Is a stabilizer really worth it

[pdun24]

I shoot a VXR 31.5. I have 12 inches on the front with 1 ounce and 10 inches on the back with 5 ounces. It makes a world of difference for me when I am at 60 yards or further. It takes some tinkering to figure out what works for you. Levi Morgan has a video on his youtube page about stabilization and how to most effectively do it.

 

[theleo91386]

If you're looking to keep your setup light, see if anyone near you has a Quivalizer they'd let you try. Most hunting stabailizers just add a lot more weight to a setup so you're muscles have more resistance, creating slower pin float. The longer the stabilizer gets (the further from the riser the weight gets) the more you notice your pin float slows down when you keep the same weight out on the end. It's the same basic mechanical principal as a lever with your bow hand acting as the fulcrum.

 

[qwerksc]

This is interesting, I use a 12” front but haven’t really noticed much difference.

Zach is a shooter and an exceptional archer.

 

[qwerksc]

It’s all in how your subconscious deals with the release, but I like as little float as possible, stabilizer helps with minimizing my pin float, I’ll still hit the x, with or with out.

 

[Zac]

I don't know I'll see how important a back bar is since I lost it crawling around in the mud after a doe antelope

 

[N2TRKYS]

Adding weight to an object that I’m holding straight out away from my body has never made me more steady. It actually does the opposite for me. You just have to play around with it and see what actually works or what’s just in your head.

 

[Zac]

Depends on how you hunt. If you take off your quiver there isn't much point in running a side bar.

 

[Samdemarais]

I shoot a VXR 31.5. I have 12 inches on the front with 1 ounce and 10 inches on the back with 5 ounces. It makes a world of difference for me when I am at 60 yards or further. It takes some tinkering to figure out what works for you. Levi Morgan has a video on his youtube page about stabilization and how to most effectively do it.

There is a reason why every target archer uses one, if you want to shoot past 30-40 yards and be more accurate, it’s worth the weight. A stabilizer creates resistance to hold against where the flaws in your holding want to go. You can aim steadier and shoot better with the proper balance. If you are just punching the trigger whenever your pin hits the vitals then it won’t matter no matter what.

 

[Meshnasty]

I run a 10” B-Stinger on my hunting bow, but I prefer a heavy bow. I’d reccomend to make sure and get one that allows you to adjust the weight. Shoot it for a bit at the stock weight and watch your groups. You can minimize your groups vertical spread by adjusting your stabilizer weight. There is a pretty good how-to on this by nuts and bolts on AT. It works. I haven’t added a side bar to either of my bows yet, but I most likely will in the future.

 

[Zac]

Stabilizers are going to depend on alot of factors. What type of shooting you do. If you pull through the shot, the front weight gives you a more stable platform to pull through by providing counter balance. If you use little back tension and drive by shoot it makes little to no difference. The more let off you have the more weight you need to provide that solid pulling pressure. A side bar can minimize the time it takes to level your bubble. Offset your quiver, and fine tune your pin float. Some bows that cut the Berger in the center need alot of rear weight due to being so heavy.

 

[qwerksc]

They are easy to take on and off. If someone was to ask me, i'd let em try all the ones I have, I have been playing with five different ones, weights, etc. I found a set that definitely works better than any combo I've tried.

 

[OutdoorsMD]

For me it is highly dependent on the bow. It also takes a fair amount of trial and error. I have bows that seem to balance better with more weight up front and others with more weight out the back. Treestand hunting in Michigan I havent found much difference when shots are 30 and under but shooting out past 50-60 yds it makes a big difference for me. I am currently shooting a Mathews Triax and running on back bar on that particular bow made a huge difference for me with regards to balance.

 

[5MilesBack]

I really don't like the feel of my bows without a stabilizer. So even if it were to make no difference at all for shooting........it definitely makes a difference in feel for me. Quite frankly, it's a lot easier for me to put my pin on the bullseye and keep it there without a stabilizer, but then at the shot the bow is all over the place.

