Stabilizer

[Kessler10]

When is having a stabilizer necessary on your bow? I am posting this in the elk forum because Elk hunting is mainly where I spend my time.
To me it just seems to add to much weight to my bow when in the mountains archery hunting. Thoughts?
Thanks!

[Fridaythe13th]

Same thought for me, I was thinking about getting one also. What kind? what length or weight? Does it help with accuracy?

[WapitiTalk1]

I've done a bit of research on the whole hunting bow stabilizer thing. Bottom line is that they add a bit of forward weight to your bow, somewhat balancing the bow out when shooting. They also absorb a bit of the vibration that is produced by the bow shot. I am not convinced that they suppress bow noise as I've shot several bows over the years with and without stabilizers and I can't detect much difference. I read something somewhere that made a good comparison that made sense to me. A stabilizer adds weight to a bow kind of like a heavy barrel to a rifle (the heavier the rifle barrel, the steadier the rifle stays on target when fired). Long range rifle marksman/target shooters use heavy/bull barrelled rifles on bench rests and Olympic archers shoot bows with monsterous, long stabilizers. Neither one of these forms of shooters have to lug their equipment through the brush, or, up/down/sideways in the mountains. I have a very small, compact stabilizer on my Alpine but honestly, it wouldn't be there if it was any larger. Just my .02.

[Dr_flash]

Reading this question reminded me of an article in the July 2013 (i just found it) field and stream. They tested all kinds of bow "myths" and one of them was "Does a short stabilizer really add stability?" Unfortunately the conclusion was that "it depends". Part of the test group shot better, part shot worse and part had no change. The end result is that its probably a bow to bow thing as well as a person to person thing. They admitted that longer, heavier stabilizers help but the test was about shorter, 6" ones.

[Pop-r]

Flash in that exact study they did conclude the longer ones to increase accuracy dramatically. At 60 yds all subjects cut their groups in half or there abouts. From 6.5" to 3.5 or very close to this. It was crazy to see. Even they all admitted to b astonished. I don'tshoot one but was tthinking about it as my longer distance shooting progresses.

[TheBuzz]

Flash in that exact study they did conclude the longer ones to increase accuracy dramatically. At 60 yds all subjects cut their groups in half or there abouts. From 6.5" to 3.5 or very close to this. It was crazy to see. Even they all admitted to b astonished. I don'tshoot one but was tthinking about it as my longer distance shooting progresses.

They tightened my groups. I added a side bar, and did some weight experiments at the range. Bow geometry at "Full Draw" differs from Bow to Bow.
I have more weight on the side than up front. It's something you may have to spend a lot of time and experimentation with to get the right setup you may want.

I am not done, with mine just yet.

[BrianKY]

I have a 5 inch stabilizer on my bow and sometimes I think I shoot better without it.

[Huntrgathr]

I had about a 6" stab on my bow for several years and I would say it helped marginally. Last year I went to a 12" B-stinger and, while it does kinda suck to pack it around, my bow feels much more solid and the pins don't dance nearly as much. It really helps on windy days. After practicing in the wind a lot, I've found that the crosswind generally has much more effect on the bow than it does on the arrow in flight...

[msd1228]

Coming from a competitive background, I wouldn't dream of shooting a bow without a stab. Obviously I wouldn't run my target rig with 3 foot stabs and 1.5 foot V bars in the woods, so instead I run a HEAVY 12" stab. Something to keep in mind about the relationship of weight to length in a stab is that, as a general guideline, a 12" stab with a 3oz weight will provide about the same stability as a 6" stab with 6oz or a 24" with 1.5oz. Double the length = half the weight, and vice versa. So since having a long stab that will get tangled in everything is not really conducive to effect bushwhacking, its a better idea to go with a shorter rig and up the weight. The increased weight and shorter length will also drastically help you out in windy conditions.

A short stab with no weight really isn't going to do anything, except MAYBE take a bit of vibration out.

[whaletail]

Some good input above. I would not hunt without my stabilizer. I run a 10" b-stinger front rod with 2oz on front and an 8" side-bar with 7oz on the side. I did a ton of experimenting at longer ranges last year and quite honestly wa surprised how much weight I ended up with on my side bar compared to front. There is a great article that I came across and will see if I can dig it up. Some guys will never want to run a side bar based on hassle factor though. I found it worth it and tangling in brush hasn't been an issue.

[PREZ]

I also run a 10 oz B Stinger with 3 oz up front and a 6" side bar with 5 oz. bow holds like a rock.

[Seminole]

I second the B-Stinger.... They really do help with long range shooting....

[EVD]

I like the 10" stinger as well. One downside is it needs to come off to fit the bow in my current case.

[Toby]

If I can get by without one, noise, vibration etc., I don't use one.

[welka]

B sting it and you won't go back (thanks Seminole). Get the shorter version for weight purposes and likely won't have to take it off to ship if flying! Good luck.

[elkaholic]

I have the 10 in. BStinger as well with 3 oz up front. Love it!