Whisker Biscuit users? Effects on accuracy? Good out to 60?
 

I'm all about the KISS principal. So I've been thinking about using a Whisker Biscuit on the new bow I'm getting.
I want to shoot out to 60 yards and just wonder if they effect arrow flight/accuracy at all?

Cheers.
John
https://highlanderhunting.wordpress.com/

I don't shoot that far but thirty yards all is good and tight, if your a spot and stalk type hunter beware these things are twig/leaf/grass magnets.

Also be aware that if they get wet, and then it freezes, it can tear the fletch off your arrows. Happened to a friend on a hunt, missed his shot, and has been happily using a drop away rest ever since.

Same can be said of the drop aways as well. Get wet, freeze, and don’t drop. That might not tear a fletching but there’s a good chance it will, depending on the drop used. But it will most definitely throw off your shot, causing a miss.

They both have their good and bad points. Are they accurate at 60 yards? They can be. But it depends on the fletching style you decide you use, how well the bow is tuned, how worn are the brushes? A couple more factors with whisker biscuits but they can be good out that far. As accurate as drop aways? I’ve never tested. But I would think they’d be close.

Interesting. I've honestly not heard of a drop away freezing, or considered it, but I expect it could happen....now I'm afraid to hunt in freezing rain!:lol:

I don’t think the chances are all that great with either to be honest. But I think the whisker biscuit would be easier to correct by poking it a few times. Kinda hard to put the drop away in your jacket. There is a quick fix for whichever one you choose though. Just take a hand warmer with you. If you think it’s going to be a problem, wrap your rest.

Never would have thought of icing.
Something to consider....Although I usually ditch the bow once rifle season starts! haha.

I had a whisker biscuit years ago, noticed my accuracy drop off but I kept using it for a couple years as it was so handy while hunting. I had seen an octane rest that looked like it encompassed most of the advantages of the whisker biscuit but it turned out terrible as the brushes wore out quickly and you had to resight your bow almost every time I shot it, that only lasted a couple months. After went to a drop away and haven't looked back, I got one that kinda cased in the arrow which was nice for sitting in the tree stand or spot and stalk my accuracy also improved to the best it's ever been.

Accuracy has been ok for me but it makes too much noise when drawing. Busted several times by deer. Good thing it's never been trophy buck. In the process of rest shopping

A drop away set up correctly is leagues above a whisker buiscuit. I have never seen a pro archer use a whisker buiscuit for anything. They are cheap and simple but that's where the benefits over a drop away end. I know some people love them but they are an entry level piece of equipment. I use QAD HDX for hunting and Hamskea for target and 3d.

LC

Also have to consider the speed losses with a WB.

This was at 60 :) and I've lost more than a few arrows that way... if split nocks aren't good enough for some, I don't know what to say other than the deer don't seem to know the difference. The biscuit works well for hunters. 20 yard dot shooters tend to have different preferences.

Drop aways are the worlds most common tuning problem. They also make noise, fall apart, freeze up, jam with debris, rust, break, and generally find spectacular and frustrating ways to fail exactly when you are pointing them at an animal. Sort of like mechanical broadheads. Hypothetical advantages and marketing claims abound but the reality is..They work till they don't.

Also re: freezing - I don't know who made this up but with a biscuit, that's a matter of poking it with your finger to clear it. Same with speed loss: 3-6 fps. Big deal :rolleye2:

One thing though, if you use a whisker biscuit, use 3 offset blazer vanes. Any other vanes or configuration may have problems. this setup is the most common for all bowhunters anyway, so it can hardly be considered a weakness.

This ^^^^
Used to have a drop away . Pro shop never seemed to get it 100% . Always giving me contact . He’s closed now and next closes pro shop is 2.5 hours away . So I switched to a WB and started to do my own tuning . 8 years later I still use the WB . It works every time . .

Years ago I learned to build and tune my own bows/arrows and bought all the equipment needed. Living in the country you can't run 2 hrs into town every time your bow/arrows needs a little tweaking. While whisker biscuits have the simplicity advantage they are noisy, hard on fletchings, and not most peoples first choice for long range shooting. It's really hard to beat a good hunting drop away, they are very easy to tune, and super quiet. Try drawing an arrow through a whisker biscuit on a cold still morning then decide.

Thank you, so I’m not crazy. Everyone I tell this to look at me like I have horns growing out of my head.

☝️
This . If you learn your equipment you will never be in a jam. I used the biscuit 10 or so years ago and then switched to a fall away. I have never wanted to go back since. Not for a second.

