Contributors to this thread:
I’ve been looking into side bars for my bow. I don’t shoot with a quiver on my bow so I’m curious if it would benefit me in any way
Right now I shoot a shorter front stabilizer but I’m looking to upgrade to a 10”
Would I be better off shooting an offset front bar to counter what little weight the sight and rest have on the opposite side? Just looking for opinions and thoughts
I recently spent a lot of time with my stabilizer setup and tweaking it so it was perfect for my needs. What I found was a back bar, located lower on the bow, really helped my pin hold steady for long periods of time. I'm mainly a bowhunter but in the past two years I've stepped into the competitive 3D scene in the hunter class. I started working on my stabilizer setup mainly for 3D but carried over this setup to hunting and found I am way more stable when aiming on animals.
I decided on the 15" Bee Stinger counter slide with the dove tail mount. I chose this one as it was quick and easy to move in and out from my bow to account for when I hunt with a bow mounter quiver and when I shoot 3D with out the quiver. Also, I was able to move it forward and backwards slightly and play with the weights on the front and back to get the best stability and slowest pin movement.
I am shooting the Bowtech SS34 and mounted it on the lower bolt holes on the back of the riser. Dropping all my stabilizer weight low on the bow made and incredible difference. Think of my bow as a plumb bob now with the low weight helping hold the bow in a true vertical fashion.
I'm running about 8" of the stabilizer back from the mounting position and 7" forward with 7 oz on the front and 8 oz on the back.
The other nice thing about the dove tail is I can quickly remove the stabilizer and stuff it in my pack for when I do backpack mountain hunts
For my hunting, a 10” stabilizer made me much more accurate.
For perspective, I don’t know how many deer I’ve killed with a bow. But, I never remember one farther than 45 yards. So, we aren’t talking long range. But, I shoot to 60. And before the long stabilizer, I really had to bear down. And, still didn’t do as well as I’d like. But, I’m guessing I average 5-6” groups at that range now. So, it certainly improved my accuracy with a compound bow.
Mine is a bit more extreme 15+" up front and 12 out back with a low mount. I do run a quiver(although not right now) Pin sits extremely still (for me) and level locks right on. Bow is almost completely neutral at the shot. I run 3 oz up front and 7 in the back.
I’ll 2nd the 15” Bee Stinger MicroHex Counterslide. For years I shot the Bee Stinger Sport Hunter Xtreme kit with the front and side bars. It definitely balanced the bow and quieted pin float. That said, I much prefer the Counterslide for a few reasons. It achieves everything the Sport Hunter kit did but is lighter weight, less expensive, and easier to set up and adjust. Another advantage is there’s less that can work itself loose and fall off/create other issues.
I was real late to the back bar scene. I just did not want the extra hanging around on my hunting bow.
I finally dove in, did a lot of experimenting with lengths and weights. Back bar definitely helps.
But, like Kyle above, I found the Bee Stinger counterslide to be the best option for hunting.
I currently shoot a front sight on a fairly long mounting bar. This requires me to forgo the front stabilizer and use only a rear stabilizer in order to get my pin to stay in the bullseye while I execute the shot. I don't use a bow quiver either but still find that some L/R offset on the rear bar helps the bubble stay in the middle. For me, the back bar has helped the most in left to right balance. Additionally, the DIY Sportsman YouTube channel tested different stabilizer configurations that may be worth your time. A rear-only bar performed surprisingly well. Good luck
I’m also a fan of the Bee Stinger MicroHex counter-slide. I’m mainly only hunting. It’s a good compromise to a full back bar set-up IMO. It’s not perfect, but very good for my needs.
—Jim
Stabilizers are the one thing that will make you more accurate then anything imo, a lot depends on the shot you shoot whether it’s a true surprise or a command you can benefit from bars, a lot of guys don’t like packing the weight but we’ll worth it considering how many opportunities us bow hunters actually get the shot needs to count, I’ve done 12” and 15” front bars and 8” and 10” side bar the length is not as crucial as weight and that’s something that you just need to experiment with I only run 4oz on a 12” front and 9oz on a side it’s been a game changer for me
