Glenn St Charles back quiver?

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Mick Smith
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Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#1 Post by Mick Smith » Mon Mar 16, 2015 6:43 pm

I've always been fascinated by these quivers. I like the way they protect your fletches from the rain. I also like the way they eliminate the typical arrow rattle that conventional back quiver always have. I also like the way you can access arrows by reaching behind, minimising game spooking movements.

I don't think you can buy anything like these quivers these days. More recently there have been plastic quivers available, built along the same lines, but they don't cut the mustard for me.

I'm going to have to make my own. Mine will be smaller than the one pictured. It will only hold about 6 arrows. I'll make the frame out of timber and the fletch hood and the broadhead guard will be made of leather. It should be a fun project.

Rather than go for the rucksack type straps of the quiver in the photo, I think I would prefer just the one strap, like I have on my typical back quivers.

Has anyone attempted something similar?
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#2 Post by discord » Wed Mar 18, 2015 9:16 pm

HAIL ERIS!

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Mick Smith
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#3 Post by Mick Smith » Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:25 am

Yes it does. The Catquiver and in particular the Mini Catquiver are very similar. They're a modern take off, of the Glenn Saint Charles back quiver.

Catquivers are okay, but they're a bit too plastic for my tastes. There're not cheap either for what they are. I actually owned one of the original Catquivers many years back. It was the next size up from the 'Mini'. It did the job, I suppose, but it was poorly made and I never really liked the way it wasn't made of any natural materials.

So far, I've done some scouting around for the materials that I will need to make my own. I plan to make the frame from hardwood. Something like coachwood would be perfect. To keep it lightweight, I will go for a minimalist approach. Instead of relying on the downward pressure of the foam in the hood to hold my arrows in place, I will probably go for a 6 arrow rubber arrow gripper located about midway along the quiver. One thing that annoyed me about my old Catquiver was that I couldn't successfully carry blunts and broadheads simultaneously. The use of an arrow gripper will allow me to carry the arrows I want.

I'll take some photos of it, when/if I get it made. :wink:
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#4 Post by matt61 » Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:44 pm

Hey Mick
I have toyed with making a Cat quiver and I have thought about putting an upside down bristle brush at the bottom to hold the broadheads in position as I think it might hold them a bit better than the thin piece of rubber shown in the St Charles quiver. Or even rubber plus bristles.
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#5 Post by Mick Smith » Thu Mar 19, 2015 6:47 pm

I hadn't thought of that one Matt. 8)

I've given the idea of the 'perfect' hunting quiver a lot of thought though.

Realistically, bow quivers are probably the most practical design, but I can't stand the way they make my bow feel lop sided and unbalanced, even the very small lightweight ones.

I've tried side quivers, where the arrows are held securely in rubber grippers, so they don't rattle. Mine is a Great Northern and it's a great quiver, except it won't hold 5/16 inch shafts and that's what I hunt with these days. Plus, I don't like the way my brightly coloured fletches wave around when I'm hunting with it. If I could find a nice, no rattle, side quiver that securely held 5/16 inch shafts, I'd seriously consider it.

In the 'no rattle' designs, this pretty much leaves us with Cat quiver type back quivers. I like the way the fletching is covered from the weather. My bright fletches won't be visible to game either. I might even consider buying a Mini Cat quiver if my plans to make my own fall in a heap.
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#6 Post by matt61 » Fri Mar 20, 2015 2:16 pm

For me a bow quiver, Mick. I have had half a dozen Selways and I use a quick detach Selway with my recurves and
Thunder horn for my longbow, both six arrow. You should be able to change the arrow clip on the Great Northern to hold the 5/16 carbons. I never worry about bright wraps and fletching, it's the sight of my head that scares the critters. :shock:
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#7 Post by Mick Smith » Fri Mar 20, 2015 5:27 pm

Thanks Matt. I did a bit of checking and you're right, I can get a 5/16'' arrow gripper to replace my 11/32'' one for my Great Northern Sidekick. http://www.3riversarchery.com/Replaceme ... eitem.html
I'll have to buy myself one. 8)

I think you're right about bow quivers too. They're very hard to beat. They're great in thick cover. You can see at a glance which arrow is which. They're very quick to get into action. Maybe I'm just being a bit of a princess about them unbalancing my bow. I've got 3 of them, a Great Northern 5 arrow, a Thunderhorn 5 arrow and an Eagles Flight 4 arrow.

