Was viewing over the back quiver post and was wondering. How many actually hunt with a back quiver? I've used them, and the coolness factor is definitely off the charts. The romance and nostalgia are part off what makes traditional bowhunting so appealing to me. When you put in my clumsiness factor however, these attributes seem to wane. I'm either catching them on something, rattling arrows around, bending over and having them fall out, or having trouble reaching back to retrieve one. I probably haven't given them fair chance, and I'm sure many wouldn't hunt with anything else. I'm a big boy, so comments or chastisement will both be taken under advisement.

I've hunted with them.off and on for years.

If you have arrows rattlingbarpund and falling out when you bend over it is incorrectly made, incorrectly worn, or both.

Had mine out today. They need to be broken in, to fit the contour of your back to work as they are designed to. I have no problems being quiet, I tuck it under my arm to get through brush and in between trees and such. I can bend over and have the arrows pointing down and they remain in place with 3 or 13 arrows. Bump the quiver up with the bow hand to retrieve and pull down a little as I draw the shaft out and they come out very smooth.

They work for me better than any other quiver. A well designed Hill style backquiver is a very useful tool.

I have hunted with a Howard Hill back quiver only since 1986. I do carry one arrow along the handle of my bow when walking. That's with my longbows. With my BW PLX I use a Skookum one arrow quiver. Plus the back quiver.

Agree with fdp. I use a back quiver for small game hunting. Prefer a bow quiver for big game hunting though.

For decades, I've watched guys dump arrows from back quivers, seen them get hung up on brush, and heard arrows rattling around in them. Personally, I don't see the attraction, other than some of the cool designs and craftsmanship involved. I have no interest in hunting with one. A bow quiver works best for me. YMMV

I use a Safari Tough Arrowmaster.

Here’s a pretty good video on how to use one along with the great Hill style longbow….

I do better with a bow quiver

I do better with a bow quiver

WTH….

https://youtu.be/5cP8OrhesUk

Well, back in the mid 50s when I actually started that was pretty much it.

Only when small game hunting for me.

I just can’t see razor sharp broadheads going in and out of a back quiver without damaging other arrows or the quiver itself.

MP

I think the key is to buy a quality back quiver instead of monkeying around with the sub-100 dollar ones. I am cheap, so I make do with bow quivers from Big Jim and EFA, both work great.

I alternate depending on the bow I am using. So far, I have always used a back quiver with my longbows, buy may try a Great Northern strap on bow quiver one of these days. 2015 I also like the back quiver for hunting with my Black Widow because that bow is fairly heavy compared to real light recurves like my old Bear Grizzly.

I especally prefer a bow quiver on my Bear Kodiak Mag because that bow is so light and a small 5 arrow bow quiver is hardly even noticed on it, actually the slight increase in weight is welcomed on that bow and tames it down, just about right.

And today, I have been shooting my newest bow a used 2015 Bear Super Kodiak and that bow is slightly heavier than the K-Mag, so I could go either way with that one. However, I added a 5 arrow Sealway slip on to it, and I think that is the best choice unless I wanted to carry more arrows.

I like the back quiver for open country, but I don't like it nearly as much in the heavy brush for deer hunting.

I just don't care for them so no cool factor for me. But I do have one, somewhere.

Hunter Dave brought up a good point. The cool designs and fancy craftsmanship back quivers are better suited for target shooting where people can admire them and it doesn't matter if the arrows rattle or dump out. For hunting, all you want is a plain simple Howard Hill style quiver. Notice they way Sunset Hill's quiver lays across his back

I used a King quiver with a hood that is on the line of a St. Charles and a Cat Quiver. It was adjustable to the length arrow I was using. I modified it with an arrow gripping strip from a hip quiver so that I could also carry field arrows that were shorter. The gripper strip was screwed to the inside back of the frame. bvd

Give it a couple years of use. Takes time and effort like anything else worthwhile. Once you are used to it becomes a an extension. Kinda like the Hill bow itself...it is not for those who cannot be bothered. It is a skill. If you want to take the easy way there are other options. The few, the proud. Do you have want it takes to be the minority of the minority? If you use something else that is cool, but why post on this thread? People are “funny.”

To each, his own. I really dislike back and hip quivers for hunting in the woods. I much prefer a good bowquiver and be able to wear a daypack. I dont carry many arrows big game hunting so a bowquiver works well. Small game hunting in the open, I have used a side quiver and that worked well.

Couple more points... If one is serious about hunting with a BQ get one designed for hunting. Just my opinion but Howard Hill had perfected some design aspects of the BQ for hunting, so get a true Hill style design for the best shot at success. Big wide mouth, medium to heavy leather no sheep shearling or any additions as they are not needed if the BQ is broken in and designed well. One final point. Do not buy a BQ from a person that does not hunt with them themselves.

