Choosing the Right Quiver

The two piece quiver, this involves a top hood and a bottom bracket that are both attached to your riser. The advantage to such a quiver is that they are generally the quietest choice when you shot your bow and you always know that your arrows are there. But like anything else it comes with disadvantages as well. There is added weight to your bow that you must get used to and should practice with. There is also the disadvantage of not being able to take it of and put it out of the way, be that a corner of your ground blind, hang it on a limb by your tree stand , or even the convenience of your bow fitting in your bow case. One thing that I do not like about that option is if it is a really windy day you do not have the option of taking it off and it can make your shot much harder. However, there is no confusion about where your arrows will be at the time of need.

One piece detachable quivers are by far the most popular choice. This quiver is usually attached on top of your sight or on occasion directly on the riser and is easily detached by some sort of mechanism be it a lever, slide, compression or magnet. The advantage of this quiver is easily recognizable; you can take it off and put it out of your way for hunting, shooting on the range and even in most cases makes it easier to fit in your bow case. There are many different one piece quivers to choose from and for the most case as the price goes up your are getting a quieter quiver on the shot and it is easier to detach from bow. This is the option that I use, I can choose a quiver that is quiet enough on the shot if I want to leave it on and I can also take it off on a windy day or if I want it out of my way.

Back and side quivers are another option that is available on the market. The advantage of those is that they are not hanging on the bow. Many people that take their quiver off when get to the tree like this option because it does not have added weight to the bow, so when you shoot at game it feels the same as when you are in your back yard shooting at your target and some of them can carry large numbers of arrows. Disadvantages to these quiver systems is that they do not always work well with a backpack or if you are hauling a tree stand on your back and I have found that they can be harder to stalk with at times through thick brush.

One other big decision is how many arrows you want your quiver to hold. Some people think that they will never shoot more then 1 or 2 arrows on a trip to the stand and others never want to run out. That decision must be made and weighed on factors of distance to more arrows be it a wilderness hunt out west where you may not be back to truck for days and likeliness of multiple shoot opportunities. 

I had a life changing experience a couple of years ago that makes me today want a five gallon bucket of arrows with me when I go out. I was sitting in stand one morning in a western state and was starting to see some good deer movement. I caught movement in the distance on my right, when I pulled my binoculars up to see what it was I saw a mid 150’s 4x4 mule deer coming out on the opposite side of the field. I knew that the chance of it coming my way was slim but there was hope. He started making his way across the 400yd wide field my way. After about 10 min it seemed like he was going to actually come my way and present a shot for me. I readied my bow and got my rangefinder up, I ranged him 37 yards. I pulled my bow back put the pin on him and shot out of my 66 foot high tree stand and missed high (another lesson learned at same time about tree stand height). He ran about 20 yards and stopped again, I grabbed my second of three arrow with and shot again and missed high again. After that I did not have another shot and got to watch him walk away and sit there with my head hanging low. But not for long because to my other side I see two more bucks coming, a beautiful 4x4 that had to be in the 180’s and another 4X4 that was in the 160’s. I was nervous to say the least after missing twice just minutes earlier. I told myself you have one arrow left do not blow it, let them get close. I watched and waiting and finally they closed the distance to under 30yds. I pulled back and put my top pin low figuring I missed high twice not again, and that was the truth. I missed low that time. The bucks didn’t run though, they looked at each other and then started to spar. To my surprise and disbelief the one I missed earlier came in to the sound of the rattling horns and I had three bucks over 150 inches within 25 yards of me and no arrows left. I felt helpless and sick; they stayed there for an hour and a half giving me every shot opportunity that you could wish for. Ever since then I have switched to a seven arrow quiver and fill it up every time out.

Another situation was a nice ten point that I had been hunting and seen a couple of times. I would have guessed him in the mid to upper 150 inch range, just a great trophy. One morning I snuck into a stand and set up a decoy with the hopes of ambushing him or a couple of other nice bucks that I had been seeing. About 7 AM I decided to start a calling sequence that involved some rattling a few grunts. No longer did I put down the antlers and I had a very unique high racked 7 pointer come straight into the decoy. I passed on him but he was in no hurry to go away, he stuck around for about firth teen minutes until I heard some deep grunts coming down the fence line. It seemed like it took forever but finally the buck appeared and was that nice 10 point. He was slow coming to the decoy and never truly committed, he started circling around the decoy and I knew that it was going to be my shot opportunity. I ranged him a couple times to be sure and it read 35 yards. I pulled back counted my pins and let the arrow fly. To my surprise I hit him in front of the shoulder and he dropped to the ground. As he was on the ground going in circles I went for another arrow and hastily could not find my quiver that was right next to me on the tree. In the few extra seconds it took me to pull my composer together and find my quiver, load an arrow he was up and gone. I never did find that buck; I looked for two days and did not find much sign. I believe it was not a lethal hit but it was a missed experience that I never will forget and makes me think twice about taking my quiver off now. For me that made me want to leave the quiver on as much as possible for quick recovery for follow up shot or miss.

The decision on a quiver for me came because of experiences in the field and missed opportunity. I have had two distinct situations that happened to me that have dictated what kind of quiver I currently go with and will probably have more. You will have those situations as well before you figure it out, and those moments are the ones that haunt us but keep us so obsessed with bow hunting as well. It seems that the quiver is like all things in life you have a give and take relationship that you can only decide what the right decision for you is. Number one thing in bow hunting is having confidence in your equipment, all parts and that includes everything right down to where your arrows are.