If you are involved with archery, you already know how common it is to see a shooter using a bow stabilizer. In fact, it is actually considered to be quite rare to see any type of archery professional (both hunting and target shooting) not using a bow stabilizer. Keeping that in mind, you may be wondering what exactly a bow stabilizer is and does, as well as how to find the best bow stabilizers for your bow?
Here is everything that you need to know about bow stabilizers and how they can help improve your bow shooting, no matter what type of bow you are using.
What are Bow Stabilizers and How do They Work?
Bow stabilizers have grown in popularity over the past several years, mainly due in part to their ability to help improve bow shooting accuracy, as well as to reduce torque, noise, and vibrations. When you add all of these components together, you can see why these stabilizers have become one of the best accessories in the archery world.
How Do Bow Stabilizers Work?
To really understand how a bow stabilizer works, stand up straight and place your arms down, letting them hang right next to the sides of your body. Now start rotating your shoulders from side to side. You will notice that this is a very easy movement to do.
Now take both of your arms and extend them out in front of you, trying to repeat the very same movement as before. You will notice that this movement is quite a bit harder when done in this manner. This is because you now have all of your arms' weight out in front of you, meaning that it will require much more force to twist your torso.
So how does this relate to using a bow stabilizer? If you think about how your bowstring will be using 60 lbs. (or whatever the draw weight of your bowstring may be) of force when you release it, you will have a very difficult time trying to keep all of that force moving in a straight line (think of a drag race car launching off the starting line). Because of all the force being generated, your bow is going to tend to ‘torque’ or twist. When you use a bow stabilizer though, it will help your bow to resist any of that twisting motion.
Stabilizing vs Silencing
Having a stabilizer attached to your bow will help you to accomplish a few different things. With a bow stabilizer, you can expect to:
Have a Much Steadier Aim
The use of a bow stabilizer will make your bow better resist the smaller sway and movements that are created while you are moving your bow to aim it. Essentially, a bow stabilizer will help to stabilize your arm as well.
Helps to Improve Your Shooting Accuracy
Bow stabilizers are the best for reducing bow torque. This occurs by the stabilizer helping your bow resist the urge to twist from side to side while you are releasing your bowstring. This ultimately helps you to improve how accurate your shots will be.
Increases How Quiet Your Bow Is
When you utilize one of the best bow stabilizers, you will be increasing the dampening effect on any vibrations that are created while releasing your arrow. The stabilizer helps by absorbing any vibrations created from the string, as well as any oscillations within the bow itself. The result is a quieter bow that is much easier on your hands too.
So, when it comes to stabilizing vs silencing, the best bow stabilizers are going to perform both. They will provide you with stabilization to help increase the accuracy of your shots, but also provide you with silencing tasks to help keep your bow quite as well.
Now that you know exactly what a bow stabilizer is and how it can help improve your bow shooting, you may be wondering if there is a difference between stabilizers for compound and recurve bows?
Differences Between Recurve and Compound Bow Stabilizers
When it comes to bow stabilizers, the main differences will be from how long the bow stabilizer is, not what type of bow you are doing your archery with. It is for this reason that most of the best recurve and compound bows already have all of the required bushings required in order to fit your bow with a stabilizer.
Other types of bows (such as traditional, longbows, and old-school instinctive) will not always have these bushings and fitments included. Overall, however, a stabilizer will have the very same effects no matter if you are using a recurve or a compound bow.
Sizing and Weight Guide for Bow Stabilizers
When it comes to deciding which size bow stabilizer is best for your archery needs, there are many different factors that you will need to factor in. One of the main factors being how far you are trying to shoot your bow. Some of the other main factors that you will need to consider include:
Once you have been able to figure out these factors, you will have a much easier time trying to make a decision about which bow stabilizer will be best for your archery needs. Here is a breakdown of the different sized stabilizers and when the best time to use them is going to be.
Bow Stabilizer Less Than 10 Inches in Length
A bow stabilizer that is 10 inches long or shorter (such as a bow stabilizer that is only 8 inches or even 5 inches) is going to be considered ‘small’ when compared to any other bow stabilizer that may be longer. Considered to be great for hunting, the compact size and ability to not get in the way make them very easy to transport. This is especially helpful if you are using a hunting blind or are in any type of thick brush. The one thing that you will need to keep in mind while using one of these small stabilizers is that they are not going to add much balance to your bow, but they will help to reduce the noise and dampen vibrations created by your shot.