Like others I use them for small game and use a bow quiver for big game. The problem I've seen with most back quivers is that they are too stiff. If they aren't softer or well broken in and conform to your back then arrows will fall out when you bend over.

You can flatten the Hill style back quiver under the cushion of the couch in a day or two. Use commonsense: don't flatten the bottom. Also, I have a sling bag type backpack that rides sideways on my back the same direction as my back quiver.

My problem with a back quiver was always getting the full length of the arrow to clear the quiver when trying to remove it as shown in Kisatchies photo. I need longer arms or shorter arrows lol.

Back quiver bump....

https://traditionalknowhow.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-back-quiver-bump-and-proper.html

Some good tips on break in and use here:

https://traditionalknowhow.blogspot.com/2014/03/hunting-with-back-quiver.html

Upside down with field points:

Broken in:

I am currently using 30 inch BOP carbons.(I know, I know) and I will often use 4 blade broadheads when chasing things like Sika deer but I make it work because I want to. When things are challenging folks make excuses to do something easier... but once you are proficient the benefits are apparent and it becomes part of your "system". It is second nature now for me to get an arrow on the string without looking...getting through brush....crawling...it is just a skill I don't think about anymore. I have hit a deer running by me with a follow up shot, and I am pretty certain that would not have happened with a bow quiver.

All I use is a GN Sidekick plus my Day one pack for hunting. Use the back quiver for small game and shooting targets.

I strap a quickie quiver to my pack. It is hard to retrieve arrows compared to a bow quiver but I just don't like having extra crap on my bow. Tried a back quiver, must be made funky or my body is too skinny or something. Hung weird no matter what I did so I use it more like a plains indians quiver now.

Stand...yup

Hiking into elk camp...yup You make it work.

extra layers or rain gear...

After success...you make it work.

Two4Hooking....the two photos you posted, one of bending deeply over and the other showing the profile of your quiver prove that, unlike in my experience, the arrows don't have to necessarily fall out of your quiver.

I notice in the profile photo that the bottom of your quiver is round and I'm wondering if any improvement might be made by simply stitching the bottom flat so that there is no pronounced round or elliptical bottom?

And, I'm curious. Are you using any kind of filler material in your quiver to keep those arrows in place and quiet?

My son has his own style. I don’t like it though, works for him

I definitely think there is a cool factor but I usually have something else on my back - a climbing stand, a Pacseat or a backpack. So I usually end up using a bow quiver or an omnivore belt quiver.

All styles have their place but if I could have only one it would be a back quiver.

I totally agree with two4hooking, buy a back quiver from someone who actually hunts with them. This is my Dave Wallace made quiver. It's what he hunts with and he also makes gorgeous longbows.

I agree that one should buy a quiver from someone who actually hunts with one. I have a Hill style that I made myself, many years ago, but I suspect I didn't make it out of the right leather. I have used it quite a but still struggle with it.

I have often considered buying a new one, but never really knew who would make a really good and proven one for hunting and hated to just spend money on one that isn't any better than the one I already have.

Does anyone have recommendations as to who to buy a quality, back quiver from, made right for hunting?

I like a good side pull back quiver for small game and sometimes broadheads. Can pull and nock and arrow with very very little motion or sound. Top pull back quivers are just noisy when pulling arrows from what I’ve seen.

Like Lastmohecken said, it depends on the bow as well. Some don’t carry well with bow quiver.

Hunting last season at times with one.

Craig Ekin, Jerry Hill, and Nate Steen are just some of the folks who make usin' type back quivers.

Tarpon, not sure what you mean by "stitching the bottom flat" instead of round? Do you mean the "cut out" shape of the bottom, because they are all elliptical. When they get broken in and used real well sometimes the bottom will curl inwards (cup) a bit, but that makes little difference I think. It is the collapsing in the middle that holds the arrows. The bottom is roomy so there is freedom of movement when you draw out an arrow at an angle. Part of why a wide quiver is important IMO.

Here are two that I use. The one on the left was made by Chris Shepard. She is Rick Shepard's wife from Great Northern Bows. The other was made by a friend. They are both well broken in and quite comfortable to use. Both are over 30 years old.

Absolutely no filler at all. I am convinced any reference to Hill putting oats in his quiver was a praticle joke he played on some in camp because he would sneak out at night and pour boiling water in the quivers to "gum up the works". Upside down with field points and noting inside...the collapsing holds the arrows in and keeps them from rattling and rubbing together. I suspect Ol'Howard is rolling in his grave with laughter at the oats deal.

