Accuracy is important when it comes to archery. Any little factor can completely alter the trajectory of your arrows, and affect your overall score.
To ensure that you have the best results possible, you will need to pair your recurve bow with the best arrow rest. You won’t need a fancy arrow rest when it comes to recurve, especially if you’re more of a hobbyist.
But how exactly does this simple piece of kit affect your arrows? And what is the best arrow rest for a recurve bow?
What is the best arrow rest for a recurve bow?
You don’t need to buy a fancy arrow rest for your recurve bow. Just the standard plastic arrow rest will do for most people. These are also much easier to apply to your bow riser than any other complicated equipment.
If you’re new to archery and your recurve bow doesn’t already come with an arrow rest, the simple plastic arrow rest is what we’d suggest going with. This should be able to do a great job, as it will allow you to focus on other aspects of your recurve bow.
Simple Plastic Arrow Rest
If you’re a little bit more serious about your shooting, then you can consider the metal arrow rest. These tend to be paired with Olympic style recurve bows. This is because it allows you to more accurately tune other aspects of your bow such as your weights and sights.
Metal Arrow Rest
You may see some compound archers using a whisker biscuit. This is a circular attachment that works to hold the arrows steady on the bow. However, you shouldn’t use these with your recurve, no matter how much you’re tempted.
These have been designed to be used with trigger releases such as the ones you get on compound bows. You won’t need to use this on a recurve, and it could actually have a detrimental impact on your accuracy.
It’s worth noting that you are likely to go through a fair few arrow rests in your time as an archer, so it’s well worth buying multipacks.
Do you need an arrow rest on a recurve bow?
Yes, you do need an arrow rest on a recurve bow. That’s because the arrow rest works to keep your arrow steady as you aim, allowing you to achieve consistent results. You will notice that most arrow rests come with a hole in them. This is to allow for a plunger button, which can further stabilize your arrow.
If you’ve heard of the term “shooting off the shelf” before, this refers to traditional bows. Traditional bows such as horse bows, flat bows, and longbows are different, as these don’t come with arrow rests. Instead, you will add a soft fluffy pad to the arrow shelf of your bow where the arrow can rest, or even use your hand as the arrow rest.
You should always use an arrow rest with a recurve bow.
How does a recurve arrow rest work?
The arrow rest fits neatly onto your recurve riser to stabilize the arrow while you aim. The recurve bow tends to be used with weights and sights to help improve your accuracy. Most quality arrow rests will be able to sufficiently balance the arrow while you hold your bow at full draw, and allow you to aim correctly.
Some arrow rests can even be used with a plunger button. This typically slots into the hole of your arrow rest, and purposely pushes the arrow over to the left on a right hand bow, and to the right on a left hand bow. This allows you to bring the arrow to the center shot position once it’s been fired for better accuracy.
The right kind of arrow rest will work in tandem with your bow to give you those accurate scores that you’re after.
How do you put an arrow rest on a recurve bow?
The great thing about barebow and recurve arrow rests is that they are super easy to attach to your bow. Most of these cheap arrow rests are fairly simple, and come with a sticky tab already applied to the arrow rest. All you need to do is remove the plastic backing, then secure it to your recurve riser.
It’s important that you remove any excess glue from your old arrow tab that may be on the riser before you do so.
You will also need to ensure that you position it correctly on your riser. There’s no point in having spent all that effort in getting the right arrow rest for your bow only for you to put it in the wrong place.
You will need to ensure that you line up the arrow rest with the nocking point – you can even loosely knock an arrow to help you if you find this easier. And make sure that you don’t apply it upside down!
You’ll have to remove the arrow rest and apply a fresh rest if anything goes wrong. Another thing that can help you is the hole for the plunger button. This should make it fairly simple to find the right placement for your new arrow rest.
If you’ve opted for a screw in arrow rest, you will need to use a screwdriver to attach this to your recurve riser.
In summary
So there you have it! Now you know all there is to know about arrow rests on recurve bows and what exactly they do. A recurve bow paired with the right arrow rest will be able to keep your arrows flying true each time you take your bow to target practice.
You won’t need to spend lots of money on any fancy arrow rests. A simple plastic arrow rest will do the job just fine if you’re a hobbyist. Have a fancier Olympic style bow? Then you may want to opt for a metal arrow rest instead.
You should ensure that your new arrow rest is properly applied to your recurve riser to get the proper results from your shooting. It will also be a good idea to stock up on plenty of arrow rests if you plan on doing a lot of shooting!
