Trophy Ridge Bow Sights, Arrow Rests and Accessories

What Trophy Ridge makes for bowhunters

Trophy Ridge is an accessory brand. It doesn't sell the bow; it sells most of what goes on one. On this site that's six product types:

• Bow sights: fixed-pin sights with 3, 4 or 5 pins, single-pin sliders and a hybrid
• Arrow rests: Whisker Biscuit brush rests and drop-away rests
• Stabilizers: short rubber and static bars up to carbon rods with weights
• Bow quivers: detachable quivers with a broadhead hood
• Releases: wrist-strap index releases and handheld thumb releases
• Arrows: the Wrath, a fletched carbon hunting arrow

The grid above shows what's on Amazon right now, with filters by type. Listings come and go every week, so I'll write about the lines and what separates them, not this week's count. The maker's own site also lists bow parts, bundles and a trimmer kit. This site doesn't list those, and it doesn't list Trophy Ridge peep sights either.

Most grid specs come from Amazon listings and are marked that way.

Trophy Ridge arrow rests: Whisker Biscuit and drop-aways

The rest is the part the arrow sits on until it leaves the bow. Trophy Ridge sells two kinds.

Whisker Biscuit brush rests

A Whisker Biscuit is a ring of bristles. You push the arrow through the middle and the bristles hold it from every side. The maker's about page says Trophy Ridge created the Whisker Biscuit, and the grid carries several generations of it:

• Whisker Biscuit Original, Kill Shot and Quick Shot: the classic round brush; the Kill Shot and Original listings are ambidextrous, the Quick Shot listing is right-hand
• Whisker Biscuit V Max and V Con: the V-series, which the maker says centers the arrow on two points of contact instead of a full circle
• Whisker Biscuit V Max IMS: the V Max on an IMS mount
• Whisker Biscuit Pro: the newest one on the maker's site, in Small and Medium bristle sizes

On the V Max page, the maker lists tool-less windage and elevation adjustment with laser-engraved reference marks, rubber arrow guides for quiet loading and all-aluminum construction. It also says the V Max fits arrows from the smallest to the largest diameters. The Pro page adds bristles you can replace in seconds and a choice of standard or IMS mount.

Here's what actually changes from the Original to the V-series: how much bristle the arrow touches on its way out. The maker says the V shape and its perpendicular bristles cut vane drag. Fewer bristles touching the vanes is the whole idea.

Drop-away rests

A drop-away holds the arrow up while you draw and falls out of the way when you shoot, so the arrow leaves without touching anything. The question is what pulls it down. Trophy Ridge sells both answers:

• Cable-driven: the Level, the Sync and the Sync MD, tied to the bow's cable
• Limb-driven: the Propel and the Propel IMS, tied to a limb

The Sync MD page lists micro-adjustable windage and elevation, a removable full-containment arm, laterally adjustable arms and noise-reducing felt. The Propel page says it installs without a bow press and can be set for the upper or lower limb. Both come in right and left hand on the maker's site, and the grid holds a left-hand Propel listing.

Trophy Ridge bow sights: React, fixed-pin and single-pin

This is the biggest part of the grid, and the names don't make it easier. Here's the short version, sorted by how the sight aims.

Fixed-pin sights

A fixed-pin sight has several pins, one per distance, that don't move once you set them. The grid holds 3-pin (Fatal, Gem, SWFT Trio), 4-pin (React H4) and 5-pin sights (Peak, Fix, Ridgeline, Stacked, React Pro, React H5, React 5 Max). Most of their listings give a .019-inch pin diameter.

Pin diameter is the fiber's thickness. The React 5 Max shows what the maker thinks each size is for: its top three pins use .019-inch fiber for fast target acquisition, and its bottom two use .010-inch fiber for a finer aiming point at longer distances. (That's the kitchen difference between a pencil line and a pen line. Both fit on the paper.)

React: the self-adjusting pin gaps

React is the maker's name for sights that set their own spacing. On the React H4X page the maker says that after you sight in two pins, React Technology automatically adjusts the remaining pins. The React 5 Max page describes a speed-select dial for different arrow speeds and distances.

Quick math on why that's handy: sighting in five pins means five rounds of shooting and adjusting. Sighting in two is two. You still confirm the other three at their distances before you hunt, because a sight can't know your arrow is a little heavier than the chart thinks.

The H4X page also lists a range of bow speeds the sight is built for, 195 to 330 FPS (feet per second, the arrow's speed). Check your bow's speed against that range before you buy a React sight.

Single-pin sliders and the Hotwire

A single-pin slider has one pin on a moving bar. You set the distance with a dial before each shot. The grid carries the Drive 1-Pin, the React One Pro and the Alpha React 1-Pin. The Drive's listing gives a thicker .029-inch pin; the React models list .019.

The Hotwire 3-Pin is listed as a hybrid: fixed pins on a frame that can also move. The Digital React Trio Pro lists three pins; its sight type isn't in the listing, so the grid shows a dash.

Sight lights and hand

Several sights list a built-in sight light. On the H4X page the maker describes it as rechargeable, with three brightness settings. Check the hand too. The grid holds right-hand, left-hand and ambidextrous listings, and a right-hand sight on a left-hand bow is a very expensive paperweight.

Trophy Ridge stabilizers: Seismic, Hitman and the short bars

A stabilizer is a rod that screws into the front of the riser, below the rest. Archery 360 explains that it dampens vibration and shock at the shot and counterbalances the bow so it holds steadier while you aim.