Perfect for small game and work well for big game also. Must be well made. I don't care for the all the added do-dad's.

I had the same problems with back quivers that the OP stated so I ended up with a side quiver. I really like the side quiver - it works best for me. That being said, back quivers have been around forever, so I’m sure they just need to be broken in and used properly.

I have the stiff leather version from HHA.While I also use a side quiver some of the time my only real complaint with back quivers is that it's hot in summer/warm weather.There's no way around that issue other than using something else.

They're really good when you're the stander on a Hot drive.

Really nice quivers. Enjoyed seeing them.

I usually use a back quiver when shooting 3D and sometimes when hunting. For hunting with the back quiver I only use 2 blade broadheads. Something to consider if you're thinking of using one to hunt with. Otherwise I think they're actually very practical. As stated above, the build and fit of the quiver makes all the difference.

3D and small game only. Deer and hog hunting requires a bow quiver.

No it doesn't. Think about it... requires it? C'mon man. Deer have been successfully hunted without bow quivers for thousands of years.

Geeze, some of those back quivers look HUGE. Why? What the heck are you carrying in them?

Two4hooking, thanks for the reply. I was referring to a design that is just sewn flat without any real bottom. And the oats thing...just something that I had heard mentioned, maybe on this site. For arrow rattle noise abatement probably.

I was impressed by the photos you posted and you look completely at ease but I've used back quivers and hip quivers while hunting and neither worked for me. I hunt in the Deep South where the cover is usually so dense a deer has to pick his way through it and my back and hip quivers found every limb and vine within their reach.

One of my brothers bow hunts and he takes two arrows. One he places in a little single arrow holder that is sticks to his riser and the other he carries in his hand. Says it's all he has ever needed.

I tried back quivers for hunting. Works nice for small game. I prefer a bow quiver for big game because I like to carry my day pack. Or put my day pack on my tree climber on my back. So a back quiver wouldn’t work with that setup. In my opinion, there is no one perfect quiver for every situation.

OK. Up front confession here. I hate back quivers for several of the reasons stated here. I hate bow quivers because I don't want any extra baggage/weight on my longbow.

With that said from what I am seeing a large majority, if not all, of the "working" back quivers are a Hill style with soft leather and a wide opening. Supposedly what makes them work is the way they are broken in so the middle lies flat against the back. Length seems important as well as width so as to allow a smooth easy draw.

So essentially it seems that just about the only hunting worthy back quiver is a Hill style or very similar variant. Very few seem to favor a back quiver that is more rigid with a more fixed shape.

But my dislike of a back quiver is the drawing of arrows and the return of arrows to the quiver. People say I should be able to draw an arrow cleanly by just grabbing the nock and pulling straight out in one motion. Well I don't have ape arms. The distance from my fingertips to the top of the quiver is less than the length of the arrow so clearing in one motion is not possible.

In returning arrows I almost always have to make a couple of attempts. And the same issue of arm length won't allow me to do it just holding the nock in my fingertips. The pushing of the quiver up using my bow hand and looking over my shoulder is just too much gyrating around for my liking. And pushing the quiver up only makes the arm length issue worse.

I have come to rely on a side quiver of one kind or another. My favorite is a Side Stalker I bought from Dean Torges. I have none of those issues with it.

I very much like the looks of many of those well made back quivers. And from a hunting perspective I like the location of a back quiver. But I just haven't come to grips with using one.

The coolness factor is unimportant when you hunt big game and paid 1000s of $ for a license and your trip and the last thing you want in certain terrain is a razorsharp broadhead stored behind your back...

A few things that make a back quiver work better. The arrows shouldn't be longer than necessary. If you tune your arrows and have several inches past the riser, the extra length is a problem. You should use your bow elbow or hand to hit the base of the quiver to make reaching the arrows with your string hand easier. When going through thick brush, swing the quiver under your arm. It takes time to get used to a back quiver and time to get it broken in.

You guys are funny. Always with the hate and excuses. Nobody has to justify anything. I hunt in some of the thickest brush and multiflora rose in the east. guess I’ll just keep doing the impossible.

I feel like having oatmeal this morning think I’ll cook it up in the bottom of my back quiver ????

I don’t think it’s “hate” so much as that (as with so many “instinctive” aiming/shooting threads) some people just need an excuse to trot out their arrogance from time to time… the whole bit about how “some people just can’t do it (but, oh, by the way - that’s the ONLY way that **I** do it… and of course I don’t do it for the coolness factor, but anyone who can’t do it is obviously a Loser….).

Some people like them, some don’t.

Some seem to work better than others, and some work better for some people than for others.

I made my own. It works pretty well, if I do say so. It’s not “Hill Style” but I don’t know that “Hill” style is any different than Pope described in “Hunting with the Bow and Arrow”, except that Pope didn’t claim to have invented it.

