whisker biscuit VS fall away

[jenbickel]

Just curious on everyone's thoughts on whisker biscuits VS fall away arrow rests?
Thanks

 

[Graylight]

Whisker biscuits are a very effective and easy to use arrow rest that do not effect arrow trajectory and the speed that you do loose is only about 1-3 fps... I switched to drop away simply because they do get a little fletch contact with blazer vanes. Used a biscuit for a couple years with great success...

 

[Elkcrazedfrk]

The whisker biscuit is an "ok" rest. After much debate, I did a little expierment. I compared the biscuit with a trophy taker drop away. My thought was that the biscuit was going to have some effect on overall arrow flight due to the resistance when the fletchings went throuh the bristles. My findings were at 20 yrds POI was the same. 30 drop poi was 1" higher than buiscuit. 40 was almost 3" higher POI. 60yrds as roughly 4.5" difference. We also set up chrono. at 6 feet biscuit shot app. 3 fps slower than dropaway set-up. at 30 yards buscuit was app. 14fps slower. The numbers speak for themselves. The resistance from the bristles onthe biscuit does in fact reduce your arrow speed and i would also say your KE. Another point I would argue is when your out in therain or snow. the water those bristles hold will also have an effect on your arrow. those were my findings. I now shoot a QAD HD pro and love it. The key to drop aways are timing. In y humble opinion they are well worth the money and time to set them up. All that said, I always carry an old two prong rest for a back-up. The drop aways can malfunction in more ways than one. lol.

 

[wolftalonID]

I have shot nothing but whisker biscuit rests since I switched to beyond parallel compound bows. Before that these rests didn't exist lol.

I shoot groups tight enough they touch, and often enough that break arrows to a point my wife has me on an arrow budget. My groups that touch have been recorded on film out to 50 yards on a regular basis. Twice now I have inserted one arrow into the other (robinhooded) and I shoot carbon arrows. I also use blazer 2" vanes on my arrows and don't have any POI issues.

Whisker biscuits have NO failures anytime ever. Full capture rests for in the field spot and stalk hunting is invaluable, weather its a true whisker biscuit or other similar style rest.
ElkCrazedFrk did bring up one issue..that is ice build up in the whiskers. That said...its not a rest failure, its a hunters choice to hunt in insane weather...lol The bristles though themselves will not freeze.

From the manufactures own website..to address shot POI...here is something that I can attest to. I quote...
' "Does it affect accuracy?"
Archie Nesbitt has taken over 40 SCI world records with the Whisker Biscuit. You can't achieve a resume like that without every component on your bow being accurate. Is the Whisker Biscuit accurate? Ask Archie Nesbitt.'

I am not Archie...however, my own shooting experience has shown for itself it works.

This argument will go on and on in both directions...its up to you to shoot what you like best.

 

[307Wapiti]

I started archery hunting last year after I bought a used rig off a buddy from work. The whisker biscuit worked just fine, my only problem was since I drew a great elk tag last year I shot the tar out of that bow last summer. By the end of the summer my fletchings were trashed. I've since switched to a Ripcord drop away and I've been very impressed. The drop away has the obvious benefit of no contact with the fletchings. My $0.02.

 

[Bitterroot Bulls]

I shoot a whisker biscuit because there is no losing the arrow in the heat of battle. I have had no problems with accuracy or fletching problems. I shoot Blazer veins with thousands of shots on them ... no issues.

I don't have any reason to mess with a drop-away.

 

[Elkcrazedfrk]

Keep in mind,I'm not saying that your accuracy is compromised. What my findings suggested is there is resistance right out of the bow which will effect your arrow. Water and or ice will compound that by a significant amount. Therefore changing your normal
POI. So I guess maybe I am saying your accuracy could be compromised depending on the elements. Is it worth worrying about? I dont know? I guess it is to me. I'm kind of anal that way though. Thats said, alot of people use them with good results.

 

[Elkcrazedfrk]

It should also be mentioned that guys like Archie Nesbitt are afforded the opportunities to hunt animals in places most of us will ever be able to

 

[RUTTIN]

I believe for a beginner archer there is no better rest than a whisker biscuit. I shot one for many years, and you could shoot that thing upside down. When hunting in a tree stand it was great because you didn't have to worry about your arrow falling off. I had friends that shot drop away rests, and every once in a while when they would draw back fast the arrow would bounce off the rest. Not for me I thought. Then the Ripcord came out where you can cock up the rest and get the benefit of a drop away. For me my groups were a lot better at longer distances, and I wasn't having to refletch arrows all of the time due to the whisker biscuit. I did find that blazer vanes held up the best with a whisker biscuit. I think it is all preference, I like the drop away you can cock in the upright position.

 

[BOHNTR]

When the WB came out, I got tired of hearing all the hype. I just knew there was no way a rest designed like that could be efficient. I was even one that used to say, "the only good biscuit is one with gravy on it." Then I decided to test it and several other rests using a Hooter Shooter machine to get a fair study.

Here's the bottom line. I ate my words to all those WB shooters! The ONLY difference the WB has is an insignificant slower fps than the drop away rests. It averaged 2 feet per second slower than my Trophy Taker rest, Rip cord, and Muzzy rest. The WB also shot absolute perfect holes through paper, and with 2" Blazer vanes shot broadheads exceptionally well with no vane damage over extended shooting periods.

