# bow balancing



## shoeminator (Jan 27, 2007)

I need to balance my bow for indoor spots. Do you balance perfectly from the handle, heavier in front, or something else? Any experienced help would be appreciated. 30" front stab and 14" sidebar.


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## loomis77 (Jan 30, 2011)

The balance of your bow is another one those "personal" things...Some like it front heavy, some dont. Some like a heavy weighted bow, some dont.

The only real tip I can offer, is to watch how your bow reacts on the shot, and go from there.


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## Rick! (Aug 10, 2008)

I weight my stabs to reduce float to a minimum. Generally, I use about 4 times as much weight on the rear as I do on the front for 30-33" front stabs. This is for 65% to 70% letoff bows. For higher letoffs, less weight may be needed as you typically don't pull as hard into the wall.


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## loomis77 (Jan 30, 2011)

Just found a good thread that was posted a while back. Have a read, it will be well worth it.

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1700641&highlight=stabilizer

Leigh.


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## darton3d (Oct 16, 2009)

it's not about balance, it's about stabilization. You have to experiment to see what gives you the best float with the most accuracy.


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## GrayTech (Jan 29, 2013)

Stabs give the bow inertia which helps to stabilize it. Balance is really just personal preference and what WORKS for you. I'd try different weight combinations until you find one that works for you. Personally I've found that I'm more consistent without any stab, but I'm using an older PSE which is a bit on the heavy side by modern standards.


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

*EXPERIMENT and find the front heaviness that works for YOU (side rod weight)*



shoeminator said:


> I need to balance my bow for indoor spots. Do you balance perfectly from the handle, heavier in front, or something else? Any experienced help would be appreciated. 30" front stab and 14" sidebar.


RESULTS based tuning.

STEP 1: ADJUST and tune for the amount of FRONT HEAVINESS, that gives you the TIGHTEST groups.

STEP 2: ADJUST and tune for the amount of SIDE HEAVIENESS, that gives you the TIGHEST groups.

Basically, that simple.

RESULTS.

So,
pick a moderate amount of weight for the end of the front STICK.

This is going to take a while,
so experiment with something comfortable..You will change it later, to see what happens.

What works for ONE guy, probably will NOT work for you.
So, start low and work your way up.
Try 2 ounces or maybe 3 ounces. Gotta start somewhere.

Let's try 3 ounces on the end of the front STICK.

Now,
IF you have a TWO-WAY Adjustable side rod mount (two hinges....door hinge and airplane propeller hinge)
set the side rod DEAD FLAT,
just like your FRONT STICK
and have the DOOR HINGE rotated so the side rod points STRAIGHT BACK...the opposite of your FRONT STICK.


Now,
ADD WEIGHT to the SIDE ROD
or REMOVE WEIGHT to the SIDE ROD,
to make the bow MORE or LESS front heavy.

That simple.

PUT say 12 ounces in back on the SIDE rod.

Don't have enough FANCY weights?
Too expensive?

Goto the hardware store,
purchase a 1/4-inch bolt
and LOTS and LOTS of fender washers.

Box of 100 fender washers.




You can buy the "Fancy" weights, later.

So,
TRY lots of washers on the SIDE ROD,
to make the bow LESS front heavy (think Front of Center balance).

So,TRY less washers on the SIDE ROD,
to make the bow MORE front heavy.


So,
how do you know if you need MORE washers
or LESS washers?

REmember,
RESULTS based tuning.


So,
I go through this SAME process,
figuring out the FRONT heaviness of my bow,
BASED on RESULTS based tuning.



So,
when I am happy with the TALLNESS of my arrow groups,
then...

my bow stabilizer system is at the CORRECT FRONT heaviness for me.


So,
I hang my bow from the ceiling,
*ONLY TO GIVE YOU folks an idea of how FRONT heavy my bow is.

This is NOT how you figure it out.
You figure it out by SHOOTING and looking at the RESULTS.*


DST 40 hanging from the ceiling,
dead vertical,
with no stabilizers installed.




Fully tuned stabilizer system...based on RESULTS based tuning.



So,
for ME to get THESE results...

I actually don't have that much weight in front.

RESULTS based tuning.
Don't just copy your favorite pro shooter, 
don't just copy what the guy next to you on the shooting line does,
don't just copy what I do.

Do the HARD work,
and EXPERIMENT with LOTSA combinations for FRONT heaviness
to see what gives you RESULTS.


