How to Choose a Quiver

How Coach Rob judges it

These are the things that actually decide the right answer for you. Every recommendation is weighed against them.

Mounting style

Bow-mounted quivers attach directly to the riser and keep everything in one unit, which is good for hunting brush where a separate quiver catches on branches. Hip quivers sit on your belt and are the standard for target and 3D shooters because they keep weight off the bow entirely. Back quivers look traditional but are less practical for serious shooting; arrow access is slower and they shift on your body. Pick mounting style first, because it determines almost every other spec.

Arrow capacity

Most hunters carry four to six arrows and never need more. Target shooters doing a field round need enough arrows to get through a station without constant retrieval, which usually means six to twelve. Overfilling a quiver compresses fletching against adjacent shafts and ruins vanes faster than shooting will. Count what you actually need and buy for that number, not the maximum printed on the label.

Broadhead hood and point protection

Any quiver used with broadheads must have a hood, a foam or molded rubber gripper at the front of the quiver that captures blades and prevents them from contacting each other or your hand. The hood material matters: closed-cell foam grips blades firmly but degrades with moisture over seasons; molded rubber hoods are more durable. For field points and target tips, this is a non-issue, but the moment you switch to broadheads you need positive retention, full stop.

Detachable vs. fixed attachment

Detachable bow-mounted quivers let you pull the quiver off once you're in a stand and set it aside, which removes the weight and kills any noise it might introduce at full draw. Fixed quivers simplify the system — one less thing to fumble in the dark — but you shoot with the added weight every time. For close-quarters hunting, detachable is almost always worth the small extra cost. For target archery with a separate hip or back quiver, this distinction doesn't apply.

Weight and bow balance

A loaded bow-mounted quiver shifts your bow's balance point toward the arrow side. With a heavy quiver and a full load of arrows, that can noticeably change how the bow sits at full draw and how the front end tracks through the shot. Some shooters compensate with a stabilizer on the opposite side; others find they need to re-tune their rest after mounting a quiver. Weigh the quiver loaded before you commit to a setup, and if you tune your bow with the quiver on, shoot it with the quiver on.

Noise and field security

In a hunting situation, any arrow movement is arrow noise. Good field quivers grip each shaft at two points — the hood and a lower gripper band — so nothing rattles. Foam gripper inserts that are worn out, cracked, or undersized for your shaft diameter will let arrows shift. Test this before the season by walking quickly and listening. If you hear anything, the quiver is not field-ready. For target use, noise is irrelevant, so you can prioritize access speed and capacity instead.

The short answer

Match the quiver to how you shoot, not to how the box looks on the shelf. Bow-mounted quivers are for hunters who need everything integrated and quiet in the field. Hip quivers are the right call for target, 3D, and field archery. Back quivers are traditional and fine for casual shooting, but they’re not practical for either serious hunting or competitive target work. Once you know the mounting style, capacity, hood type, and attachment method follow straightforwardly from your discipline.

Mounting style is the first decision

The three main quiver positions (bow-mounted, hip, and back) are not interchangeable, and the choice isn’t really about preference. It’s about what you’re doing with the bow.

Bow-mounted quivers clamp to your riser and travel with the bow. In a hunting scenario where you’re pushing through brush, that matters. A separate quiver hanging off your hip catches branches and telegraphs your movement. The downside is weight: a bow-mounted quiver loaded with five or six arrows adds real mass to the front of your setup, which changes how the bow handles. Many hunters use a detachable bow-mounted quiver precisely to split the difference: mount it for the walk in, then pull it off once you’re in position.

Hip quivers are the standard for target and 3D shooting. They keep weight off the bow entirely, give you fast arrow access on a shooting line, and often have pockets for accessories. The variety is wide — tube-style quivers organize arrows individually, while bag quivers hold them loosely. For target work, a tube-style hip quiver is almost always the better call because it protects vanes and keeps arrows from tangling.

Back quivers are worth mentioning because people ask. They work. But reaching over your shoulder to draw an arrow is slower and less consistent than reaching to your hip, and a back quiver shifts on your body when you move. If you’re doing traditional archery for the aesthetic experience, go for it. For anything where arrow access speed or consistency matters, look elsewhere.

Capacity: how many arrows do you actually use?

The number printed on a quiver is a maximum, not a recommendation. A hunting quiver rated for eight arrows shot with six will hold arrows more securely than the same quiver stuffed to capacity, because the gripper foam isn’t being compressed past its designed range.

