# What's a general Guideline for Target Stabilizer Size?



## dajogejr (Dec 20, 2012)

All kinds of formulas.
Longer the bars, less weight needed.
30/12 is a good starting point.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

6 footer at 14 years old? Wow! 

Sort of like dajogejr. 30" front and 12 to 15" back bar. Whether one back bar or two seems personal preference. Seems majority prefer solid bars, no rubber mounting at the bow or on the stab ends.


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## JohnMcD348 (Aug 20, 2017)

Yes. He's going to be tall. I'm 6'3, and my BIL is 6'7". That was part of the reason I got him the TRX 8, so it could grow a little more with him instead of him outgrowing it in a year. OR LESS........

I think I'll probably get a V-bar adapter so he'll have the option of either side or even one on each. With his last bow, he seemed to prefer the back bar on the left side. But, his old bow was a lot shorter and it was more of a hunting bow than a real competition setup.


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## wa-prez (Sep 9, 2006)

I'm a compound shooter, so maybe not a direct comparison, but I like my stabilizer long enough to comfortably rest the bow on it between shots or when waiting for my turn to shoot. 

Too short, the weight is still being held by my hand / shoulder. Too long, I would have to kink up my elbow and shoulder to get them out of the way.


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## gregcook (Oct 2, 2017)

I go with 30inches in the front and 12 in the back. Then to get a rough idea of the weight I multiply the amount of weight on my front bar by 30 and divide that number by 12 to find the number of ounces needed to balance right.


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## britts1s (Mar 23, 2016)

30 inch front - 15 inch rear ( 15 inch rear means you don't need nearly as much weight on the rear to balance the front. It will be important not to load up the total weight right away and let him get used to a heavy target rig.


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## *SWITCH (Nov 27, 2007)

I'm gonna say don't go too heavy, they take getting used too even with no weight on them. 

I'd start with a 28" or 30" front and a 10" back rod. 

See how they feel with no weights for a bit.

Then after a while add 1 oz at a time, with maybe a little more on your back rod than your front rod.

A fully adjustable v bar is essential IMO.


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## Planner (Jan 31, 2016)

My youngest boy is 15 (6’2” beanpole like your son) pulling 49.4lbs on his Phenom XT.

Started him with a 30” front and 1oz. He is running 3oz now. Back bar is a 12” with 7oz now, IIRC, we started with 3oz.

For him mass weight is a challenge (echoing sentiments from posts above) so we’ve been very slow to add stab weight. In the year he’s been shooting Compound after transition from JOSD barebow recurve, we’ve added 1” draw length.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## JohnMcD348 (Aug 20, 2017)

I went ahead and ordered him a 36" and a 12" bar for his bow. I bought a few different weights(*probably more than he'll ever need*) to place on them, but I doubt he'll need any of them right now but they'll be there for later. I figured, 36 inches wasn't too long for him to balance on his foot on the line, like I see most kids doing since his waist height was 42 inches. It wouldn't be too unwieldy for him. I went 12 inches for a back bar, instead of a 15 or longer simply so it wouldn't be sticking too close to him since he usually doesn't have the back bar sticking out far to his left. He usually keeps it fairly straight back. Maybe 5*-10* out, but usually pretty close to 0* back for more of a front/back balance than to help with side torque and top balance. And, I figured, he would have the weight to place on the rear bar to counter and adjust when needed.

I really appreciate all the info you all gave.

Please don't hesitate to add to it. I'm still learning.


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## Twistedx42 (Jan 30, 2015)

Something to think about when adding mass weight to a bow setup is the mass weight to holding weight. A 50# bow at 80% let off is only holding about 10 lbs at full draw. As you add mass wight it can be very difficult to hold steady on target with such a low holding weight. IF this becomes an issue I'd suggest getting the holding weight up to 16 pounds or so. That's probably a pretty good number for a 50# target bow. If the shooter can build the endurance to shoot a heavier bow with more holding weight scores and consistency will typically increase.


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## JohnMcD348 (Aug 20, 2017)

Yes. Thanks. That is one consideration we're looking at. Probably within the year of him using the bow regularly, we'll look seriously at getting the other mod for either the 70, or 75 let off. I don't remember what it is for this Mathews bow at the moment. That's the one thing I've been told by all the pro and semi-pro people I've talked to at matches and meets is that it really helps with stabilizing the shot.

When we decided on his new, current bow, it was with the idea that it will be able to seriously grow with him as he grows and everything I'm looking at for options and add-ons are with an eye to a degree of modularity for awhile. That way, hopefully, by the time he outgrows this bow, he'll be old enough that he can make his own choices and buy it all himself.


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