Bow Stabilizer Between 10-15 Inches in Length
Considered to be a ‘mid-range’ bow stabilizer, this range of lengths is considered to be another great option for hunting. In fact, it is this size range that will provide you with the best bow stabilizer for hunting. This is because this size bow stabilizer will help to stabilize our bow’s weight, but also help reduce any vibrations and noise too. For most standard bow hunting purposes, you will more than likely need a bow stabilizer that is between 12-14 inches in length.
Bow Stabilizer Over 15 Inches in Length
When you have a bow stabilizer that is 15 inches or longer, it is considered to be a ‘long’ range stabilizer. What makes these long stabilizers so popular, is that due to how long they are, they do not need to be as heavy as shorter versions. Matter of fact, many of the stabilizers in this category are made from carbon fiber similar types of lightweight materials. While you will come across some hunters who prefer these long, carbon fiber stabilizers, they are normally considered more for target shooting. So, if you are in search of the best bow stabilizer for target shooting, it will be one that is 15 inches or longer.
Adjusting Your Bow with Weight
Now that you know all about the different lengths of stabilizers and what it is recommended, they are used for, you must also know that adding a bow stabilizer will also increase the weight to the side of the bow that it is facing. So if you have a bow stabilizer that is facing forwards, you will have more weight to the front of your bow as well. This may not sound like that big of a deal, but it can and will start to get heavy, eventually affecting your shooting. Ideally, you want your bow to be perfectly balanced.
So how are you supposed to do this with your bow?
The answer to this question is actually not a very easy one. The first thing you will want to do is to test out how your bow is shooting once you have the stabilizer installed on it. If you notice that the stabilizer is making your bow heavy to the front, you may want to add counterweights to the backside of your bow.
Unfortunately, there is no set rule for how much weight to add in order to counterbalance your bow stabilizer, an unofficial ‘guideline’ is to use a 1:2 ratio. So if your bow stabilizer is adding 5-ounce weights to the front, you will want to add 10-ounce weights to the rear. Again, while not a rule, you will find that most archery enthusiasts tend to follow this guideline.
On a side note, you must keep in mind that some of the main factors involved with this are how strong you are, your style of shooting, and even the type of shooting that you are doing. This means that the best thing you can do is to use trial and error to discover what works best for you.
How to Choose the Right Bow Stabilizer
When it comes to finding the best bow stabilizer for your individual needs, it too is a topic that has many different factors involved with it. Here are some of the best tips when it comes to finding the best bow stabilizer for your bow.
Find the Perfect Length and Weight
You should know by now that every bow stabilizer is going to come in different sizes and a different weight. All this means is that you must know what the different uses are for the different sizes. On top of that, how much strength you are able to put into every shot you take will also play a part in this. Finally, the quality of bow you use is a factor as well.
If you are doing target shooting, longer stabilizers that are heavier will typically serve you better as they add both consistency and accuracy to your shooting. However, if you are going to be hunting, lighter and smaller stabilizers that are easy to travel with will more than likely be your best bet.
While you should always test the stabilizers and weights you use on your bow, most shooters use a stabilizer weight that is between 4-10 ounces. If you are hunting, you will most likely use a stabilizer that is under 10 inches in length.
Make Sure it is the Right Material
Most regular stabilizers will be made out of plastic, metal, rubber, or some type of combination of them. As was previously mentioned, the higher-end ones are made out of carbon fiber and similar materials. The material that your bow stabilizer is made out of will have an immediate effect on how you shoot. This means that the better the material your bow silencer is made out of, the better it will be able to do its job.
How Easy is it to Adjust?
Some of the more affordable stabilizers will have a screw somewhere on the front of your bow that includes no other features of any kind. At the very same time, some of the more expensive stabilizers will include features allowing for customization of weights and balances of that particular stabilizer.
These features can include sidebars and rear stabilizers, which can be very convenient in offsetting the weight of some other accessories you have on your bow. While this can be extremely beneficial to you, you need to ask yourself if it is something that you actually require?
Look at the Dampener
One of the reasons that stabilizers are so popular, is that they include dampeners. Dampeners help to reduce any vibrations that are created by your bow when you shoot it. When you are able to reduce the amount of vibration in your bow, you will instantly reduce the shock and noise that it creates as well. Most dampeners are going to be made out of rubber, as this is a very good material to absorb vibrations and shock. But know that there are some stabilizers that use sand or gel as well. This is because they are also great vibrations and shock absorbers.