For most hunting situations, four to six arrows is plenty. You’re not going to shoot a dozen times before you can retrieve. For target, it depends on the format. A hunter education class or a fun shoot might need only a few. A field archery round might have you at a stake with four or five unmarked distances to shoot before you walk to the target. In that case, having enough arrows to finish a station before you retrieve matters. Know your format, then add one or two for spares, and stop there.

Overpacking compresses fletching. Arrows sitting tight against each other for hours will show vane deformation — slight bends and flat spots that affect the arrow’s behavior in flight. This is preventable: just don’t overfill.

Broadhead hoods and point protection

If you ever put a broadhead on an arrow, the quiver has to have a hood. No exceptions. A broadhead hood is the molded foam or rubber insert at the front of the quiver that captures blade tips and keeps them from making contact with each other, the quiver body, or your hand.

Two things to check on any hood: first, that it’s sized for your broadhead style. Fixed blades and mechanicals seat differently, and some hoods grip one style better than the other. Second, look at the hood material and how it’s aged. Foam hoods that have seen moisture and temperature cycles crack and compress over time. When the foam loses its grip, broadhead tips can work loose during movement. Check it every season.

For field points and target tips, the hood is a non-issue. Those tips won’t cut the quiver body, and the force on the foam is minimal. But the moment you mix broadheads into your setup, double-check that your quiver is actually rated for them.

Weight, balance, and tuning

This is the part many new bow hunters miss. A quiver full of arrows hanging off the side of your bow is not weightless. It shifts the bow’s balance point, and that shift affects how the bow tracks at full draw and through the shot.

If you tune your bow bare and then add a quiver for season, you need to check your point of impact again. The added weight changes the bow’s dynamic behavior enough that arrows that were flying clean may not fly clean anymore. This isn’t a flaw in the quiver — it’s physics, and it’s predictable. The fix is to tune with the quiver loaded, and shoot with the quiver in whatever configuration you’ll be using in the field.

Some archers add a stabilizer or side rod to counterbalance a bow-mounted quiver. Whether that’s necessary depends on the bow, the quiver, and your shooting style. A coach watching you at full draw can tell you whether your bow is canting under quiver weight — that’s not something to guess at from a description.

Noise and security in the field

For target archery, this section is irrelevant. For hunting, it’s one of the most important things to evaluate before you buy.

Walk with the quiver loaded and listen. Arrows should not rattle, tick, or shift against each other. A quality field quiver grips each shaft at two points — typically a hood at the front and a gripper band or ring toward the nock. If either contact point is worn, undersized for your shafts, or damaged, the arrows will move when you do.

Also check that the quiver itself doesn’t creak or flex. The connection point to the bow or your belt should be rigid. Any looseness there becomes noise at the worst moment. Before a hunt, do the walk test loaded. If you hear anything, find out where it’s coming from and address it. Worn gripper foam is cheap to replace; missing a shot because of quiver noise is not something you fix afterward.

When the less expensive option is the right call

A new traditional or recreational archer doesn’t need a premium field quiver. A basic hip quiver or a simple bow-mounted option serves while you’re figuring out your discipline, your draw, and your arrow setup. Buy at that level and spend the money on arrows and instruction instead.

For youth archers, a bow-mounted quiver is often the right call even for target work, because managing a separate hip quiver is one more thing to track when you’re still building habit. A simple, light bow-mounted quiver keeps gear management off the list of things to think about.

Where it genuinely makes sense to spend more: hunting, where quiver noise, secure broadhead retention, and weather resistance actually matter in the field. A quiver that costs a little more and grips arrows solidly is worth it if you’re sitting in a stand for six hours hoping not to spook anything. For range shooting, a durable mid-tier hip quiver will outlast several inexpensive ones.

When to confirm with a coach or try it in person

Quiver balance is something to feel, not read about. If you’re hunting with a bow-mounted quiver and you’ve never shot with one before, shoot a few dozen arrows at the range with it on before you trust your zero. If you’re adding a quiver to a bow you’ve already tuned, budget time for a re-tune.

Come into the shop with your bow and your arrows if you can. The gripper diameter, the hood fit, and the mount compatibility all need to match your specific setup. A coach who sees how you’re carrying your gear can also flag whether a hip quiver sits at the right angle for your draw or whether a bow-mounted option is interfering with your grip. That conversation takes ten minutes and saves you from buying twice.

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