Some arrow rests are intended to be used as practice for hunting against moving targets, while others are intended to be used as practice for competition and target shooting. However, all arrow rests must still meet the same basic criteria that we will explore later in this article.
For now, we’ve selected the 4 best arrow rests on the market that’ll improve your accuracy as a bowman. A good arrow rest is often the best place to begin while preparing to become a more skilled archer, and any of these four will do the trick:
Quality Archer Products Ultra Rest Quad Hunter
The Ultra Rest Quad Hunter is an arrow rest that was built only for the most serious archer. Many arrow rests will use vibration or inertia to help improve the bowman’s skills, but the Ultra Rest Quad Hunter instead uses the velocity delivered by the forward movement that is conveyed by a timing cord. This type of technology is called the Velocity Drop Away, and is exclusive to the Ultra Rest. Additional benefits of the Ultra Rest Quad Hunter include the fact that it can be adjustable to fit arrows of nearly any length (including ones that are over four inches shorter than most designs), is incredibly quiet in its operation, and won’t break the bank if you choose to buy it.
NAP QuikTune 800 Arrow Rest
The NAP QuikTune 800 Arrow Rest is easily one of the most affordable, reliable, and hassle-free arrow rests that you can own. A major benefit of any arrow rest is that it be very easy to install and can be just as easily tuned when needed, and both of those benefits are present on the QuikTune. Available for either right handed or left handed shooters, all you need is a wrench to tune the spring tension for light, medium, or heavy arrows. Last but not least, the tough construction of the QuikTune 800 is designed to withstand all kinds of weather conditions, so you can also practice out in the rain without running into trouble. It’s one of the best arrow rests for the money.
Truglo Down Draft Drop Away Arrow Rest
The Truglo Down Draft Drop Away Arrow rest utilizes a high performing, drop away design just as the name suggest. Capable of being used for both right handed and left handed shooters, no kind of a bow press is necessary for installing the arrow rest. Your arrow will be sent at a slightly faster speed than most arrow rest as a result of the sealed bushings, and furthermore the technical rubber dampeners ensure an overall silent functioning as well. You can choose from five different color matching inserts so you can make your arrow rest most personable. It should be on anyone’s list of the best arrow rests.
Quality Archery Products Ultra Rest HDX Arrow Rest
The Ultra Rest HDX is the top of the line model from Quality Archery Products. It’s admitteldy a bit expensive but the trade off is a significantly sleeker design and the fact that it has been designed to specifically be used with the latest bow designs. There are also specific bells and whistles of the Ultra Rest HDX (see full specs) that justify its higher price as well. For instance, an advanced vibration system minimizes peak vibration amplitude and the entire operation of the rest is kept quiet by the durable molded rubber. Furthermore, you can be sure that your arrow is positioned correctly every time it is placed thanks to the full draw indicator. Last but not least, the timing cord is very easily adjustable even when it is clamped down to the rest’s buss cable.
How to Find the Right Arrow Rest
If there were a perfect arrow rest, it would hold your arrow very securely in the exact same place for every single shot. Regardless of what the orientation of your bow is, vertically or horizontally speaking, the arrow would still be held in the same place.
Obviously, however, there is no such thing as the perfect arrow rest (at least not yet). But you can still come as close to it as possible if you follow a certain criteria of things to look for.
The first factor in your criteria to look for is for the rest to both launch arrows consistently and to be quiet on the draw as well. How can you make sure that your arrow rest will both be quiet and launch your arrows consistently? The answer is that the rest has to have as little contact as possible with the feathers and shaft of the arrow. The more contact the rest has with your arrow, the more the flight of the arrow will be negatively affected. It leads to inconsistency in your arrow’s flight path and more importantly in your groupings as well.
Another characteristic that your arrow rest should have, and it’s something that we’ve already touched on in our descriptions of our four recommendations, is for the arrow rest to be very easy to install and fine tune and adjust. If you’re encountering difficulty in tuning your arrow rest for your particular type of arrow or bow orientation, or if it requires you to use an assortment of different tools, then your arrow rest couldn’t be any farther from being perfect. You should be able to easily adjust your arrow rest with little more than a wrench and your hands.
Last but not least, the best arrow rests that work for both right and left handed shooters. Some can work for both shooters right out of the box, while others will need to be adjusted a little for either shooter. Regardless, if your arrow rest is only designed for right or left handed shooters and can’t be adjusted or set for the other, then it says something about the arrow rest as a whole.
