off the shelf

[Don Stokes]

Some bows, especially older, shorter recurves, were tillered to shoot off an elevated rest, and if you shoot off the shelf without building it up, the arrow will be pointed noticeably downward when the nocking point is set to the right place. I either use an elevated rest or build up the shelf on bows designed that way. I prefer the built-up rest because it's less likely to succumb to Murphy's Law.

Getting the arrow as close to your hand as possible does make for a more forgiving setup for hunting, when the bow can be set up that way. Paraphrasing what ChrisM said, it allows more variation in form under hunting conditions without compromising accuracy.

The bow's design should determine how it's set up, not a preconceived notion based on something someone else said.

[Charlie Lamb]

If an elevated rest is a gadget and that somehow offends anyone maybe they should fill in their sight window with wood putty and get rid of the shelf/gadget.
That's "Traditional"!! Though I haven't spoken to the guy who makes those rules.

I was there when the "Berger" button came on the scene and scores DID improve... Vic Berger was kicking some serious butt with it.

No solid rest will ever be as forgiving as a flexible rest I don't care what kind of bow it is.

Paper tuning invented by lazy people? Or could it have been they were looking for a way to maximize their bows efficiency.

Shelf "rest" more traditional than elevated "rest". That's just bull pucky!!

I've hunted all over this country and Canada with a cushion plunger and elevated rest without a single failure of either and I've hunted in every imaginable weather, climatic, and geographical condition.

If a person is worried about the reliability of "add on's" they need to be shooting off of bare wood or their finger.... but then what if you break your finger.

This discussion is not about what's best. It's about options. I'm over it!!

[Javi]

Vic was kicking butt before the plunger... The plunger just made it easier..

Use a rest, don't use a rest, use a button, don't use a button, shoot off the shelf or a knuckle.. it don't make a whit to me until someone tells me I'm not doing the right thing because I choose to shoot as I do... or that I owe it to the animal to do it their way...

Oh... and I stand by the paper tuning comment.. it may work.. but it doesn't work better than the old ways... it's just easier to shoot thru paper. Just like the plunger and raised rests.. they make it easier to tune arrows because they allow a wider range of spine by adjusting the pressure... shelves and center cut strike plates do the same.. make it easier...

Easier... just not necessarily better.. unless you consider easier... to be better

but then you do shoot archery without cams don't you..

Each one of us has the right to choose how and what gadgets we want to use (within the applicable laws of the land) and those who choose a different path should not be judged by another's standard of equipment..

[akbowbender]

Off the shelf on my bows.

There was a time that I did shoot off an elevated rest because I lived in the rainy SE Alaska and shot vanes. I gave up the elevated rest (and vanes) after wounding a nice buck when my arrow ended up on the top of the rest against the riser instead of on the finger. Easy thing to do if you shoot with your bow canted, which I do.

[Archie]

In this difficult modern world of limited time, tight schedules, rush hour traffic, and limited hunting and shooting areas, there are a lot of us who are too busy to spend hours and hours fighting to make someone else's definition of "traditional" work.  Take a look at the posts on this site, and consider all the guys who are lost, who can't group arrows worth a hoot, and can't take a shot over 15 yards without being irresponsible.  Inconsistent or poor form, and the unpredictability of hunting situations makes it that much harder to use equipment that is unforgiving... yet some do it just for the sake of someone else's idealogy.

I've had the advantage of having a dad who was meticulous and scientific about form and release, and passed that on to his boys.  I didn't have to learn by trial and error, yet I still have trouble because archery is a demanding sport.  I often wonder if there aren't a lot of us who have learned to find satisfaction in other aspects of the sport (I.e., the great outdoors, the graceful arc of the arrow, trying to dress up like Fred Bear, etc.)... because we MISS what we're shooting at so often!  

If we had to use these bows to put meat on the table, most of us would be skinny.  And upon learning that an elevated release is more conducive to consistent arrow flight, we'd not be so idealogical about it.

[Bobaru]

I shoot off the shelf because it's there.