Shelf or stick on ER?

[Sam Dunham]

Can I shoot a stick on rest and not be in the same class as those with pressure buttons and stabilizers?

[Matt_Potter]

Sam,

If you are talking IBO you would get placed in the RU class which is Recurve unlimited - so yes buttons rests and stabilizers. Trad class is shot only off the shelf with no button in IBO.

For the non IBO local stuff it sort of depends on the club. Here in Montana I shoot with the rest of the recurve guys even though I shoot with a rest and plunger. Last summer I went down to Idaho to shoot in their state shoot and because I shot off a rest I was thrown in with the Compound guys. Moral of the story is check the rules before you go.

If you go to the IBO site http://www.ibo.net/ you can down load a set of their rules.

Matt

[DanaC]

This is becoming something of a bone of contention in our local leagues. We don't follow any large sanctioning organization like IBO, so usually all recurves and longbows get lumped together. I use an elevated rest but otherwise I shoot split finger instinctive. Then some friends of mine show up using rests, plungers, string walking, and other friends of mine, shelf shooters, start complaining. They have a point, imo, there needs to be a split somewhere between totally different styles/set-ups.

Are the IBO specs the best? Does making _one_ change, like a rest, constitute a Recurve Unlimited bow? And if you're no longer shooting 'traditional' then you almost _have_ to go the full boat to compete in the unlimited category.

For a guy like me, who is looking for a simple solution to better hunting-shooting, it's a weird middle ground. I'm not looking for a competitive edge versus the shelf shooters, I'm looking to be the best shot I can when a deer makes the last mistake. Nor an I looking to totally change my shooting style to become competitive in the RU category. (Then again, watching Paul Muise shoot that 282 yesterday will give anyone pause for thought! The dude was on!)

This discussion is just shaping up hereabouts. Hoping we can satisfy everybody, or at least most shooters.

[Sam Dunham]

They should allow us to shoot a stick on rest with no bolts or a plunger.

[DanaC]

They should allow us to shoot a stick on rest with no bolts or a plunger.

I agree, Sam. These rests have been 'traditional' for a long time ;-) I use them on all my bows now.