Essentially, when you are able to reduce the amount of shock and vibrations created by your bow when you shoot, you will be able to naturally be more accurate and consistent.
The Top Bow Stabilizers
When it comes to finding the best stabilizer for your individual needs, it can be a very overwhelming and difficult task. With all of the different options available to you, finding the one that satisfies all your needs is something that can leave you more confused than when you started. However, all of the hard work has actually already been done for you, meaning that you can shortcut your way to the best stabilizer for your needs.
Here are the best stabilizers that you should definitely have on the top of your list. They will be able to satisfy all of your stabilizer needs and won’t break your budget either. If you are serious about archery, you will find the perfect stabilizer on this list.
1. Trophy Ridge Static Stabilizer
Considered the best bow stabilizer for accuracy, the Trophy Ridge Static Stabilizer comes in multiple sizes that accommodate the hunter and target shooter alike. Designed to be ultra-light, this is ideal for users of all skill levels and has been designed to be the most aerodynamic stabilizer ever invented. This means that you can expect any negative effects of wind to be greatly removed while you are shooting. This also means that it works great in hunting and target shooting situations that may need to take place in windy conditions.
What really makes the Trophy Ridge Static Stabilizer so popular, is the fact that it comes in color schemes that appeal to every type of archery enthusiast. To sum it up, the Trophy Ridge Static Stabilizer is not only light, strong, and affordable, but it also has a customizable weight that comes in multiple weights depending upon your type of archery.
2. Sport Hunter Xtreme by Bee Stinger
The Bee Stinger Sport Hunter Xtreme stabilizer by Bee Stinger is considered to be one of the industry leaders. This particular model comes with 3 one-ounce weights that are able to be used to fine-tune the balance of your bow. As if that weren’t enough, the Sport Hunter Xtreme has also been strategically designed with certain components that make dampening any resonations and harmonics a complete afterthought. This means that you are able to use this stabilizer to make a much quieter shot.
The Sport Hunter Xtreme by Bee Stinger also comes in many different sizes, including 6, 10, and 8 inches. On top of that, there are also a wide variety of colors as well, which means you can customize your bow to your liking. At the end of the day, this is a great stabilizer that you can find having adjustable weights, a wide range of sizes, many different colors, and some great harmonic dampening.
3. New Archery Products Apache
One of the smaller stabilizers to make this list, this stabilizer is all about vibration dampening. In fact, you will find that this is a stabilizer that has been designed to silence your bow no matter the type of archer you are doing.
What you will find that makes this stabilizer so great is the fact that it has a very compact size and is still able to provide even the most advanced archer with amazing vibrations dampening. Now factor in some very easy adjustability and a great finish; it all just means that this stabilizer is nothing short of awesome!
Unfortunately, there is a downside to this particular stabilizer, that being it is much heavier than many others of the same length.
4. LimbSaver S-Coil
A very unique design that has been created by LimbSaver, they have been able to create a very unique material that is specialized in preventing noise and dampening vibrations. The rubbery material is known as NAVCOM and does a great job of absorbing any vibrations that may occur after your arrow is released. Which on a side note, this particular material is actually used in many more applications than just archery.
Considered to be the most popular selling product that has been made by LimbSaver, it is not really hard to see why. While not very pretty, it is very affordable. Unfortunately, the downsides include only coming in 4.5 inches and being very unappealing to the eye once installed on your bow.
5. SAS Archery Aluminum Stabilizer
SAS, which is also referred to as the Southland Archery Supply, has developed an amazing stabilizer at an extremely affordable price. Considered to be a simple stabilizer, this is also one of the most effective ones that are on this list.
Designed from high-quality aluminum, this is one stabilizer that is not only light but strong as well. Now factor in the different lengths and you have a very popular stabilizer option for the beginner bow shooter.
Final Thoughts – Which Bow Stabilizer is Best?
When it comes to finding the best bow stabilizers for your shooting needs, it can very easily become something that is overwhelming. With all of the different options out there, how you are supposed to know which one is best? While this guide should have been able to teach you everything you need to know about selecting a bow stabilizer, the one that is the best is the Trophy Ridge Static Stabilizer. It has all of the features that you want and is extremely easy to use. If you are looking for a stabilizer, this is the one to get!