Rests

[bama]

Some organizations prohibit elevated rests.   Others prohibit mechanical rests?   Is there a difference?

[Kirkll]

Absolutely..... You can use a weather rest made from plastic that glues on the strike, or build up an elevated rest using leather or rubber, and cover it with your favorite rest material. They also make a springy rest made from wire... but that could be questionable on it being mechanical because its made from metal... i dont know...

A mechanical rest would be like using a plunger button with a flipper rest made from wire. or a double prong rest that is spring loaded or break away. This type of rest is uncommon on a traditional bow and would require a berger button to be used in concert.

[bama]

Thinking about lifting ban on elevated rests in our events to open it up for more but dont want it to get crazy

[M60gunner]

Whatever type you allow or continue to not allow your going to have to define it in a way a caveman can understand. You know, with pictures for archers to understand.

[bama]

👍and still many not happy

[artifaker1]

You might consider separate classes for the different rest types. I've shot both and the mag rest with plunger is much more forgiving. IMO it is more difficult to shoot off the shelf. I've shot in a couple of tournaments and they do tend to put all the Trad people in the same group which isn't ideal with the different rest types .... it does make a big difference and those with the mag rests do have a large advantage.
I had a magnetic rest and plunger on my Bear A riser for a spell .... stacked groups and broke knocks at 35 yards and was able to group at 45 yards. But I have all my stuff set up for possible hunting trips and I took the mag rest off and shoot off the stock skid plate and I shoot all my stuff off the shelf, even my ILF stuff is all wood risers with radiused shelfs. But I was never able to shoot that well with my newer stuff in all honesty.
But one time, shooting with an olympic recurve friend, I put three out of three arrows on a paper plate at 65 yards with a 51lb pronghorn takedown longbow. I went back to the 35 or 45 yard target and about an hour later the olympic recurve guy stormed by on the way to the parking lot and complained that it took him a half hour to get three arrows on the paper plate. I have always gotten a kick out of that... lol sorry for the brag ...

[McDave]

All tournaments can and do make their own rules about everything, so it is helpful to know what they are before you show up.  Most tournaments will allow anyone to shoot, but if the local rule is that the trad class requires shooting off the shelf, it would be a shame to be pushed into the open class and have to compete with the Olympic style shooters with all their cushion plungers, stabilizers, etc., just because you have a stick-on rest.  Some tournaments also have different rules for recurves and longbows. 

The level of sticking to the rules varies with the personalities of the shoot organizers, and whether the shoot is officially sanctioned by NFAA.  At one shoot I was in a few years ago, one of the organizers didn't like it that one of the people in my group was string walking, so he asked for his scorecard and wrote a big DQ across the front of it.  He was allowed to continue, but couldn't submit his scorecard for scoring.

[Kirkll]

So string walkers got gift certificates for Dairy Queen? Wow! Good score.

[bama]

I love to shoot but my number one interest is hunting.   If I thought that an elevated rest would improve my chances of killing a deer I would use one.   I have tried them and never seen a difference with my shooting ability

[artifaker1]

((((I love to shoot but my number one interest is hunting.   If I thought that an elevated rest would improve my chances of killing a deer I would use one.   I have tried them and never seen a difference with my shooting ability)))

What ever it is worth Bear archery used to call those stick on rests ... weather rests ... to use when it is raining a lot on your hunt... you would have to move your knock point up to use one ... They do make a stick on rest, or did make one with a spring loaded wire rest on it. Which could be very accurate with carefull tuning. This probably why some archery groups just say no to all elevated rests ... easier to enforce maybe ...
If you have a really consistent style and draw you might not see any difference between the rest styles .... The thing is the old Bear Takedown limbs are tillered to be very forgiving, making it possible to mix and match parts and all that ... This was explained to me when I inquired with Schafer Archery about getting some bear takedown limbs in Silvertip speed. The Bowyer insisted on having the riser that you were going to use to shoot with, with the limbs when he tillered them .... And being a knucklehead I didn't send a riser to him ....
After I got my first Black Widow SA biult in the mid 90ies I found out I wasn't anywhere near as good as I thought I was. Had issues like twisting the riser and several other things which a lot of high performance bows are not forgiving of. .... groups opened up although I'm sure I can put one in the spot at a reasonable distance for a hunting shot. I really like to hunt rabbits mostly and stump .... I think the most accurate modern hypo bow that I've shot (for me) is a Morrison ILF 18" high grip osage riser and 51lb Morrison water snake recurve limbs from before the static recurves. Bought both parts right here on trad gang. Broke a bunch (4or5) of 1 1/2 balloons at forty yards during a mixed indoor 3D shoot. Mixed being wheel bows and trad. The better wheel bow guy got a few balloons too.
I do like to hunt Grouse of any kind thats legal, as well as rabbits.

[Wudstix]

I have always shoot off the shelf, even when I went to the dark side, with a Browning Tracker wood frame apparatus.
 

[bama]

😂😂😂

[Wheels2]

My Covert Hunter riser is made with the bushing for a pressure button.  It makes tuning so much easier.  But in order to use it I had to use a 1/4" thick furniture pad and a piece of double-sided sticky tape on the shelf.  I guess some would call that an elevated rest.
I personally don't care and find that too often equipment restrictions can be carried too far.