BowTech makes quivers too

The BT 1-piece — Quite possibly the ultimate arrow transport

To this day I am still amazed that some bow hunters buy the cheapest quiver, mount the thing to their $500 - $600 bow and then put $100-per-dozen arrows in it. Heck, after all, a quiver is a quiver; all they do is give your arrows a ride, right? Well, … yes and no.

An arrow quiver is a simple, yet key, accessory that is over looked by most. Fact is, the quiver plays an important part in the bow hunter’s equipment arsenal, and at times can make or break success.

How is that so? Well, there are several reasons and scenarios.

It Won’t Fit!

Last summer I changed sights in preparation for the soon-to-arrive season. All summer I practiced with the new sight without ever installing my quiver’s mounting bracket. This is no one’s fault but my own: The evening before the first morning, I installed the quiver bracket to the accessory holes on the sight. 

Everything was fine until I tried to lock-in my quiver. The mounting bracket setscrew wouldn’t back out far enough due to it hitting my new sight. Not enough room! Of course, this wouldn’t let me mount the quiver. Opening morning I had to carry my bow in one hand and my quiver in the other.

Speaking of quiver setscrews. If you find any of them at the base of any trees, they’re probably mine. Send them to the address on the Contact page.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the setscrew was located on the quiver itself and not on the mounting bracket? And how about a full-proof way of restricting the setscrew so that it never falls out and gets lost.

Arrow With Mines of Their Own

Ever cut a shot with a full quiver mounted to your bow? Sure you have. How often do some the arrows in the quiver decide to detach themselves and fall 20 feet just after they hit your metal treestand? It’s doesn’t make a real pleasant sound, plus your arrows are at the base of the tree.

Given the broad range of arrow diameters, it’s a common occurrence for arrows not to fit correctly in a given quiver. A simple, wimpy snag of a limb will often leave a solider behind, never to be found.

New Expandable Broadheads, Same Quiver

Expandable heads can and do work with single-row shaft-mount quivers, but it’s a delicate dance when putting your arrows in place. Too much pressure into the foam makes the blades expand. Too little pressure doesn’t give the arrow a tight fit and often will eventually fall out leaving another solider behind.

Double-row shaft-mount quivers are the way to go no matter what type of broadhead you use – fixed or expandable. However, single-row shaft-mount quivers with the foam installed in the head of the quiver are the safest for fixed blades.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have quiver that could do both? Keep reading.

Time to Retire

That plastic quiver you bought 10 years ago is probably past its prime. After years of service, the plastic shell is probably as brittle and hard as week-old biscuits. It’s time to bake fresh bread and get a quiver built with materials that will stand the test of time and Mother Nature.

Second Shots Are Rare – Make It Count

Most bow hunters will remove the quiver from their bow and hang it on a nail or screw-in accessory hanger while in a treestand. Some even place the quiver under their treestand seat just to get it out of the way.

Well, if this is your routine set-up, why even bother bringing a quiver full of arrows. If the rare chance of a second shot arrives, you’re probably not going to be ready. You’ll be too busy trying to lay down your bow so that you can pull another arrow from your free-swinging quiver. Does this sound familiar?

In order to cash in on those elusive second shots, you’ve got to be ready with that second arrow – nocked and ready to go. You must be able to pull another arrow from the quiver with one hand, so that you can continue holding your bow. The quiver must be mounted solid, somewhere, to do the one-hand retrieve. 

You have three options: 1) Get a second-shot single arrow holder that screws into a tree. But you still must put your quiver somewhere. 2) Leave the quiver mounted to your bow. If you’re like me, you hate hunting this way for comfort reasons. 3) For the final option, read on.

Summary

There are lots of good arrow quivers on the market that serve bow hunters year after year without a problem. Chances are these quiver-incident free archers did a bit of research and shopping to find the solution that fit their needs at the time. But what happens if they decide to change to a larger or smaller diameter arrow shaft? How about switching from fixed- to expandable-blade broadheads? Don’t forget about that new sight that fouls up the setscrew adjustment. Is their quiver going to work with all or any of these changes? Probably not. The ultimate quiver is needed to compensate for the thousands of configurations possible.

For the time being, the ultimate quiver is the BowTech one-piece, multi-adjustable quiver. That’s right, BowTech makes quivers too.

Here’s the dirt (specs & features) on this fine piece of archery art.