Have you ever stood on the side of a hill or slanted ground for a long period of time? It tends to take more of a toll on one side of your body to maintain your position, right? It would be helpful if you could place a block under your foot that is on the lowest ground to even it up with the other. That would give the opposite side of your body a rest because you would be equally distributing the weight. In other words giving you stability without extra strain.
Either Way You Might Be Right
Let’s get something straight. If you have the Bear Legend XR and choose to dress it yourself with the Bear Archery Joker Kit do you think the same stabilizer would be sufficient for say the Diamond Edge Max with its included accessories? If you answered no, you might be correct and if you said yes, you might be correct as well.
I can hear you now, “Bow Bully, you can be so confusing sometimes!” Some stabilizers will work for a multitude of setups but others may not. It depends on your set up and its balance or lack thereof.
The desired outcome when shooting a bow is that the top of the rig slightly drops forward, balanced and even after each release. If after you shoot it’s tilting back or too far forward and/or from side to side at all then your rig is not balanced. If you want me to solve your problem to the very weight and size that you would need to add to your bow, I’d say now you are confusing me!
So Many Choices
Stabilizers come in many different sizes, material, length, diameter, and weight.
The Bee Stinger MicroHex Xtreme System Stabilizer Kit 10” (also available as a 12” kit) is designed with hunters in mind.
- It has the ability to dampen vibrations and assist with better performance in windy conditions.
- It’s lightweight to decrease total mass of the bow as a whole to avoid the hunter being fatigued.
- The durable construction with the two piece end caps will extend the life of the stabilizer.
- Three independent powder coated weights for fine adjustment to the balance of your bow.
- Included are 10”, one 8” MicroHex Stabilizer, and one adjustable side arm with a quick disconnect.
The simple Redline RL-1 6” Stabilizer (also available in 8”, 10”, and 12”)
- Simple single woven carbon rod available in 6”, 8”, 10” or 12”.
- Provides sound dampening and noise vibration.
- Lightweight at .5 lbs and includes three one ounce weights for fine tuning the balance.
Stability Test
Which one or ones are right for you, I have no clue. You’ll have to do the stability test. First hold your bow out in front of you to see if it works with you to stabilize or is working against you. Not clear on what I mean, when you stretch your arm out with the bow in hand, is it wobbly or stable?
Next, draw your bow and aim at your target, moving away from your point of aim but attempting to return to it as quickly as possible. Is returning to your set point of aim easy or does it require more effort from you to stabilize for the shot? If the latter then you’ll need a stabilizer.
Final test is to shoot the target a few times and see the reaction of your bow. You may get a buddy to watch and see what they see the bow’s response. It’s not a bad thing to need help with this and don’t be ashamed to ask. It’s a bad thing to be too proud and not ask if you ask me!
Your Bow’s Response
Once you find what the bow’s response is, then you can start planning for the perfect stabilizers. A couple of key things to keep in mind, pay attention to the way the stabilizer mounts to the bow and be sure it’s compatible and won’t be in the way of any accessories or functioning parts. Then I would suggest getting stabilizers with additional weights to make fine adjustments when needed. (Most stabilizers include extra weights).
Some of you may say my bow is just fine, I don’t need any stabilizers! I can hit the bullseye at least once every three shots. Or so what if my shots always fly right now matter what I do, I’ll just adjust and hope for the best!
To me that sounds like you have an “I don’t care” attitude and there ain’t no room for that in the archery world or anywhere else! That stabilizer may be the difference between a gut or a lung shot, a gold or silver medal! If you don’t care, all I can say is, change your mind, change your mind! Get stabilized, you and your bow!
*sigh* really?
In competitive archery, yeah, ok, but for the average shooter? Sounds like training wheels on a bicycle – you might be best off to learn to ride without them.
Archery is simple. A fully functional bow can be made, from a dry stick using basic hand tools in an hour.
What makes archery/bow hunting special is that it requires skill. Anybody can learn that skill with practice.
Of all the hobbies and sports, I’ve never seen one as bad as archery for people trying to “buy skill” with gadgets and accessories designed to replace basic practice.
IMHO, if you can’t be bothered learning to use a bow, then get a crossbow, or better yet use a rifle.
Sorry, but at what point does it stop being archery and become something else? Is seems that between a basic bow and the modern rendition of one, the arrow is the only thing that they have in common.
I have no problem with modern equipment/technology. Everything has its place and each to their own. I just think that some people are just fooling themselves.
To me, if you want to do something that requires a skill then learn that skill. You can buy a black belt from a martial arts store, but wearing it doesn’t make you a BLACKBELT, that skill requires practice.
Guess that I can credit/blame this rant on my father. We had a complete metal work shop in the basement. I was permitted to use the high end tools only after I demonstrated that I could perform the task with hand tools. Try making a pair of identical, perfect cubes (dice) from a piece of round bar stock with just a hacksaw and a file… that took me days!
I must be weird, I actually enjoy practicing. 🙂
Cheers!