You might not need a back bar stabilizer for bowhunting, but properly adding one to your setup could make you a much more effective archer.
If your hunting bow feels off-balance at full draw, you struggle to keep your sight pin steady on the target, and you ultimately suffer from target panic because of it, a back bar stabilizer could be the solution to your problems.
These underrepresented archery accessories don’t just reduce vibration and noise. They also help counteract heavy accessories and unbalanced bows that can lead to poor groupings and stray shots.
Your sight, rest, and quiver can quickly add on ounces that throw your bow off-kilter. But the right stabilizer setup can keep your bow straight and even resist torque.
Back bar stabilizers can counter long front stabilizers that would otherwise cause your bow to tip forward. A general rule of thumb is weight on the rear should be about three times that on the front.
Back bar stabilizers will add a bit of weight to your overall setup and could take some getting used to, but they’re worth the hassle for most bowhunters. Take a look at the leading target archers who hunt — they add back bar stabilizers to not only their tournament bows but also their bowhunting rigs. And these guys know a thing or two about accuracy.
There’s no one hard-and-fast rule on back bar specs — it will vary depending on your specific bow and other accessories. You’ll likely have to play around with the angle, weight, and length of your back bar until you find the sweet spot.
When you find the right fit, your bow should feel steady at full draw — no front-and-back or left-to-right pull — and your sight pin should settle onto your target with minimal movement.
In a game of inches, this small tweak to your setup can be huge.
Interesting, I have never heard of this before, but I have also never shot a compound before, so I am fairly unaware of most of the accessories. I am hoping to maybe get a compound soon and start learning to shoot one.
You won’t regret it!
TBB,
I have to smile at all this great stuff.
Yeah, I went through all that – stabilizers, peeps, sights, releases, arrow rests, broadheads etc., etc. – in the pursuit of the ultimate archery setup. T’was fun (and expensive LOL!). Think most people go through that phase 🙂
In the end I realized that you couldn’t buy accuracy and accessories were no substitute for practice.
I’d guess that 90% of the deer are taken within 20-25 yards and at that range I had no problem matching the accuracy of my buddies and their decked-out compounds shooting instinctively with my homemade selfbow.
Nothing wrong with compounds and their accouterments – I had two nice setups until recently when I traded a complete outfit for a nice airgun. Still have a scoped Excalibur Exocet crossbow. I’m not a “purist” claiming that my way is best – love technology but there is also something to be said for KISS 😉
Each to their own eh!
Have a great weekend!
Hank
It can absolutely get expensive! I don’t even want to think about how much money I’m carrying around in my bow case
Yeah, accessories and all that other absolutely necessary stuff can really add up quick!
Sometimes it’s better not to know the total 🙂 The other day I had to replace a favorite fishing lure and almost passed out at the current price – almost twice what I’d paid for the first one! I’m carving my own lures now! I started to do a quick estimate of the value of that tackle box (I have several) and stopped half way through the first tray… best not to go there LOL!
A good self bow is not cheap to buy and a stave can cost a fair amount if you make your own. I cut my own staves so there is no cost there. Figure it costs me a couple of bucks (for dacron, leather and varnish) and a few hours work to make a hunting bow.
Don’t know if you’re into DIY but the Traditional Boyer’s Bible series is a good source of information.
Cheers!
Hank
You’re kidding, right? No? Gadjetry anyone? What, …no electric motor to handle the draw weight?
Oh for the good ol’ days of aesthetically pleasing, satisfyingly effective, longbows/recurves, etc.
Look at your photo, …how is that machine even a “bow”? Where is the “bow” part? Does it come with a psychiatrist to help you determine what ELSE you probably need to make you a real archer? I will buy the latest iteration when someone designs an arrow-launching something that will go hunting for me while I sit home watching tv, and will bring back its (my) prey all cleaned and packaged ready for the freezer or cooked ready for the table! The something will of course have selected only a wall-mount worthy trophy victim, and will have mounted and placed the head over my (gas) fireplace. Then, when my friends see it, just let them try to say I’m anything but a mighty hunter!
This reminds me of the sportsman-like method of hunting deer employed by some of my fellow firefighters in my home state of Florida – pull up to a hammock in the everglades, set the dogs loose to chase out the deer, and shoot them from the elevated bed of your swamp buggy with your semi-auto as they struggle through waist deep water and sawgrass.
I think I’m gonna get a taller soapbox so I can be a little closer to God when I ask Him why He made me so much better than everyone else. ( …and modest, too!)
Not for everyone, but improving accuracy can mean a more ethical shot on animals — tough to knock that part