Strike Plates?

[tgtmatt]

I've seen some pretty cool strike plates out there. I was wondering about what most people use? I was thinking of trying a really shiny colorful seashell. Like the inside of a clam, etc. How do you insert strike plates, and what are the most common things used for strike plates?

Matt

[Weylin]

If you're feeling crafty and ambitious you could do an inlaid strike plate. You should check out Del the Cat's blog, I'm pretty sure he shows how to do those somewhere on there. But honestly it's not necessary to do all that work if you dont want to. I typically glue a wedge of leather on to the bow right above the arrow rest like this. It's easy, looks decent and it is quieter than a something hard like a shell.



 

[osage outlaw]

I use thin leather every time.  Like Weylin said, it is quieter.

[tgtmatt]

Thanks guys.

I guess whenever I make a low draw weight bow i'll just fancy it up with shells, etc to make up for the weight. Make it look nice since I wont be out using it to hunt.

[sleek]

This looks good and is easy to do. Just get an antler tine, saw it in half long ways, then cut it to about 1/8 inch thicknes total and sand it down until it is thin enough to actually bend around the surface of the handle. Then super glue it on.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Anything soft will work best. Leather, velcro dots, short fur trimmed to shape and the like. Hard stuff kinda defeats the whole "strike" plate concept. In a perfect world all of our bows are perfectly tuned and we never have bad shots so the arrows never touch the strike plate.......riiiight.

[Scowler]

My favorite strike plate is no strike plate at all.  I shoot off the knuckle so I just spiral wrap a 1 1/2" x 40" (approximate) piece of thin elkhide or deerhide around the handle area and where the strike plate would go.  Just tuck the end of the hide around itself at the end of the wrap with a few inches to spare.  Works great, looks very primitive and easy to remove when necessary.

[tgtmatt]

I'll figure out my favorite strike plate soon once I finish my first bow. Still not quite there.

[RBLusthaus]

I use the soft side of velcro.  It comes with the glue backing already on it.  Add a drop of superglue to the edges.

[Roy]

I use tanned deer hide mostly, but the fuzzy side of Velcro works great too.

[coaster500]

If you're feeling crafty and ambitious you could do an inlaid strike plate. You should check out Del the Cat's blog, I'm pretty sure he shows how to do those somewhere on there. But honestly it's not necessary to do all that work if you don't want to. I typically glue a wedge of leather on to the bow right above the arrow rest like this. It's easy, looks decent and it is quieter than a something hard like a shell.

Weylin is right especially about the noise. I've done a couple with horn and they make noise on the draw and shot. One of them was carved into a strike plate/shelf combo from one piece then inlay-ed. The only way to make the bow quiet was to cut and glue two 1/4" dots of beaver tail on both the Rest and strike plate. Inlay looks great but it's not the best choice for a hunting bow IMHO.....

[toomanyknots]

I use thin leather every time.  Like Weylin said, it is quieter.

Calf hair IMO is even better, and looks better too.

[toomanyknots]

This looks good and is easy to do. Just get an antler tine, saw it in half long ways, then cut it to about 1/8 inch thicknes total and sand it down until it is thin enough to actually bend around the surface of the handle. Then super glue it on.

Cool, didn't know you could get antler to bend like that.

[toomanyknots]

I use the soft side of velcro.  It comes with the glue backing already on it.  Add a drop of superglue to the edges.

Those do work great.