Fallaway, dropaway, and trapdoor rests--

" Big fad" that has caught on by the hype. The last thing I need when out tramping through the brush is more strings/lanyards, tubes, etc, that could get hooked on branches, or more moving parts or tubes/lanyards/cable guard hookups that could fail, freeze, stretch, squeek, or get gummed up. I don' t know how many times I' ve had to re-tune customers' equipment due to this during hunting seasons over the past couple of years since this hype started. I want to concentrate on the game I' m going to be shooting at when hunting, not my equipment. I keep things simple, IMHO everyone else should also.

A properly setup and well-tuned bow is a properly setup and well tuned bow, and an improperly setup and tuned one is the same and nothing is going to change that as far as products go. " Band-aid" products that try to cover up improper setup techniques, other equipment choices, and tuning errors to me is not a correct answer to ones' problems! This type of thinking falls into the same category of using fat arrows to cut lines----it POSSIBLY (and the jury is still out on this IMHO) helps with one problem, but develops many other issues of it' s own--- in this example of fat arrows--- terrible FOC, and heavy overspine in most cases, leading to lesser accuracy. ( saved for another story) I think we all should correctly address our issues, ( for instance--if you cannot hit the X, practice!) not try to cover them up and/or " cheat" ! The main reason why anyone uses a fallaway to begin with is due to their arguement of rest interference. Choose correctly spined arrows with correct fletching and degree of helical, set it up correctly, and this becomes a moot point. It will shoot better also......

I only carry a limited few drop away rests in my shop. If a customer asks why, (and many do) I tell them why. Of course I will order others if necessary and have on many occasions and installed them as that is the customers' choice, but I feel they are nothing more than a " trinket" used primarily by those who are either caught up in the hype of them, or do not know how to correctly setup and tune their equipment, or both, and I will not promote them in any way. (Sorry, JMHO) The additional support of a conventional rest that offers slight resistance (to hold the arrow up) helps to stabilize any arrow quicker coming out of the bow, even tho it may fall forward anyway at launch depending upon your rest style. But it still has that extra initial support resistance which helps with stability.(high-speed video will verify this) A well tuned fallaway will normally paradox more in most cases, unless it is PERFECTLY tuned and the drop rate is exact,(most cannot tune to this degree) and therefore in my experiences you actually have to dink around much more with them than a conventional rest to get the best performance and groups at distance, which is contrary to the hype and popular belief. I' ve played with many fall away and trap-door designs over the years, even with some of the first magnetic Barner ST1' s and 11' s, and can say this is true with all of them. By contrast I can install a GKF Golden Premier or Bodoodle or other conventional rest on most any bow and have it correctly setup with centershot relatively close in less than 3 minutes from the time I grab the package it' s in. I cannot do that with any fall away rest made today simply because there is more to address, so one cannot readily assume that they are any easier to setup. Fletching contact is an issue with any setup, but I and my customers regularly shoot full helical out of our conventionally-rested bows with no contact, and get great accuracy at all yardages. (I personally feel greater accuracy also due to the lesser paradox. JMHO)

As I said, " bandaid" products are not a solution in any case whatsoever, and I am disturbed by the fact that the hype has taken over yet again and most people do not know the " real deal" of items highly advertised and promoted by little more than the hype associated with them. (ever heard of conventional solocams, split limbs, or fat " linecutter" arrows? Same thing) It is of course up to each individual to choose what they want to use, but IMHO it is better to take the time to correctly setup and tune your equipment, and utilize the equipment best-suited for the application at hand, both from a technical and " hands-on" standpoint. Unfortunately in this case I do not believe the fall away designs and hunting should have anything to do with each other. For target archery they are an alternative, (that is also fading in many formats as people are starting to figure them out), but for hunting they create too many issues of their own even tho they may " coverup" another. I' m not trying to bash anyone who choose to use them or any brands and models of products here, just stating my views as I see them from a technical standpoint in hopes others may step back and look at these from a different perspective and therefore make a better-educated decision when considering them. Good shooting, Pinwheel 12