Are your arrows falling from the rest? Don’t worry, that can happen to the best of us. Here you will see 3 common reasons why arrows fall from the rest and 3 additional ways you can stop your arrows from falling from the rest.
So, by the time you finish reading this falling arrows will be a thing of the past for you.
Below you have the main takeaway from the entire article.
Here are the 6 ways you can stop arrows from falling:
- Grip the bowstring correctly
- Align your nocking point with the arrow rest
- Lower the draw weight of your bow
- Tilt your bow sideways when shooting
- Twist the bowstring toward your dominant hand
- Use your index finger to hold the arrow in place
You will see in a moment why wrapping your index finger on your arrow while drawing the bow is a bad idea.
Now let’s continue with the main causes of arrows falling off the shelf and 3 ways to stop that from happening.
Why Are Your Arrows Falling Off The Shelf
I know it sucks. You raise your bow, ready to take an awesome shot. You draw the bow and the arrow falls off the shelf. Thus ruining a potentially good shot.
This is a common beginner mistake, which honestly happens to intermediate archers too from time to time. Mostly when fatigue gives way to sloppy form. Here is why that happens and how you might fix that.
You Are Gripping The Bowstring Incorrectly
You are likely using the Mediterranean draw. Which means you are wrapping three fingers around the bowstring. One above the nock and two below. Which is the most common way of doing it.
The problem is which knuckles on your fingers are gripping the bowstring. It is ideal if the bowstring lies on your first knuckle or between the first and the second one.
This is the sweet spot. Either on the first knuckle or between the first and the second knuckle. If it helps you just imagine anywhere between those two black arrows.
If you grip the bowstring with the second knuckle, not only will that mess up your release but it will likely cause you to exert too much pressure on the bowstring using your forearm muscle. The use of forearm muscle will tilt the bowstring which will affect the position of a nocked arrow.
The key to keeping the arrow from falling is to grip the bowstring correctly and then keep your wrist straight without applying any pressure with your forearm muscle. Not applying your forearm muscle when drawing eliminates any spin of the bowstring which keeps the arrow on the shelf.
If you do just that that will eliminate the problem of falling arrows from the shelf in 80% of the cases. Grip the bowstring correctly and maintain a straight wrist while drawing without exerting pressure from your forearm muscles.
The second common reason is.
Your Nocking Point Is Not Aligned With Your Arrow Rest
if your nocking point is below the arrow shelf it means your arrow will not sit on the arrow shelf properly. It will cause your arrow to jump up whenever you draw the bow.
This one is easy to fix. Go to your nearest archery shop and have some experts take a look at your bow and change your nocking point. Or, you can do it by yourself if you take a look at this article.
This one is not as common as the previous one but still worth checking out.
Let’s continue to the next one. And it partly has to do with your ego.
The Draw Weight Of Your Bow Is Too High
The draw weight of your bow is too high. Your body is not yet developed enough to correctly pull back the bowstring of a 50lbs bow for example. This causes you to resort to sloppy form, incorrect wrist positioning, and of course unneeded forearm exertion.
Which does not only resort to arrows falling from the shelf but also poor groupings.
The solution is simple. Realize your current limitations and be honest with yourself. Build up towards drawing the heavier bows.
Now that we took a look at the most common causes the solution is quite simple. Concentrate on bettering your form. This means doing correct reps until it becomes second nature.
Now if you wish there are some shortcuts you can use to stop your arrows from falling.
3 Easy Ways To Stop Your Arrows From Falling From The Arrow Shelf
Now we will take a look at two easy ways to stop your arrows from falling and here they are.
Cant Your Bow
So, what is a cant? A “Cant” is the act of tilting your bow to the side of your dominant arm. So, if you are right-handed you tilt the bow to your right and if you are left-handed then tilt it to your left.
This allows gravity to help you out. You are likely right-handed, this means by tilting your bow to your right while aiming the gravity will push the arrow towards the bow stopping any potential jumps away from the bow.
An easy fix. This should come second to improving your form. Because that part is most important.
The second easy way to stop arrows from falling from the rest is …
Twist The Bowstring Towards Your Dominant Hand
When your fingers grip the bowstring, you slightly twist the bowstring towards your dominant hand. So if you are right-handed you twist it right and vice-versa. This will affect the nocked arrow on the bowstring and push it towards the bow.
Use The Index Finger Of Your Non-Dominant Hand
Stop! You have likely seen archers in movies wrapping their index fingers around the arrow on the shelf. I am going to suggest to you not to do it like that.
Depending on your arrowhead this can cause damage to your fingers if you draw the bow far enough.
This is a safer solution.
Keep the index finger of your non-dominant finger straight and extended. A far better solution to wrapping it around the arrow.
This is better. Extending your finger straight prevents the arrow from jumping off the rest. If you wrap your index finger around the arrow and you pull the bowstring back, the arrow wants to stay in place because of the pressure from the index finger while it’s being simultaneously pulled back by the bowstring.
This is a recipe for the arrow coming off the nock. Keeping your index finger extended is a far better solution.
In Conclusion
Arrows falling from the rest is a common but easily preventable problem. It stems from a form that needs a little more work.
But when you get that in order this problem will be in your rear-view mirror. So, you read about 3 common causes of arrow falling and three tricks you can use to stop the arrow from falling from the rest. This means a total of 6 ways to stop arrows from falling from the rest.
Thank you for reading, hopefully, you learned a thing or two.
If you want to learn what makes archery arrows work then you can learn more by reading this article.
Take care