The Trophy Ridge stabilizers in the grid, per the maker and the listings:

• Seismic: 6, 8, 10 and 12-inch lengths, plus 6/8 and 8/10 kits; the maker says it uses a carbon fiber tube, a built-in weighted dampener and a quick-connect bracket, with two 1-ounce weights that the screw can stack up to four
• Hitman: carbon, with a quick-connect system the maker says it shares with other Trophy Ridge stabilizers; the grid has an 8-inch and a 6/8-inch kit
• Shock Stop: 8-inch carbon with a dampener, per the listing
• Blitz, Snubnose and Static: short bars; the Blitz listing names a rubber body

Length is the deciding spec. Archery 360 puts it simply: around 12 inches suits long-distance target shooting, around 6 inches suits shots of about 20 yards or less. Decide which end your shots live at before you pick a length. A long bar in a ground blind also has a habit of finding the blind wall.

Bow quivers, releases and Wrath arrows

Bow quivers

The quivers in the grid are all bow-mounted and detachable, with a hood to cover the broadheads: the 5-Spot, Hex Light, Convoy, VRSA Light and Cloak. The 5-Spot listing gives a 5-arrow capacity.

The VRSA Light page is the most detailed. The maker lists five arrows, a cam lever for one-hand removal, a braided rope to hang the quiver from a tree, a rechargeable LED on top, and both 16-inch and 10-inch rods. Grippers for small-diameter shafts come in the box, which matters if your arrows are thin.

Releases

A release holds the string at full draw and lets go when you press the trigger, so your fingers don't. Trophy Ridge sells two kinds here:

• Wrist-strap index releases: the ArchX (dual caliper jaw), the Spot-On (single caliper) and the DrawPoint, all with adjustable triggers per their listings
• Handheld thumb releases: the Precise Pro, in 3-finger and 4-finger versions with rotating heads

The maker's site lists more releases than the grid holds right now, including single caliper, dual caliper, thumb and youth releases. Jaw type and trigger feel are personal; try a release on the bow before the season, not on the first morning.

Wrath arrows

The Wrath is the brand's one arrow. The maker lists it as a fletched carbon arrow in 340 and 400 spines, 30 inches long, with a .246-inch inside diameter, ±.006-inch straightness and six 1-inch inserts in a 6-pack. One listing in the grid is labeled 350, so read the label against the maker's spines. Spine and length basics are on the hunting arrows page.

How to choose within the Trophy Ridge lineup

Start with the rest

My one opinion on this page: on a hunting bow, I want the arrow fully contained. The reason is on the maker's own pages. The Whisker Biscuit Pro is built to hold the arrow at any angle, and the Sync MD carries a removable full-containment arm. On a stand or in a blind you draw at odd angles in the cold, sometimes with gloves on. An arrow that stays put through all of that is one less thing to think about. (My physical therapy patients would add: fewer awkward reaches.)

After that, it's brush or drop-away. A brush rest has no moving parts and no cord to time. A drop-away lets the arrow leave without contact but needs a cable or limb cord set correctly. Compare both on the Whisker Biscuit page and the drop-away arrow rest page.

Then the sight

Decide fixed pins or one pin. Fixed pins let you shoot at several distances without touching the sight; a single pin means turning a dial between ranging and shooting. Then match the pin count to your longest ethical shot, and the hand to your bow. More on both on the bow sight page and the single-pin sight page.

Then the balance parts

Add the stabilizer after the sight and quiver are on, because they change how the bow hangs. A heavy quiver on one side pulls the bow over. Then a short bar with adjustable weights is easier to correct than a fixed one. The stabilizer page and the bow quiver page cover sizes across brands, and the bow release page covers jaw and trigger types.

Setup notes from the maker's pages

A few things the maker spells out that are easy to miss:

• Rests: the Sync MD ships with all mounting hardware; the Propel needs no bow press; both get tuned for center shot before you hunt
• Sights: React models still need two pins shot in by you; tool-less windage and elevation on several models, Allen wrench for the pins on the H4X
• Stabilizers: the Seismic and Hitman detach from a quick-connect bracket for transport

Broadheads are sharp from the box. Use a quiver with a hood, and keep fingers clear of the blades when you load or unload one.

Trophy Ridge warranty basics

The maker lists a limited lifetime warranty on all Trophy Ridge products, starting from the date of purchase. It covers breakage from defects in materials or workmanship, for the original owner only, and it doesn't transfer. Abuse or alteration voids it, and so can skipping the installation instructions. Fiber optic breakage or modification is never covered, which is worth knowing before you trim a sight pin. Some discontinued models may carry a fee for repair work.

A claim starts with a call to the maker's customer support for a return authorization number and shipping instructions.

Who's behind Trophy Ridge

Trophy Ridge products are sold on the Bear Archery website. That site lists Trophy Ridge alongside Bear Archery and other brands, under a Bear Archery, Inc. copyright line. The maker's Trophy Ridge page says the brand created the Whisker Biscuit and calls it the world's best-selling arrow rest; that's the maker's claim. This page doesn't cover a founding year or where the parts are made. Bear's bows are on the Bear Archery brand page.

Rest, sight, balance. Write the order on a sticky note and leave it in the bow case. Uncle Walt will move it, but he'll read it first.