With and without Bow Quiver

[wharvey]

The weather was great today so I decided to do an experiment I thought about a couple of days ago. The question I wanted to answer was, does a bow quiver affect the velocity of a bow. I set up my chronograph and got one of my bows.

The selected bow is a Martin Howatt Hunter which pulls 35 pounds at 28" and my draw length is 29.5 inches. The bow has a standard dacron 12 strand flemish twist string with 4 wool puffball silencers.  Shooting done using finger release. I had a Selway slide on quiver mounted with 4 wood judo pointed arrows. The arrow I choose to use is an 1816 with a total mass of 429 grains, for about 12 grains per pound.

I loosed 12 shots recording the results quiver attached. Then I removed the quiver taking care not to change my brace height and shot 12 without.

I then threw out the high and low shots for each and put the data in an excel sheet for analysis.

 

As you can see from the above data, the arrow speed did increase without the quiver but by such a small value as to be meaningless. It was not even statistically certain that the speed did increase.

HOWEVER the noise of the bow did increase dramatically. There was a lot more twang and limb vibration even with the four silencers. In fact this bow is nosier without the quiver than my Hatfield, which I've never used the quiver with.

As a result, if I take this bow hunting next season I will remount the quiver. I am pleased with the Hatfield as it is and it will most likely be my hunting bow all next season. It is quite a bit heavier than the Hunter so I'll probably be using the side quiver I just built. Will decide during stumping this off season.

So for whatever it is worth, a bow quiver makes no differnce in arrow speed, at least with my Howatt Hunter bow.

[John Dill]

Good info!!! Great to see what I've been saying all along with some actuall testing to back it up! Correct mounting of your bow quiver is the key!!! Thanks for the info!

[JC]

Maybe I missed it in your post but was the quiver a "boa" type quiver on the limbs or a bolt on to the riser. I would be hard pressed to understand how a bow quiver mounted well below the fades or onto the main riser would effect performance at all.

I do agree a good bowquiver setup is quieter...nice to have all those vibration removing stablizers  

[Danny Rowan]

JC,

He states it is a Selaway slide on quiver.
  ,LOL.

Danny

[SpikeMaster]

At your draw you should be pulling about 39.5 - 40#. That would give you about 10.8 gpp. As long as the quiver is mounted down on the fades, it shouldn't really make much difference in speed. I do see how it could help quiet the bow some.

[mark land]

Bow quivers definitely take up some vibration and noise out of the bow as well as add some stability in weight to the bow, but most important they do affect the performance of the bow more so then anything else and can make your bareshaft tune change.  It can make an arrow get stiffer by adding the quiver and vice versa, so be sure to tune your bow/arrow combo with the bow setup exactly like you will be using it.  Mark

[George D. Stout]

SpikeMaster, it helps absorb limb energy before it gets to the riser.  That can quiet the bow to a degree.   The key is to know what your bow does in any regard.

[Frank V]

Thanks for sharing about the difference. Frank

[Don Stokes]

I think that most of us have seen, or at least heard about, slow motion video that shows how the bow moves laterally when shot. By adding mass in the form of a loaded quiver, the movement of the bow changes, which can affect the tuning of the bow and arrow. Most people find that lower spine is needed when the mass of the bow is increased. The arrow shaft has to bend a little more to get past the riser, which is moving more slowly to the side than before because of the inertia of the added mass.

A loss of tuning might help explain the added noise and vibration, too.

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

I shoot very large groups with the quiver on or off so putting the quiver on doesn't change my consistency. It just helps me miss more quietly!

[kadbow]

Interesting info, thanks for sharing.

[2fletch]

If you mount the quiver out past the fadeouts then it ought to change slightly depending on the quiver. I've done only minimal testing but with our (EFA) quivers mounted properly on the bow there was not noticable difference. We also tested with two different people shooting two different bows and 3 different quivers by different manufacturers, again with the same results.

What we did see was that one of the quivers by another manufacturer on the bow caused the arrow to impact about 2 inches left at 16 yards. Two people with diffferent bows, but the same quiver, had the same results. With the EFA bowquivers there was no noticable difference. It should be noted that the quiver that caused the altered shot was heavier then the EFA bow quiver..) That is the only distance that was used and 8-10 shots each.

[Orion]

I agree that quiver mounting bracket up on the limb fadeouts, it won't slow speed appreciably.  On the other hand, if the slip on quivers are somewhere further out on the limb, they will reduce arrow speed. No doubt about it.

[Brian Krebs]

2 fletch - when using that other quiver - move your target to the right two inches.      

Seriously ( I do that !) did you try a left hand bow with a quiver to see if it shot to the left?

Do you think that little added quiver weight caused the bow to cant more on release?

 don't make me buy one of your quivers to find out myself    :D  

       

[Rob DiStefano]

personally, whatever the arra speed numbers, i could care less.  a bow quiver is a functional piece of trad hunting gear that greatly simplifies where the ammo is located.  once on yer bow and loaded with sharp broadheads, yer ready to go.  just add in finger protection and maybe an armguard. leave the bow strung, with sharp broadhead arras in the quiver.

there are lotsa kindsa bow quivers, the only type that works for me are the real lightweight ones that velcro on the limbs. to each their own.

but i do prefer a naked longbow - just a stick 'n' string.  those times i'd use a back or hip side quiver.  just got a safari tuff quiver and wow, is that ever a neat quiver!

[Bonebuster]

What Rob said...plus, a bow mounted quiver, full
of nicely done up arrows looks really good.

Good info...thanks for posting.

[Bob Sarrels]

I shoot a Mini Boa on my longbow and perhaps it is just a tad slower but I don't care.  I have my arrows tuned to it and its really quiet.  On the recurve I am presently hunting with , a 3 piece takedown, I have a quiver that mounts under the limbbolts.  It works great.  Does not effect the speed and makes a halfarsed shooter a little better due to the added mass.  I like a quiver on my bows and have always used one.  That, by the way was a very interesting test you did.  Never thought to try that.

[2fletch]

Brian, i don't move the target, I just move my feet a little. I would assume a lefty would shoot left with the same quiver.

One thing seemed odd to me, and that was the third quiver in our test, which was a large  and heavy 6 arrow quiver. When it was put on the bow there was less change in how the bow shot then with the medium weight 4 arrow quiver. That says that the position of it on the bow relative to the limb might be a factor as important as weight. It stands to reason that the further from the limb the more leverage the quiver would have to affect the bow.

[wharvey]

I do like the additional weight the bow quiver gives. I really didn't expect much difference in arrow speed, and didn't really care that much but I was surprised by how much it quietened the bow.

I did take my side quiver out today doing some stump shooting before it started raining yet again. It worked pretty well but the jury is still out as to whether I'll use it or the bow quiver next hunting season.

[Ssamac]

I'm with you, Manitoba. Just gets me to the arrows faster to spread them faster!  and quieter.

sam