I second this. Been shooting a WB for years. I like the KISS method too. Last thing I need is to have a drop away fail or lose a screw or piece of it when a big buck is standing in front of me. The WB is also great for the type of hunting I do which is a lot of spot and stalk. Your arrow isn't gonna fall off your WB. I hunt quite a bit in the snow and have never had it freeze up. To the point that I will set my bow down in the snow, or it gets snowed on, and it's still shoots fine.

Yes and you only loose about 3fps through a WB. Not a biggie.

As for groupings out to 60 yards, I personally don't shoot at anything past 40 yards hunting as this is my comfort zone on ethical kills, but there are plenty of YouTube vids of guys shooting pie plate groups past 100+ yards with a WB.

Here's one at 100 yards...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbefCoY71Os

This one was at 136 yards...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVbm7y6S5OM

Grouping no problem at all. It's the shooter more than anything. Practice with the equipment you have.

Don't let guys tell you that they are crap. They work just fine. Plus they are loads easier to tune.

I started to hunt with WB at the beginning and did okay on couple of3D shoots as well as half dozen of deer and one black bear.
What I noticed was, the vanes became not straight any more after some shooting and it did affected accuracy at longer ranges.
Also the brushes were worn out after some shooting and the circle was more like an oval .It did affected accuracy also.
The worst thing was ,when I was drawing at around 30 yds at a bull moose in the evening ,this brushes were making a noise and the bull run away.
For the last 7 years I use drop away Apache on my Bow Tech destroyer 340. Never had any of those issues any more and never looked back at WB.
S12

I had a whisker biscuit on my bow to start with. I was sitting in a tree stand in Northern Alberta in Nov and I believe it was -20 something. That buck heard me draw my bow LONG before he came in close enough to send it. To me, it sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. That was it's last day. My two cents.

WB is plenty accurate, a hooter shooter will confirm that, once you take the human out of it. They are noisy, but if you dont mind the hassle, you can peel some cotton off a qtip, and lay it inside the hole, so your arrow rides quietly on that. Kind of fiddly but will take care of most of the noise. Also make sure the hole in the biscuit is larger than the arrow, not a tight fit. should see air space above and to the sides. I shoot a WB and although I'm annoyed by the noise, i like the simplicity and ability to retune in the bush if it gets bumped. When I get too concerned about the minutia of the choice of rest, I shoot my self bow for a while, then even the crappiest modern equipment is a marvel.

I have only been using a bow for 3 years and have worn out two sets of bristles. What I found is yes, they get noisier as more arrows go thru, a new set is pretty quiet. I also read somewhere to spray silicone spray on the bristles to A. quiet it down and B. it will pretty much eliminate the freezing up issue. In the end, I think it's personal preference.

Jeepers if you want simple send the arrow off the string by your fingers assisting the arrow with a flipper rest...everything has issues...frozen releases...a loud fart...nothing is perfect eh.

FFS so many off topic answers ! The biscuit is fine at whatever range you want to shoot for hunting .
If your a competition shooter don't even consider it .
as far as noise what is all the bs about silencing it , your more likely to scare an animal with your movement and not a small brushing sound of a biscuit rest .
Drop aways have their place and hunting isn't one of them if your a stalk and hunt kind of guy. Biscuit all the way
I love amateurs giving advice to amateurs but you will only ever be an amateur if you don't try and experience this stuff for yourself .

This is the easiest way to not kill something with your bow :)

LC

I know may guys who stalk with a drop away myself included and taking many animals in doing so, you comment is As stupid as they come

I went from the biscuit after many many years and went to drop away only issues I had with drop away were when I installed in and had it fail took it to the pro shop and never had an issue since and won't ever go back. I've always noticed the hard core biscuit guys are like Mathews bow shooters nothing to them is better and are ignorant to anything else that's actually better

That’s gotta be the craziest post on this thread. Speaking of amateurs lol I have never used anything but a drop away and I have never had an issue. I spot and stalk and still hunt 99% of the time with a drop away. If you prefer a whisker then have at it but I’ll take the drop away 100% of the time no questions ask.

40 years and experience with a multitude of bows arrows and different rest makes me positive I'm no amateur and yet I'm no professional ,I'm just a good bow hunter that knows what works best for me and would definitely be best for a new guy hunting .
stop with your BS

I Spot and stalk lots...never had to use a biscuit lol. Shocking I know! I also have all the gear to properly tune a bow.

LC