Kinda glad to see I'm not the only one who uses a scabbard. I pack my bow in the panniers on the long ride in but everywhere else I ride, it's in the scabbard. I like having it handy ever since I found out an elk will come in to the sound of a horses hoof at times.
One of the worst things I ever saw was when a guy I used to hunt with said he didn't like scabbards and would rather carry his bow. We were riding along and saw a nice bull moose. He bet me I couldn't call it in and I did, along with another we hadn't seen. The 2 old boys decided to get into it about 25 er 30 yards from us. His horse spooked and all the arrows came out of his quiver in the ruckus, by the time it was all over, he had a half dozen carbon arrows all busted up and a lame horse.