Hello World!

I received my new and very first bow in the mail exactly 6 days and 14 hours ago. It was a bow package from huntersfriend. I went out and I bought a Spot Hogg Whammy to replace the Hostage rest that came on my bow. When I got home, I realized that the launcher prongs on the rest were not the same design as on the website, in their videos, on the packaging, etc... Instead of a deep V, it was this curved prong with a very shallow V... Probably not good for hunting!

I don't know if this is a design change since the original 2007 model or what, and I even email the company about it, but I would much rather have the deeper V designed prongs. It looks like it would be easy enough to swap out the prongs (just a set screw!) but I don't know where I'd get the prongs from.

Does anybody shoot with a Whammy and know what I'm talking about? I'm a little bit confused and I really like the Whammy design and operation, but I will not use the shallow launcher prongs!

I'm sure there are a million opinions on which rests are good, so I'm a bit tentative to ask opinions for a drop away rest that I could use as a plan B, should I be unable to find the Whammy with the laucher I'm looking for.

Thanks,
Da Walleyeking

Note: perhaps it would be useful to know that I bought the Whammy from the Bass Pro Shops in Foxborough, MA

I have a Whammy and I know what you are talking about. Yes, the prongs are a new design. The guy at the pro shop told me that the new prongs were supposed to provide BETTER arrow containment than the old (07) style pongs. Perhaps you should give them a try (turn the bow to 80ish degrees to the side and see what happens) before swapping them out....

Hmmm...

I'm not an experienced archer, but as an engineer I do not buy that at all. The deep V provides a more horizontal ledge for the arrow to rest on when the bow is turned at steep angles. This newer design is like a cliff at steep angles! I just took the rest in my hand and placed an arrow on it for a makeshift test to try and get a feel for what is going on!


My thoughts were that this new design might be to minimize "side to side" resistance to the arrow as it is being fired, allowing the arrow to flex is it wants to. I do hear complaints about the WhiskerBiscuit that it is too constricting to allow the arrow to move freely. I'm guessing (keyword: guessing) that this new design is better for allowing the natural flexing of the arrow to occur without interaction from the rest, while providing the proper support against gravity, until the arrow gains sufficient velocity. I also suspect that the shallower V on this new design reduces the pressure on the arrow, and consequently, the friction, allowing for a slight increase in arrow speed.

I don't doubt that there probably isn't an advantage to the new design, but since I'm new to the sport, and don't need 1" groups at 80 yards, I'd rather have the more constraining deep V to keep my arrow on the rest! Looking at the price ranges, designs, and even the name of the company itself, I'm under the impression that Spot-Hogg is geared a little bit more toward the target archer than the hunter.

You do speak of "swapping them out." Did you have the new design and get the old prongs somewhere and swap them out? I'd really like to know where/how to get the old prongs!

Since the introduction of the Whammy the launcher arms have been re-designed 'three' times. Therefore, there is even a newer version to the one you have now.
The reason for the change was due to the arms hitting the shelf of the bow, on some bows and to work around this you had to raise the launcher arm above the 'center of the burger button' and sometimes even speed up the trigger by tightening the cord, thus covering the hole in the trigger a tad bit.
I'veheard of guys even removing (cutting)the tips of the launcher arms, some spreading the launcher arm wider, some even turning the tips of the launcher arms upwards for it to work properly on various bows.
Nevertheless, I am sure if you call Spot Hogg, (541-995-3702) or (888-302-7768)ask to speakto Josh or Cabe they will definitely get you the first model launcher arm. They have done this for metwice in the past. They are great guys and also designed this rest themselves.
Hang in there with that rest bud....it's a very good rest and once set up you'll enjoy it a whole bunch.

No. But I did mess with the position of the new prongs. They (the prongs) would be easy to swap out. I don't really know where to get the old style prongs. Perhaps from Spot Hogg. My experience with their customer service has been excellent.

Thanks guys for the feedback. I will try to call SpotHogg tomorrow if I don't get a reply to the email I sent this weekend.

