Bow Quiver

What a bow quiver does that other quivers don't

A bow quiver mounts on the bow itself. Your arrows ride a few inches from your bow hand, and nothing hangs off your belt or your back. That's why it's the usual hunting quiver on a compound bow; Archery 360 calls bow quivers popular with bowhunters.

Every bow-mounted quiver has the same two working parts, per Bowhunting.com's quiver guide:

• Hood: the cup at the top where the broadhead end of each arrow rests
• Grippers: rubber clips lower on the quiver that hold each shaft one at a time

Together they keep arrows from falling out while you walk or stalk. The rest of this page is about how those two parts mount, how much they carry and how they change the way your bow shoots.

Other quiver styles have their own pages. A hip quiver clips to a belt and is common with target shooters. A back quiver is the Robin Hood style, popular with traditional hunters. Crossbows get a crossbow quiver. Traditional bows have a recurve bow quiver page of their own.

The table on this page lists quivers their maker sells to mount on a bow. It shows the type, arrow capacity, whether the quiver detaches, whether it has a broadhead hood, weight and material. Weight is the maker's; the rest come from the maker or the Amazon listing (the table marks values that come from the listing). A dash means neither states it, and I'm not going to guess.

What to look at when you pick a bow quiver

Here's what actually changes from one quiver to the next. I'd check it in this order, because the first answer narrows the rest.

Decide first whether the quiver ever comes off the bow

This is the "Quick-detach" column, and it's really the one-piece versus two-piece question.

• One-piece (detachable): comes off by hand. Bowhunting.com says it typically mounts over the bow sight. Tree-stand hunters often favor it, and some shoot with it off for better balance.
• Two-piece (permanent): the hood bolts to the upper riser and the grippers to the lower riser. It comes off only with a wrench or another tool. Bowhunting.com says it's popular with spot-and-stalk hunters.

Here's the trade, on paper. Two mounting points mean less wiggle. Bowhunting.com says the two-anchor design lessens vibration during the shot, and Bowhunter's quiver article calls two-piece quivers unbeatable for ruggedness. The downside, as Bowhunter puts it plainly, is that they're not removable.

In practice, ask yourself where the bow spends the hunt. If it hangs on a hook in a tree for four hours, a quiver that comes off is handy. If it's in your hand all day while you walk, a quiver that never moves makes sense.

Count the arrows you carry, not the slots on the quiver

Capacity is the number of arrows the quiver holds. More slots sound better. They aren't, automatically.

Every arrow you load adds weight to one side of the bow. Bowhunter's quiver-on-or-off article says a quiver full of carbon can create minor balance issues from that side weight. Bowhunter's accuracy article adds a detail I like: removing one or two arrows from the quiver can also change how the bow moves at the shot.

So the quiver's behavior changes as you use it. That doesn't mean a big quiver is wrong. It means you should practice with the number of arrows you'll really have in it, and know what the bow feels like when one is missing. (I once spent a whole practice session wondering why my bow felt "off." It had one arrow fewer than usual. Physics was not confused. I was.)

The broadhead hood has to cover every blade

A hunting quiver needs a hood. Bowhunting.com describes the hood as the part that protects the broadheads, and that protection runs both ways: it keeps the edges sharp and keeps them off you.

Two things to check:

• Insert material: hoods are lined with foam or rubber. Bowhunting.com says rubber inserts don't dull broadhead blades over time.
• Mechanical heads: the background of a US patent for a broadhead quiver notes that mechanical broadheads may open as they're pushed into foam, and that foam dulls blades and tears with use.

The "Broadhead hood" column tells you whether the maker or the listing states one. If you shoot mechanical broadheads, read the maker's notes on hood inserts before you buy. Fixed and mechanical heads are both covered on the broadheads page.

Grippers should hold the shaft without a wrestling match

Bowhunter calls arrow grippers essential pieces of any quiver's build and says it helps if they're adjustable. They're what keeps arrows from falling out while you walk or stalk, per Bowhunting.com. They also have to let go when you want the next arrow.

Grippers fit a range of shaft diameters, so check the maker's range against your shafts, especially if you shoot skinny ones. Before the season, load your hunting arrows, shake the bow gently and then pull one arrow out with one hand. If the second step takes two hands, that's your answer. The shaft diameters that ride in those grippers are on the hunting arrows page.

Weight and distance from the riser decide the side pull

The "Weight" column matters, and so does something the table can't show: how far the quiver sits out from the bow.

Bowhunter calls the side weight of a quiver the main reason for lost accuracy with one on. The article's rule is easy to remember: the lighter your quiver and the less it sticks out from the bow, the better. Bowhunter's quiver-on-or-off article says to choose a quiver that hugs the riser and adjusts horizontally.

