Pennsylvania Game News - February 2019 - 55

DROP-AWAY

Drop-away rests have become incredibly popular over the past decade among
both target archers and bowhunters.
As the name suggests, these rests support the arrow through the draw cycle,
then drop out of the way during the shot.
After the rest guides the first few inches
of arrow upon string release, the rest
falls away and there is no more contact
between arrow and rest.
Most of drop-away rests today contain
the arrow completely through the draw
cycle, which eliminates the possibility of
the arrow falling off the rest and makes
them a great choice for bowhunters.
Many target archers use drop-aways
because they've been proven to be very
accurate. So is a full-containment dropaway rest the perfect choice?
Preference varies from archer to archer.
But drop-aways come in three basic
varieties.
There are the limb-driven rests, where
a cord is tied from the rest to one of the
bow's limbs. When the bow is at rest, the
cord holds the rest flat against the shelf.
As the archer draws and the limb flexes,
the rest pops up to support the arrow at full
draw. When the string is released, the cord
pulls the rest out of the way of the arrow.
Cable-driven rests employ a cord
that's tied to the down-moving cable on a
compound bow. As the archer draws and
the cable moves down, the cord pulls the
rest up to support the arrow at full draw.
When the string is released, the cord slides
up and the rest drops down to the shelf.
FEBRUARY 2019

Both limb-driven and cable-driven
rests allow the rest to move up and down
as an archer draws and relaxes the bow.
Inertia rests employ cords attached
to the down cable, but the rests can be
"cocked" in the upright position while
the bow is at rest. This holds the arrow
in one place through the draw cycle. And
if the archer lets down the bowstring, the
rest will stay up. Only when the string is
released, and there is a sudden release of
energy by the bow, does the inertia rest
fall out of the way.
These rests are particularly favored by
bowhunters, who can nock an arrow, cock
the rest, and then not have to worry about
the arrow falling off the rest.
In a tree stand, the bowhunter can
hang the bow on a hook with the arrow
nocked and the rest cocked and simply
pick up the bow and draw when it comes
time to shoot.
There's nothing to think about.
So what is the potential downside of
drop-aways? They have moving parts.
Any time you have moving parts, there
is the potential for failure.
Personally, I've been using drop-aways
for years, in all kinds of weather conditions, and I've never had an issue. But I've
heard stories from other archers who have
had them freeze in frigid temperatures,
and fail to drop out of the way at the shot.
Because drop-aways rely on cords
connected to a limb or down cable,
those cords can break or otherwise come
untethered. If that happens in the field, a
repair might not be simple or immediately
possible.
That's something to consider with this
type of rest. But having choices when it
comes to archery equipment is a good
thing. You're not stuck with only one
option. You can experiment to find what
works best for your needs.

___________

out of containment-style rest.
On the other hand, many archers worry
about rests like these compromising accuracy. And I've never seen a serious target
archer - who cares only about accuracy
- using a containment-style rest.

55
Pennsylvania Game News - February 2019

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