# Barebow balance



## dbake (Mar 5, 2007)

How should a barebow setup be balanced?

Should it be in a vertical state sitting in an open hand?

Is it more of a reaction type of feeling on the shot?

Should all of the added weight be placed towards the bottom of the riser or at the stabilizer hole?

How much weight is enough?

I'm a newb at this, so be gentle! :smile:

Thanks,

Don


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## Greg Bouras (Nov 17, 2006)

Take a look at 

http--www.tap46home.plus.com-mechanics-

There is a lot of science based interactive information there.


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## Greysides (Jun 10, 2009)

dbake said:


> How should a barebow setup be balanced?
> 
> Should it be in a vertical state sitting in an open hand?
> 
> ...


We've three risers at home. A Hoyt GM carrying a 190g and a 350g spigarelli screw in weight in the centre and lower stab bushings; a 23" Spigarelli Explorer with its single weight on board and a Best Moon with both weights inserted.

They all hang vertically in an open hand. 

The weight is to balance the bow as normally bows are made to be balanced with all the kit on-board, which is not the case with barebow.

It also makes the riser stay steadier in the hand when held.

How much weight? Good question. I'd say the minimum necessary to give the desired shot reaction and give the smallest group sizes when shot.

The desired reaction is the one below. If you are stringwalking the bow the bow reaction will vary with the crawl somewhat. As will the bows movement during the draw.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

From video I can see that I get a slight backward tip from my outdoor bow -- a Best Moon. It is not noticeable to me as I shoot. This is with a full barebow kit installed and a 190 g Spigarelli weight in the lower stabilizer hole. I could probably balance the bow with a heavier weight but I want to keep the riser weight down. I also have a Best Zenit with the heavy barebow kit and a 190 g weight. It seems to balance quite well.

My indoor bow is an interesting situation. It is a PSE Intrepid with the large tiller adjustment knobs where the lower stabilizer screws in. This allows the weight to stick out further from the riser. A single 350 g Spigarelli weight balances the bow perfectly and it appears to be FITA legal (though I do not have a measuring tool). It produces the lightest of my barebows.

I have also created a practice barebow from a KAP Winstorm II. This conventional riser is difficult to balance. I currently have a Best Zenit barebow kit mounted to the bottom and a 12 g weight I purchased from DaveT in the stabilizer hole. That is a lot of weight to achieve a decent balance.

My inclination is that it takes less weight in the stabilizer hole than the lower part of the riser to balance a barebow. Also, some bows, are just not going to balance very easily. I have thought of removing the barebow kit from my Zenit and going with a larger stab weight to see if I could lighten the bow a bit. The Zenit is ideal for this since it has bushings in the stabilizer holes which avoids interference with the limbs.

Here are the three FITA legal bows that I use. Notice the tiller knob on the red Intrepid at the top. The weight at the bottom is screwed into an equivalent knob. The silver bow is the Zenit and the blue bow is the Moon.


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## dbake (Mar 5, 2007)

Guys,

Thanks for the in-depth replies and photos, that gives me quite a bit to chew on.

Greysides-that guys bow really jumps out-he must have 4" of travel in that finger sling, is that normal to have that much slack?

As it is now, I am shooting a Sky Conquest with 8 oz. in the bottom hole and 5 oz. in the stabilizer hole and it seems to balance in the hand quite nicely at that weight.

Thanks,

Don


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## Greysides (Jun 10, 2009)

Don, that ''guy' is Guiseppe Seimandi, one of Italy's top barebow archers. I don't know how normal it is. My wrist sling is certainly shorter than that! I find at that length the bow falls down through the loop. It may have been that long for the purposes of the photo.
Search for video of him, under his name, on Youtube. In some clips he does use a very long loop and his wrist bends forward with the shot as that of an archer with a full-rig does.

Here's one.


Look at the one labelled 'Seimandibow'.


He's seen shooting a Greenhorn Sirius.


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## Kaalboog (Feb 13, 2009)

*3 bows*

Hank
That is one neat set you have there!
K


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

I am seriously considering shooting all three at my next FITA.

Moon at 90 and 70
Zenit at 50
Intrepid at 30

Today, I shoot the Zenit at 50 and 30.

I am trying to get a better sight mark at 30 meters. Last year I stringwalked 30. I am trying to get away from that now since it requires such a good release to do well. I may also go with some aluminum arrows at 30.


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## Greysides (Jun 10, 2009)

Hank D Thoreau said:


> I stringwalked 30. I am trying to get away from that now since it requires such a good release to do well.


Interesting comment.

Why do you think that is so?


(Recently I've been shooting arrows that tune to the bow at min poundage. For distance I've been using them with the bow maxed out. A bad release and they fly right; a good release and they fly straight. It's a great way to gauge a release.)


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