Mine (as I have broken it in over many sessions) doesn’t ride as high as it used to (funny how that seems to happen with age) and I have to bump it a bit more often than I used to. But apart from that…. When it is settled back there, it’s out of the way. If I bend over, nothing falls out. It’s pretty quiet to begin with, but if I don’t want any rattle at all, I just squeeze it under my left elbow where it is. In a tight spot, I bump it forward with my left hand, clamp it under my arm and ain’t nothing goin’ anywhere…. No rattle no matter how much running and jumping I might choose to do, and with the bottom pointed ahead of me, there’s just nothing there to snag on anything. Bow and bowhand shield it perfectly.

On the other hand… walking the range at the club, it’s a bit of a nuisance to have to bump it for almost every shot…. so I usually keep 3 arrows in my back pocket. For small game, it’s great. For an all-day trek up the mountain, I prefer my cat-quiver because I can carry all the stuff I won’t go deep into the bush without. And I like the CQ-1 because it forces me to keep the list short ;)

And yeah, I did try a rubber, Selway bow-quiver once, for about 2-3 sessions and I just really didn’t like the all-up mass of it; maybe I should’ve tried it on a 1-piece instead, but I like my bows like I like my coffee - nothin’ added.

So I find that I CAN use even a home-made, first-draft BQ just fine, and I really like it; it’s just not my first choice for every situation. Sort of like how I sometimes gap and sometimes shoot point-on (mostly for form work) and sometimes shoot the line and sometimes pull right through my regular anchor and sometimes just let it rip from whatever odd angle appeals to me at the moment.

The only part of it that really matters to me is whether I hit what I’m shooting at. So I don’t count it a particular badge of honor to carry my arrows (or guide them to my mark) in any one manner or another…. Do what works for you. There are too many enjoyable and effective ways to go about this whole thing to not enjoy all of the ways that work for you.

Well, I know damn well what works for me; I know when it works, how it works and WHY it works. I just don’t understand how being able to use a backquiver can be mistaken for some form of Moral Superiority over those with different preferences or requirements.

Guess I just didn’t get 2 copies of that particular gene….

I guess the "hate" posts are those that chimed in that don't like to use the quiver and have to say why. The OP asked who hunted with them. There were many posts from that crowd but also from those others who don't. I guess expecting that only those that fit the question would reply might be a little much?

Hunting with a back quiver is just like anything else that was commonplace in decades past. It used to be that a desired skill was earned by hard work, practice and failure. A sweet result was gained by putting work into getting there. It took me multiple seasons of roving and hunting to get the flow of the hunting back quiver down. To be most effective, you must conform yourself to its proper use. This includes shorter length arrows, proper build, fit and breaking in and most of all, PRACTICE! I had many a battle in the thick vegetation of Alaska getting snagged, loosing arrows etc. Instead of giving up, I learned to work with the quiver and now it flows with me through the thickest of brush. I can get an arrow out and back in with ease and they do not rattle or fall out because the quiver is broke in properly. You do not need much range of motion to access arrows if the quiver is worn properly and if the arrows are sized properly for you. I do all my hunting now with a back quiver and a Hill style longbow. Like anything worth while, it takes time and practice. The opposite of the instant gratification consumerism of today.

Only used a cat quiver.

Snobberage aside, I can hate them all on any given day. I can also love one more than another and hate it three days later. That's the beauty of having different kinds and being able to hate/love all of them at some point.

Not one of them is better than another. Not one makes you superior to another hunter who uses something different. Matter of fact, you can see all different kinds at a huge get together like ETAR or the Pa. Bowhunter Festival. And I have yet to see a fist fight over one's choice versus another's choice, not saying it can't happen. I've seen all different kind in the hunting camp as well. Amazing how folks can cohabitate in the absence of social media.

Well I suppose I should have said love/hate when I expressed myself. I actually like the idea of one. And I have seen many pictures of nice looking, well made back quivers on here. I had a nice one myself. Bought it at Denton Hill many years ago. I used it quite a bit. I didn't just try it on and give up.

Maybe I am just uncoordinated but getting arrows in and out of the quiver just never got smooth and easy. And my arrows do not have any extra length. Oh sure occasionally things went well. But more often than not there was at least a little hiccup. It just got a little too frustrating so I no longer have the quiver. I gave it away eventually.

I may one day try again. Like I said I like the idea of one. Carrying arrows there for hunting in particular makes sense to me. I admire those who use them smoothly and efficiently But I do also like the Side Stalker I use.

Sorry if my negative opinion got some panties in wad. Go ahead and slap me around if you want.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here