I've got one of those camo polar fleece hoods that slips over the fletches and is held in place with elastic. That removes the chance of game seeing the fletches. Most of my hunting lately has been whistling up foxes and you need everything to be almost perfect for those older wiser Reynards.
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#8 Post by matt61 » Fri Mar 20, 2015 6:41 pm

Thought you should be able to. I made my own bow quiver years ago for a Wahgok recurve using a Hoyt nine arrow compound quiver, the bow and nine Easton allys weighed four pounds.

When I hunt I have four arrows with broadheads at the front of the quiver and two with Judos nearest me and I start shooting with the judos as soon as I start to walk away from the car to get my eye in.

Love bow quivers , I can still remember crawling down a lignum tunnel and pushing the longbow with a Selway on it along in front of me and then shooting a pig at about twenty feet, that gets the adrenalin pumping.

I make my own fletching covers out of Auscam material as I scored a heap of it at the market one day and I use round elastic stitched at one side and adjustable at the other end using the sliding spring locking button type clips that you get on windcheater draw strings.
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#9 Post by Chase N. Nocks » Mon Apr 27, 2015 9:18 am

Hey Matt,

That is a great idea about the bristles.

I have always been a little weary of these quivers and relying on gravity and friction to hold your arrows in place but the bristle idea certainly adds another level of security to the design and very likely could only add to the quietness.

An interesting project there Mick.

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Troy
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....enforced by the "whistling grey-goose wing."
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#10 Post by Mick Smith » Mon Apr 27, 2015 2:01 pm

I've moved away from the St Charles type of quiver for my purposes. I already own a Great Northern Sidekick quiver, on which I have replaced the arrow gripper with one that it will now accept my 5/16 inch carbon hunting shafts. This quiver will do just about everything a St Charles quiver can do, albeit with less arrows, with the additional of a waterproof fletch cover. I already have a polar fleece fletch cover that I can use on this quiver, but I'm currently working on making a waterproof leather one for it.
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#11 Post by matt61 » Mon Apr 27, 2015 4:52 pm

The bristle idea came to me one day when I was looking at the ones they put on the edge of truck mudguards.
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#12 Post by perry » Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:58 pm

I have never made a St Charles type Quiver, I must get too it as they have long interested me. Glenn St Charles is a fascinating character. I was poking about the Asian Traditional Archery Network the other day and found an image of an Asiatic type Quiver he made - next project !!! He was a real innovator and what I have seen and read of his Archery Collection is Amazing!

While the St Charles Quiver is interesting I'm not convinced they are particularly versatile. Generally the only type of Back Quiver that is close to Versatile from "my perspective" is the Single Strap Hill Quiver. The moment you use 2 Straps on a Back Quiver and lock them into place they become a royal pain when Walking under low Branches, bending, twisting, belly crawl when stalking etc. You should be able to shift a Back Quiver around to suit ie pushing through thick Scrub, tuck it under your Arm, fast Shooting bump it so the Arrow Nocks are at the point of your shoulder etc. Many Hill Video's about the place show Howard Hill doing this

Folks I really like the Horizontal or Hip type Quivers. Here is the last Quiver I made to Hunt with.

Image

Worn with the Arrows facing forwards, great for Speed Shoots or the Field Coarse, Arrows Facing Backwards, excellent for Hunting through Tall Grass, Scrub etc. In the thick stuff or stopped down low Stalking they tuck easily under the Arm. Worn Backwards the Hole in the Side allows one to Draw an Arrow without alerting Game as the movement is concealed if you are in a situation where Game is looking at you. I have a Flethching Hood and don't have to remove it to take Arrows out with the Hole in the Side and the Quiver is Quite without it. Otzi the Iceman used one similar over 5000 Years ago. Lastly with the Strap adjusted to length great to wear with a Back Pack. I first made a similar Quiver to this over 20 Years ago, best design I've ever used.

regards Jacko
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Re: Glenn St Charles back quiver?

#13 Post by Mick Smith » Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:24 am

I'm always fascinated by interesting quiver designs. I particularly like the one you've pictured Jacko. To me, it's an indian type, side quiver with added feature of a side access hole. It offers many advantages, as you have outlined. You could easily fit a fletch cover to this design and arrow removal would be a breeze through the side access hole. The narrow quiver would hold your arrows firmly together, minimising rubbing noises too.

Quivers with multiple straps are an anathema to me as well. My first back quiver had the extra strap and while it worked fine in open country, it's was totally useless in the scrub. If I ever got around to making a Glenn St Charles back quiver, it would certainly have a single strap, that way I could pivot the quiver around to fit under my arm while negotiating thick scrub.

Thanks for sharing it with us Jacko. :smile:
There is no use focusing on aiming if you don't execute the shot well enough to hit what your are aiming at.

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