 

[Jimbob]

Trying for yourself will ultimately answer your question.

All professional target archers use stabilizers because they will. So Yes a stabilizer will help you. In a hunting situation though will it help you enough to be worth the weight?

For me, I think it is worth the extra weight. I backpack hunted for sheep and goats this year and carried the extra weight. 11" front with 3 ozs and 8" back with 8ozs. With my current set-up I am stacking arrows at 75 yds and grouping well at 100. I have not shot enough without those stabs to see if I can replicate that success. However, shooting in my garage without stabs I can see more pin float and the bow reacts way different at the shot.

I'm sure I could drop the stabs and shoot an index trigger release and get good accuracy but shooting with stabs and a hinge I feel like I am maximizing my accuracy which really shows up at 70+ yards.

 

[Billy Goat]

I'll just add that when trying stabilization you should have a target that you keep score with to track your progress.

In hunting it's the first shot that counts. Just like the cold bow challenge they do here. Shoot a single arrow over several days, or atleast track your first shot of a shooting session and see if it makes a difference. Some bows need them. Some don't.

 

[deerhunt1988]

I use an 8" B-Stinger on my Triax and it definitely helps me on distances past 30 yards and in the wind. When there is a 10-15+ mph wind, I can easily tell a difference. My groups will open up at 40+ yards if I'm not using my stabilizer.

 

[ia bhtr]

Do stabilizers help ........ maybe , actually probably , a lot depends on how your set up balances and if the stabs can make it balance better , current bow likes a 12 " bar out front with no back bar , I do believe your DL needs to be dead nuts to start with , a perfect draw length in itself will help make you more solid & minimize bow movement , talking fine tuning down to a twist or two in the cables to lengthen or shorten a small fraction of an inch

 

[pirogue]

Older guys can remember when stabilizers were first introduced, they were promoted as reducing hand shock, vibration, and sound. Well for the last 30 years or so, bow manufacturers have consistently made bows with less hand shock, vibration, and are quieter. Stabilizer manufacturers found they couldn’t promote what they had been, so changed their marketing strategy to promoting “increased accuracy”

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

Older guys can remember when stabilizers were first introduced, they were promoted as reducing hand shock, vibration, and sound. Well for the last 30 years or so, bow manufacturers have consistently made bows with less hand shock, vibration, and are quieter. Stabilizer manufacturers found they couldn’t promote what they had been, so changed their marketing strategy to promoting “increased accuracy”

Stabilizers have always first and for most promoted to reduce torque and slow the float on target. My first stabilizer in 1982 had nothing more than a metal rod with some machined screw on weights.

It wasn’t until about 1989 that I remember the first hydraulic stabilizers from Okie and Bomar followed shortly by Golden Key Futura. They were all in the one pound plus neighborhood and did a pretty good job of both stabilizing and reducing shock. This was when we started to get the first speed bows and overdraws. People would drop the arrow weight often to 4 grains or even less to get as close to 300 FPS as possible when the popularity of 3D was booming.

I literally had the screw in section on an Okie stabilizer just break and the stabilizer dropped on the ground at the shot from a High Country Supreme set at 74 pounds, 31” draw and shooting a Beman 75/95 pultruded carbon arrow. My arrow weight was about 445 so not stupid low but I was getting about 295 FPS in 1992. My bow was surprisingly quiet for the time.


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[Forelle]

Yes, I find they help tremendously, but I’m biased as a competitive shooter. Fiddling with weights and angles will calm down your site picture. General rule of thumb is to set them up so that when you close your eyes at draw and open them the sight and bubble are View correctly when you open your eyes.

I’d buy a used ones and play around with them. For me, I like more weight on the rear stabilizer than the front, so I’d recommend trying a dual setup. For hunting 12-15 up front and 6-9 in the back should be a good start.

For targets I run a 33 front with 2-4oz and a 15 back with 8-12oz.