I also dunked the WB bristles in water and froze them in the deep freeze. After several days of being in the freezer with some iced bristles, I quickly shot it through the Hooter Shooter and looked for any differences. There was none. So again, I had to eat my words.

It's a very functional rest that, if tuned correctly, will shoot very well and not cost you fps. It's simple to use with no moving parts. However, I found you need to shoot smaller vanes (Blazer Fusion, etc.), as the larger length vanes tend to wear out after numerous shots. Overall, both types of rests work well. Just my opinion and results from an unbiased test.

 

[SDbowhunter]

My buddy uses a WB on his Matthews Monster, it seems like the biscuit wears out easily with putting arrows in and that the wiskers don't stay straight or even and eventually will cause the arrow to fly funny, just my two cents. He has only shot maybe 200-250 arrows through it and past 30 yards it is noticable that his groups aren't as consistent as when it was new.....thoughts ?

 

[BOHNTR]

Sounds like a spine issue with his arrow. Again, if tuned properly, the WB works flawlessly. I had a lot of apologies to give once I completed the test with the shooting machine.....trust me it was tough.

 

[wolftalonID]

I have over 2000 shots on mine. Yes the whiskers are not as tight as they once were. But the black ones...the true part of the rest are fine. When you shoot a WB, you need to put your cock feather/Fletching straight up. You never want a feather/fletching to touch the black rest.
I have had mine paper tuned twice this last spring, and both times my results were perfect holes. I was going to replace the whiskers but decided against it.
If you want to test a group size..put the bow in question on a hooter shooter device. Take the archer out of the equation. Paper tune the shots on the device to fix any arrow tuning issues, as well as, bow tune up issues. Use some of the newer lazer tuners to find your alignment of the rest. Then do some grouping with the device. If there is a whisker issue..its going to show. If you get your set up tuned correctly from the beginning, these rests last a very very long time.

I see a lot of people mentioning their whisker biscuit rest is tearing fletchings off. This is either an arrow bending too much.(shooting too weak of a spin for your set up). Or your not square to your bow and the arrow is coming out off set.
Also fletchings get ripped and torn by tight groups as the tips of the second third, etc arrows cross over the fletchings of the arrows already in the target and can tear them as they pass.
If you find the fletching in the whiskers..check your bow for proper set up.
If you find the fletching bits near your target, its your tight groups ripping them off.

If your really blessed, and know someone with a high speed camera? Have them video your bow in action from several angles. Its really cool to see how it all comes together, and sometimes you can see the areas that need attention.

 

[coyhuntermn]

IMO it comes down to the range you plan on shooting. The WB is bullet proof but affects your accuracy outside of 50 yards in a noticeable way at least for me. I shot it on a Mathews Legacy and switchback for many years. When I switched to a fall away my groups tightened significantly. I am setup so my shooting ablilty and conditions dictate the range not KE or Pins. If you are a tree stand hunter the WB makes sense but if you need to stretch out farther the fall away is king. I shoot a Monster MR5 at 347fps and have no clearance issues with a QAD Ultra XDX. I have not shot enough to say much more than this my group was about 3" at 80 yards the last time I was out and I don't have my grip or cheek weld dialed in yet.

 

[Jon Boy]

Ive found my biscuit only likes to shoot blazer veins, other wise my groups arnt too tight

 

[BuckeyeDIY]

I'm no bow tunning freak, but the reason I switched to a fall away, was YOU WILL TORK the bow one time or another. As soon as I started using it my 40 yrd group got tighter. So if someone can shoot one of those WB's really well, then just think how much better they could be shooting, with a good fall away. As far as arrows falling off durring the stalk, they now make newer versions that are'nt as vulnerable to falling off.

 

[Coyoteman]

When the WB came out, I got tired of hearing all the hype. I just knew there was no way a rest designed like that could be efficient. I was even one that used to say, "the only good biscuit is one with gravy on it." Then I decided to test it and several other rests using a Hooter Shooter machine to get a fair study.

Here's the bottom line. I ate my words to all those WB shooters! The ONLY difference the WB has is an insignificant slower fps than the drop away rests. It averaged 2 feet per second slower than my Trophy Taker rest, Rip cord, and Muzzy rest. The WB also shot absolute perfect holes through paper, and with 2" Blazer vanes shot broadheads exceptionally well with no vane damage over extended shooting periods.

I also dunked the WB bristles in water and froze them in the deep freeze. After several days of being in the freezer with some iced bristles, I quickly shot it through the Hooter Shooter and looked for any differences. There was none. So again, I had to eat my words.

It's a very functional rest that, if tuned correctly, will shoot very well and not cost you fps. It's simple to use with no moving parts. However, I found you need to shoot smaller vanes (Blazer Fusion, etc.), as the larger length vanes tend to wear out after numerous shots. Overall, both types of rests work well. Just my opinion and results from an unbiased test.

I though the EXACT same way you did when the biscuits first came out.......and than I tried one. Ate my words as well.

Easy to set up and tune, hands down the most bullet proof hunting rest there is. Ive always said, if the military still used bows and arrows, theyd have a biscuit on em!

I do disagree with the long/short vanes though. I shoot 4" AAE plastifletch (a little heavier vane) with no problems, I usually loose or break practice arrows before the vanes show any wear.