I've been doing a lot of research on arrow rests (and all other equipment as well!) and had made up my mind, well before I even ordered my bow, that I liked the SpotHogg design the best. I just would like the arrow containment of the older design. I'm glad to hear that your experience with the the customer service is good!

ampahunter, You say there is now a 3rd design? Do you have pictures of the various designs, or know where I could see pictures? I'd hate to request the old design if there is a newer design that has the best of the first 2 without the issues people have been experiencing with them. I am shooting a Marquis, do you know which bows are experiencing the shelf contact problems? Personally, I seems to me that if there is shelf contact, you just need to raise the height of the rest and move the nock up accordingly, but I'm just a week-old rookie, so what do I know? That probably creates more problems that it fixes!

bow_hunter44, how exactly did you "mess with the position". I just got the idea of trying to rotate the prongs so they would create a deeper V for the arrow. Is this what you did? I still think the older design would offer better containment, but you did mention that you were told the new design as better containment... It probably just requires adjustment!

I didn't even think about adjusting the prongs... I actually think that is a fantastic design point for the Whammy. How many other fall aways allow you to adjust the launcher? (other than the vertical and horizonal position?)

Again, thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it!

Here's an update... I just got back from the proshop. I got there and off came the Hostage and on when the Whammy! So I did the best I could to follow the directions, but when I got to the part about timing the Whammy I got lost... So I took it to the shop owner, who thought she knew what the deal was, but then called the company.... too make a long story short, I have the Whammy on my bow. I think it's timed, but I really don't know. My fletchings didn't pop off today, so I assume that they're clearing. I thought about paper tuning, but I didn't have a stand or paper!

I tried to adjust the height of the rest and the horizontal position to get the arrows to shoot in about the same place as the old rest... but it was fruitless. I was consistently hitting high and to the left. I can't really move the rest any lower since the prongs are already contacting the shelf. I have no clue what I'm trying to do when I adjust the horizontal position... I was trying to get the string, the arrow shaft, and my line of pins to all like in the same plane, but I'm sure that's not the way to do it. I tested at both 10 and 20 yards and after all was said and done, I had my arrows landing in as good of groups as you can ask a week-old archer to shoot! I guess I'll call that "tuned"
As for the prongs, Yep, I definately would like a deeper groove. I tried to rotate the prongs up to make it a steeper V, but that just makes the gap too large, so the arrow falls through!

My rest definitely whacks the shelf and I have two little spots of chipped finish to prove it! I would have put the plastic prong covers on that came with the Whammy, but they're sooo stiff that it is impossible to slip around the high curvature at the end of the prongs! I'm going to try to soak them in hot tap water to see if they soften up enough to get them on the prongs.

There is a video clip on the Spot Hogg web site that deals with installation and timing of the Whammy. To get my arrow closer to the Burger Button hole, I losened the set screws and lowered the prongs in the armature.

I have a whammy rest and I put the NAP prong style covers on my whammy and they slide on just fine, even with the angle of the prongs. They worked alot in dampening the noise when the arrow comes across it too. I have mine set to where if you press the prongs down you have to closely look to to see light between the shelf and the prongs. It is very close, but there should be no contact. The rest is so fast it doesnt have to be as close as some drop ways and there will still be no cantact.

What I can do is to take a picture 'myself' of the three different design prongs and send it to you---I have no clue how to attach a picture to a post.
However please keep in mind---NONE of the designs will give you 100% 'containment'. If you're using this rest for 'stalking' and want to rotate your bow 90 degrees left or right, then none of the 3 differentlauncher arms will accomplish this.
What I can tell you is quite a few of the BowTech Bows had problems with the 1st design. The Marquis comes out of the same company.However, the newer of the 3 designs launcher arms, with the 2nd generation Whammy rest, which has two positionholes (instead) of one on the trigger, when adjusted 'properly' has solved all the issues with the prongs hitting the shelf.
As for the timing, the best way to check to see if the vanes are clearing the prongs is to use the aerosol foot powder on the vanes. If there's any contact you will see where the vanes are making contact.
Increasing the tension of the trigger cord, thus lowering thetiming hole on the trigger will help, if done correctly.
The MAIN thing you have to look for is ----the prongs must NOT move downward, period, when coming to FULL DRAW. If this is happening the timing is incorrect!
From the full draw position --slowly let down, going from full draw to brace and you'll observe when the prongs drop away and returnto the up position.
"This should happen VERY NEAR to the BRACE position of the bow".