No Stabilizer?

[Wasatchbuck]

I am trying to get my sight tape dialed in at 60 yards and my groups have not been so pretty. about one in every 5 shots I will hit the bulls eye but the remainder of the shots are spread out. As an average I would say groupings are in the one foot range.

For shits and giggles I took my stabilizer off and shot a few groups...holy crap, my groups shrunk down to about 6-8 inches on average over half a dozen groups. Curious if anyone on here shoots without a stabilizer as based off my most recent session I am thinking about ditching it completely. Its an 8 inch Bee Stinger.

 

[Bulldawg]

I wouldn't get rid of mine, I threw on a side bar a couple years ago and can't go back now. You potentially could have had too much up front and if you threw a side bar you could have gotten the same results. Or it could be that you were just having a hard time holding the weight up and that would just need practice to get used to it.

 

[BSeals71]

This close to hunting season, keep your stabilizer off. Anything that helps improve consistent accuracy, I say stick with it. In your case not shooting your 8" Bee Stinger.

 

[Wasatchbuck]

Will leave it off for a little while and see what happens.

 

[GibsonKuenzi]

One of my bows shoots the same with or without a stabilizer, but the newest one I have definitely needs one. I think a lot of it depends on bow balance and type of sight, quiver etc.

 

[PathFinder]

Depends on the balance of the naked bow and your individual form. Seems like Bowtech designs theirs to roll forward, I used a B stinger HUNTER (the smallest one) on my Insanity CPX. I like the hunter max (the biggest, longest one) one my CST ZT. That said, one foot grouping at 60 yards isn't caused by the wrong stabilizer. If you know everything is in tune, form is the place to look for improvement.

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[Felix40]

It always surprises me how big the stabilizers are that guys have on their bows. Meanwhile everyone is buying/making ultralight mountain rifles. No stabilizer on my compound. Those things are already heavier than any of the other weapons I hunt with.

 

[Fireguy]

I was having trouble getting good groups out of my Prime Rival LD. I was using a 8" B Stinger. Just for fun I tried out a 6" B Stinger and was shocked. Before my groups were always to the right of center and about 6" at 40 yards. Once I made the switch changing nothing else, I was hitting dead center and had tiny little groups.

 

[skaldugwas]

kinda in the same boat. I have a hoyt nitrum turbo and was shooting pretty darn good without a stabilizer (the bow is dead in the hand already) but figured what the heck and threw on a stabilizer just for giggles and it really threw off my groups noticeably. I have always been told a stabilizer will make a good shooting bow shoot better ( look at all the target archers with their two foot long stabilizers) but maybe the technology has surpassed the need for a stabilizer on some hunting bows?

 

[Bulldawg]

kinda in the same boat. I have a hoyt nitrum turbo and was shooting pretty darn good without a stabilizer (the bow is dead in the hand already) but figured what the heck and threw on a stabilizer just for giggles and it really threw off my groups noticeably. I have always been told a stabilizer will make a good shooting bow shoot better ( look at all the target archers with their two foot long stabilizers) but maybe the technology has surpassed the need for a stabilizer on some hunting bows?

I don't think that technology has surpassed the need for hunting bows, I think that if you got used to shooting without a stabilizer when you put one on it throws off the way you hold the bow your follow through so it's just different, not better or worse just different.

 

[russ_outdoors]

I've tried several stabilizer setups over the years and have not been able to document any improvement in my shooting when using them. Conversely, I have friends who have had great experiences using them. All I know is what works for me, and I'm sticking with a bare bow.

 

[mt100gr.]

I shoot without a stabilizer. As I was eliminating excess weight from my entire gear line up, this seemed like a no brainer. I haven't missed it a bit for the last 3 years.

 

[Pramo]

I shoot with a light front stabilizer for vibration reduction and can shoot fine without one. But I need a side back bar to balance out my bows, I find this makes a huge difference for me with left and right and keeping my bow steady while aiming. My sight already sticks out far so I don't need more forward weight

 

[elkyinzer]

How heavy is it?

I tried a 16 oz, 10 inch stabilizer thinking heavier is better. I ended up shooting more poorly with that than bare bow. It seems I was fighting that much weight which was counterproductive in achieving a proper pin float. 8 oz at that length is about perfect for me it seems, and I do notice an improvement over bare bow but not until I get out past 50 yards.

Another possibility is that some people shoot fine by anticipating the shot rather than a true pin float method and maybe you just anticipate better without a stab. A more likely possibility is just small sample size and the fact that a stabilizer isn't that important with modern bows at hunting distances, and many go without so you'd be fine to do so too.

 

[mtfallon]

I was running a 10" Bstinger in the front with a 6" Bstinger off the side, after reading this article I took the side off, didn't notice much difference. and then today took the front stab off and guess what, ZERO difference in my groups out to 40 yards! I will test 50 and 60 yards tomorrow. I will say that once every 3 groups or so I had a flyer out 2-4" as I was getting tired. I'm reviving this post in hopes it may save others a couple pounds this fall!

Mike

 

[d90rick]

a stabilizer simply stabilizes the bow after the release, not dampen it, so a stabilizer needs to be properly setup (overall weight, straight bar, 10degree offset, side bar...) for each individual. if you shoot better without your current stab, you simply have the wrong length, weight etc. or something that is actually causing de-stabilization after the release. there is actually a step by step process to adding stabilizers rather than guessing. google search nuts & bolts 3 step stabilizer setup, go through the setup properly and watch accuracy improve. this process is a results based system so you make adjustments little by little as your groups shrink.

 

[tipsntails7]

a stabilizer simply stabilizes the bow after the release, not dampen it, so a stabilizer needs to be properly setup (overall weight, straight bar, 10degree offset, side bar...) for each individual. if you shoot better without your current stab, you simply have the wrong length, weight etc. or something that is actually causing de-stabilization after the release. there is actually a step by step process to adding stabilizers rather than guessing. google search nuts & bolts 3 step stabilizer setup, go through the setup properly and watch accuracy improve. this process is a results based system so you make adjustments little by little as your groups shrink.

I'm going to assume you mean prior to release, as that's what they are for, they stabilize your float.




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[d90rick]

correct, prior to and after release. the stabs stabilize the bow, during full draw the counter act movement while holding and during release when the bow fires to help keep movement to a minimum. my main point is that to get the effectiveness from a stabilizer it needs to be properly setup just like anything, draw length, arrow rest position etc.. i run into a lot of archers who simply just throw on a stabilizer without proper setup and then wonder why it didn't help.

 

[tipsntails7]

correct, prior to and after release. the stabs stabilize the bow, during full draw the counter act movement while holding and during release when the bow fires to help keep movement to a minimum. my main point is that to get the effectiveness from a stabilizer it needs to be properly setup just like anything, draw length, arrow rest position etc.. i run into a lot of archers who simply just throw on a stabilizer without proper setup and then wonder why it didn't help.

Agree totally, just buying a stab and throwing it on rarely does anything, it may actually be detrimental.

Problem is these things are so damn expensive, and it's tuff to find a shop that has enough demo units to find what work.


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[Dapper]

I have a new Hoyt defiant which actually shoots better without the stabilizer. The plus is less weight to haul into the mountains.