Building up a rest on a longbow

[High Knob]

I just received shipment on a new Patriot Longbow and had a question regarding shelves on longbows. Up until now I have been shooting older recurves which have a fairly flat shelf.  I usually build up a slight rest out of Velcro so that the arrow is balanced over the deepest part of the grip.

The Patriot has a radiused shelf but the arrow seems to balance right in the middle of the shelf – not directly over the recessed point of the grip. When I look at pictures of other similar "modern" longbows they too seem to balance towards the center of the shelf.

In terms of accuracy potential, should I continue to build up the rest as I have done with my recurves or should I simply accept what seems to be the bowyer’s original intent in the design? Are longbows any different than recurves in this regard?

(I shoot instinctively and cant my bow a fair amount.)

Thanks

[ron w]

I would just put the rest material on and try it . If it is radiused you should be alright. If it don't work to your likeing then build it up or change it to whatever you like...Try it first.

[High Knob]

Thanks Ron. I am sure that is sound advice.

But let me rephrase my question: Why aren't longbow shelves radiused so that the arrow balances over the deepest of the grip?

[straitera]

See slo-mo vid of arrow flight in archives. How much inertia is overcome from the rest? Doubt it matters more than personal preference.

[ISP 5353]

I had a Patriot for a few years.  Congrats on your new bow,  They are good shooters.  Don't worry about the rest.  The shelf on your bow will not need any building up.  I tried shooting it with built up rests and never found it to be any better.  One word of advice on setting up your new bow.  If it still has the factory string, throw it away and get a good quality flemish twist for it.  It will be much quieter and more pleasant to shoot.  Good luck and let me know if you have any trouble with it.

[Orion]

High Knob.  As others have said, it really doesn't make much difference on a radiused shelf, which has a very small contact point, as opposed to a long flat surface on older recurves.  The purpose is to reduce the effects of vertical torquing, which isn't a problem for most folks anyway.  Often, however, the strike plate might be built out a little as well.  Mostly, that's to tune the bow to the arrow.  However, placing the highest point of that buildout over the deepest part of the grip also helps reduce the effects of sideways torque.  We're talking very small torquing effects here, probably measurable, but not large enough so most folks would notice them.  Most longbows, of course, are straight gripped or have only minor index grips so placing a shelf build up or arrow plate build out over the deepest part of the grip would put them very close to the belly side of the sight window where they would be more prone to being torn or coming loose.  Plus, they just don't look very good so off-centered.  For what it's worth.  Good luck.

[High Knob]

I think I have my answer. Many thanks to all of you.

HK

[Jesse Peltan]

I would either build it up or take a file to it. A contact point over the deepest part of the grip is more forgiving, easier to tune etc than one in the middle of the shelf. My nocking point height went from 1.5in high on the incorrectly raduised shelf to 3/8in high on the correctly raduised shelf. I could shoot more spine weights when I did the same thing to the sight window. I am a strong believer in a contact point directly above the deepest part of the grip.