Think of carrying a gallon of milk. Held against your leg, it's fine. Held out at arm's length, your whole shoulder starts arguing. A quiver works the same way on a riser. Weight farther from the center line twists the bow more.

If your bow still leans, Bowhunter suggests a fix: a small counterweight on the other side of the riser to even out the weight. A lightweight bow quiver keeps you from needing as much of that. Stabilizer options are on the bow stabilizer page.

Stiffness matters more than the catalog photo

A quiver can look solid and still flex. Bowhunter says a quiver needs real torsional stiffness to stay quiet at the shot, and that one which flexes will disrupt the bow's regular shooting frequency. You want the bow to react the same way every shot.

The check is quick. Mount the quiver, load it, grab the gripper bar and try to move it side to side. If it flexes easily, expect vibration and noise. A loose hood or a flexible bracket can do the same thing, Bowhunter says, so snug every bolt you can find. (Uncle Walt tests every quiver by tugging it like a stuck truck door. Not scientific. Not wrong, either.)

Picking a quiver for a compound bow or a recurve

A quiver for a compound bow usually mounts one of two ways: over the bow sight for a one-piece, or to holes in the riser for a two-piece. Bowhunting.com notes some one-piece quivers attach to the riser as well. So before you buy, look at what's already on your bow. The sight bracket, the riser and any accessory holes decide which compound bow quiver will bolt on. Bows themselves are on the compound bow page, and sights on the bow sight page.

Traditional bows are a different story. Bowhunting.com says back quivers are popular with traditional hunters, and Archery 360's traditional primer lists the back quiver, the belt (waist) quiver and the bow quiver as the three options. For quivers made to fit a stick bow, see the recurve bow quiver page.

If you're shopping for an arrow quiver of any kind and don't know which style you want, here's the short version:

• On the bow: arrows always with you, adds side weight
• On the hip: no weight on the bow, can catch on brush
• On the back: traditional look, takes practice to draw from

Sight in with the quiver exactly the way you'll hunt

This is the part most people skip. A bow quiver changes the weight of the bow, so your sight marks should be set with it however you'll actually shoot.

Bowhunter's quiver-on-or-off article lays out the rule. If you'll hunt with the quiver off, practice that way. If you'll hunt with it on, practice all season with it mounted. Its author's summary is worth stealing: develop a routine and stick to it. That includes the number of arrows in the quiver when you set your pins.

Two more notes from Bowhunter:

• Distance makes it bigger. In theory, the farther the shot, the more a quiver affects accuracy.
• Wind makes it bigger too. Some archers take the quiver off when shooting in a stiff crosswind.

Bowhunter also describes what happens at full draw with a heavy quiver. The bow tips toward it, and you rotate the bow slightly to level it. That's one more small thing to do while a deer decides whether to take another step. If you shoot with the quiver on, check your bubble level at full draw during practice, not just when you're standing at ease.

Write it down. Quiver on or off, how many arrows in it, and which sight pin. You'll want that note in November, when you've forgotten all three.

Habits for the tree stand and the ground blind

A detachable quiver shines in a stand. You can hang it on a hook beside you, and the bow is lighter and better balanced in your hand. Just keep it where you can reach a second arrow without big movements, and make sure it can't swing. Bowhunter's author describes a quiver that swung on its hook and fell.

Raising and lowering the bow is where people get careless. Wisconsin DNR's advice is to use a haul line to bring the bow into the stand, and to keep it unloaded. Every arrow stays in the grippers with its head inside the hood until the bow is in your hands.

For travel, a detachable quiver comes off before the bow goes into its case. Oregon's wildlife department recommends storing a bow in a case, preferably a hard one, and arrows in a sturdy case or quiver. Cases are on the bow case page.

Two-piece owners don't get that option. Your bow case needs room for the quiver, and your broadheads stay in the hood during the drive. Check the hood closes fully before the bow goes in.

Who should skip a bow quiver

Not every archer needs one.

If you shoot only targets, a bow quiver is weight you don't need. Bowhunting.com says hip quivers are common among target shooters, and the bow stays lighter and balanced. If you shoot a recurve and like the traditional setup, a back quiver keeps the bow clean. And if your bow is already fighting a side lean from a heavy sight, adding a loaded quiver on that same side may not be the best idea until you've added a counterweight.

The bow quiver is for hunters who want arrows with the bow at all times, especially on the walk in and out. That's most of us. Just not all of us.

Keep every broadhead covered

Broadheads in a quiver must sit fully inside a covered hood every time you carry, haul or store the bow. Wisconsin DNR and Oregon's wildlife department both put covered points on their bow safety lists.

That's the whole job of a bow quiver: arrows close, blades covered, bow still shooting the way you sighted it in. Get those three right and the color is up to you.