Best Arrow Rest For Cold Weather?
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Northern WI
Posts: 853

I am currently using a QAD Hunter dropdown rest. After some frustration getting going for the season I was on the verge of getting a Trophy Ridge Whisker Biscuit and then I start shooting baseballs, 5 out of 5. But I am wondering if the Trophy Ridge Biscuit would be more reliable for cold weather hunts? Right now, my frustration with the QAD is that the vanes are still contacting the stick-on silencer material enough to work the material loose. And when this material comes loose, my arrows are all over the place, almost as bad as with my previous simple rest that had silencer. Yesterday I put on new silencers, hence the improvement. Without the silencer, it sounds like I am playing a violin when I pull back. I am thinking the whisker biscuit would be more consistent, particularly in cold weather (30F or less) when my bow seems to "go crazy". If I get the Trophy Ridge rest, should I get the medium or large size? I am shooting carbon arrows.
Last edited by MZS; 10-08-2013 at 10:03 AM.
#3

I Think the issue your having with the QAD is that the hunter version has no brake system to prevent the rest from bouncing back up, thus the slight fletching contact. You can remedy this by an upgrade. As far as reliability in cold weather I have an hdx and have used it in 10 degrees with wind chills in the negatives and hand no issues. Now, switching to the whisker biscuit will definitely eliminate the bounce back issue, but some things to consider are it will slow your rig down, approx. 10 fps in my personal testing, and also there is a higher possibility of losing accuracy. That's not to say the whisker biscuit isn't an accurate rest, but a drop away is so good because after you release the arrow it has a very short span of contact with the rest which means any torquing of the bow done after the release doesn't mean much, with a whisker biscuit the arrow fully contacts the rest through the entire release meaning any torque will affect your arrow accuracy. Just some food for thought.
#4

I don't believe you need to worry about your QAD in cold weather. Nor the WB either for that matter. Maybe the WB whiskers would freeze up if they got really wet and then turned cold enough for them to freeze. But that is pretty remote and I think just some brushing them off would get whatever ice was on them
#5

all i've shoot is whisker biscuits, and i don't think i will ever change. i've hunted in 80 degree weather with them down to below freezing. its never froze up on me and shoots killer groups. just a simple design that works.
#7
Spike
Join Date: May 2013
Location: michigan
Posts: 96

I have used a qad hunter for several years in all weather conditions and never had one issue. Is yours set up to lay perfectly flat when it drops? Also make sure it doesn't hit the shelf when it drops, if it does it can kick up a bit but when set up properly the brake on the higher end model is not necessary.
#10
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Northern WI
Posts: 853

I ended up switching to a Whisker Biscuit by Trophy Ridge after the new silencer on my dropdow started loosening up on me and then arrows started going off target. It has proven to be more consistent and works with my bow.
There is very little to screw up with the Whisker Biscuit. You need good arrows, though. Cheap arrows will be noisy, but the Bemans I use are nice and quiet.
There is very little to screw up with the Whisker Biscuit. You need good arrows, though. Cheap arrows will be noisy, but the Bemans I use are nice and quiet.
Last edited by MZS; 10-08-2013 at 10:05 AM.