEVER had an issue. (4 years running)
All you guys that like the limb driven rest, doesnt your arrow just rattle around on the shelf until you come to full draw? How do you stalk with a nocked arrow?
With my finger, like it's been done for thousands of years.
The traditional way. A step back in time
QAD from the time they started. I’ve never had a fail. Stuff happens though
I’m digging my Hamskea rests. Target blade on my target bow, regular launcher on my hunting bow.
“With my finger, like it's been done for thousands of years.”
There are 20 guys out there whose minds have been blown.
I think I would much prefer my finder holding the arrow on the shelf than a cocked QAD. I see the preference for it sitting in a stand but stalking I think I much prefer the arrow down on the shelf and locked down with my finger. But again I guess personal preference, no right or wrong.
—Jim
My biggest concern from going to the QAD to Hamskea years ago was the arrow issue. Converting never bothered me a bit stalking or in the stand to not have it “locked” up.
SMTN, mine doesn’t rattle or move when I walk or draw. The whole rest I have is rubberized and I have mole skin on the very few spots the arrow might make contact with the riser. And my rest itself is covered in moleskin. Very silent.
Yeah I'm one of those guys who experienced a QAD failure, twice. I had one on my 2016 Halon and literally shot thousands of trouble free arrows through it. I loved it and really liked the lock up feature for practice and tree stand hunting. While elk hunting I often stalked with it in the down position and my finger over the arrow. In 2021 it failed to drop twice and cost me a mid 150's 10 point whitetail at 12 yards in Iowa and then a couple weeks later it failed to drop and cost me an upper 140's 9 point at 10 yards in Kansas. I replaced it with a Hamskea Trinity and killed 3 bucks with it last fall. I do not miss the lock up feature as much as I thought I would. The design of the Hamskea makes it impossible for it to not drop. The Hamskea is full contain and I have moleskin on any contact surfaces so it's totally silent.
I had no reason to bash QAD and I hope those who use them never experience what I experienced. I think I still have PTSD from it. I'm not one of those guys who buys a new bow and rest every couple years, I tend to keep and use my equipment for a long time. My previous bow was a Mathews MQ1 that I shot for 18 years and still use as a backup bow (with a Trophy Taker Pronghorn drop away rest). I really didn't want to replace my rest but I also don't support or defend a piece of equipment simply because it's what I own or because of brand loyalty. I have to call a spade a spade. Sorry but I don't think I could ever bring myself to buy another QAD; I've lost confidence in them. I think anything that's mechanical will eventually wear out, but the question is when? And unfortunately there's little or no warning that a rest is about to fail. If you buy a new bow and rest every few years or so you'll "probably" stay ahead of it. It seems to me that with the additional mechanical magic that happens inside of a QAD to make it drop there could be more potential for failure. I couldn't confidently buy another QAD after what I experienced.
I believe I have better and more consistent arrow flight with the Hamskea and it was very easy to setup. My quiver and arrows pretty much protect the limb driven cord and after a month of abuse hunting elk and almost 3 months hunting whitetails with it I had zero issues with the cord getting caught on anything. I really like the fact that the cord is easily replaceable in the field with zero tuning and you could even use a boot lace in a pinch.
Just my 2 cents worth...
Hamskea epsilon is probably the best of the best
I like the QAD for the lock up feature stand hunting whitetails….however I honestly consider throwing a whisker biscuit on for tree stand hand hunting to avoid those failures… my rest failed to drop last year and sent the arrow way off intended target and had to replace…..
I feel your pain MA-PAdeerslayer, it's pretty traumatic to have a big buck standing broadside at 10-12 yards, being totally calm and collected, squeeze off the shot and watch your arrow corkscrew into another zip code, twice!
My issue with a Whisker Biscuit is I like to practice out to 100 yards and sometimes further. Although I have no personal experience, from what I've read a Whisker Biscuit isn't the best choice for long range shooting.
KISS method = Whisker Biscuit
My only time using the Hamskea was for a bison hunt and several times as i was belly crawling across the prarie i was wishing I had a better way to contain the arrow. I still have the rest, maybe it needs a second chance.
Hamskea.... I have one on all my bows. Plus, I personally know Andrew, Shawn and Devin. No better folks in the business and they're just dang good dudes. Can't go wrong with their products
Been a whisker biscuit guy for 20 years now. Not one failure and I put em through hell. So foolproof it's funny. I'm actually shocked they aren't on every hunting bow out there. But to each their own.
I used a QAD for several years and it worked great 99.9% of the time. It was those two failures that sent me to Hamskea. Have not looked back. The QAD is now on my backup compound and it's weird to have to cock it. No issues with the finger on the rest when stalking, because I hunted with trad for almost 50 years before making the switch. I've been really happy with the Hamskea.
Jaq X2, I prefer stocking with the hamskea over the qad, just throw the index finger over the arrow and giver
