Why are there two holes for my arrow rest?

Quick info-tel post here. I’ve been asked this question a number of times by beginner archers and I always feel like saying to them, ‘You know we’ll talk about that later.’ And somehow ‘later’ never comes.

So, the answer, of course, is that one is for you to line up your arrow rest into the correct position and the other one is for your pressure button. And what, then, is a pressure button?

The quick answer is that it is a small ‘button’, that pushes through the riser in the middle of your arrow rest which has a spring inside that can be set to be more soft or more firm in order to help fix the archer’s paradox. But, if you’re reading about the archer’s paradox for the first time that doesn’t help much. So, what’s the best way to explain it? As you release your arrow it has to bend to clear it’s way around your riser. Unlike a slingshot where you can pull back the sling and have nothing in the way between the missile and target, with a bow and arrow as you draw the string back and point the arrow at the target you’ll find that you have a riser / bow right in front of where you’re shooting.

So, the arrow needs to bend around the riser – and there are some amazing slow motion videos (especially the ones by Beiter) showing it doing just that. Without a pressure button the arrow will bend as far as it can and as far as it needs to according to how good your release is, how bendable your arrows are (the spine) and the force with which you are releasing them (the weight of the bow).

Installing a pressure button helps to achieve two things – it helps to correct the archer’s paradox (as far as possible) and it helps you to get the perfect ‘tune’ to your arrows by allowing more or less bend in the arrow shaft and it also allows you to set the ‘centre shot’ – basically the optimum position for pointing the arrow down range that will give it the most help to snake its way around the riser.

So, that is the very basic start of an answer about taking your first steps in tuning. For more information I recommend taking a look at The Archer’s Reference Guide (free although they’re grateful for donations) or, if you have a bit of cash to spend and you’re willing to go into some depth, the best book on the subject is Simon Needham’s The Art of Repetition – along with the companion DVD.