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

*SIDE to SIDE heaviness with a single side rod, and two way side mount*

HIGHLY recommend a proper
two way adjustable side rod...

door swing hinge (swing side rod like a DOOR)
and
airplane propeller hinge (swing side rod like an airplane propeller).


So,
we started with FRONT HEAVINESS stabilizer tuning,
with the side rod,
dead horizontal,
and the door swing hinge angle set so the side rod is right next to the bowstring,
looking exactly the opposite of the front stick,
pointing straight back.

You have experimented and experimented and experimented
with FRONT HEAVINESS
with different combos
of weight in FRONT
and
WEIGHT in back.

Easier to pick a weight with the front (say 2-3 ounces to start...for beginners)
and
then,
TRY LOTSA weight on the side rod (LESS FOC)
try MEDIUM weight on the side rod (MEDIUM FOC)
try LESS weight on the side rod (MORE FOC...more front heavy).

So,
you find the combo of weight, the combo that gives you the BEST amount of front heaviness.

RESULTS based tuning.

20 yards.



You shoot three arrows
and you are HAPPY with the tallness of your arrow group.


Cool.


So,
now we work on the WIDTH of your arrow group.


So,
now we work the DOOR HINGE SWING ANGLE
and
we swing the side rod,
like a door on a HINGE.


So,
the Doinker Side Rod mount I am using,
has CLICK adjustable angle positions.

I can SWING the SIDE ROD,
like a door,
AWAY from the bowstring,
say 1 click
say 2 clicks
say 4 clicks
say 9 clicks.

RESULTS BASED TUNING.


I tune my bow (right handed OK Archery DST 40)
so my GOOD SHOTs are DEAD down the middle

and

so my POOR shots are ONLY MISSING LEFT.

Once I get to this point,
where all the GOOD SHOTS go dead down the center
and
the KINDA poor shots miss a little LEFT
and
the MEDIUM poor shots miss a medium amount left...

then,

I TUNE the SIDE ROD,
DOOR HINGE swing angle,
to CANCEL out my LEFT misses...(stabilizers are designed to HELP you on the poor shots).








So,
EXPERIMENTING with the DOOR HINGE SWING ANGLE,
one CLICK at a time,
shooting LOTS and LOTS of arrows,
confirming that the RESULTS are repeatable....

I ended up here.




So,
when you are HAPPY with the WIDTH of your arrow groups...

then,
you have adjusted the DOOR SWING angle
to the correct amount for YOU.


So,
maybe you noticed
my SIDE ROD
is NOT horizontal,
but dipping down below horizontal.

RESULTS based tuning
on the airplane propeller angle.


So,
I would ONLY do stabilizer tuning...

AFTER you have figured out your.....

a) draw length (early stages of kitchen sink tuning)
b) horizontal nock travel tuning (later stages of kitchen sink tuning)
c) vertical nock travel tuning (creep tuning)
d) group tuning at the max distance you have consistent groups
e) bareshaft tuning to fine tune the consistency of your FORM

*so the LAST stage
is tweaking the stabilizer system.*


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## bigHUN (Feb 5, 2006)

"tweaking the stabilizer system" toke me days and days of shooting to get it close enough 
still some days the front-rear heaviness , the feel is changing...sometimes soar muscles or tired so pulling too hard or not enough....
some days I need an extra washer from left side, 
after hours of shooting on the Field course I just started feeling it front heavy.... 
65 yard long downhill shot, toke a last picture and pack my stuff for next time be better...









In my case I managed the micro front-rear tuning with that black thingy there on the front rod, sliding it forward-backward as needed...


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## lknchoppers (Jun 13, 2008)

So when your poor shots miss left which way do you swing the rear stabilizer to minimize the poor shots going left?



nuts&bolts said:


> HIGHLY recommend a proper
> two way adjustable side rod...
> 
> door swing hinge (swing side rod like a DOOR)
> ...


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## bigHUN (Feb 5, 2006)

lknchoppers said:


> So when your poor shots miss left which way do you swing the rear stabilizer to minimize the poor shots going left?


easier to notice on long shots.... read your grouping...I like to group tune on longer than 50 meters, most likely 70's....practice every day as much possible....
read the arrow impacts telling you everything what shall be done...
number the arrows and write down every round, not your score but what arrow # hit where....is the pattern the same day after day....
if the pattern (let say arrow number 3 has the same pattern, the #7 is a different but consistently the same pattern and so on...)
this way you can differentiate what is a poor flying arrow and what is a flyer..... 
poor flying arrows you will group tune, the flyers you do stabilize.... 
we don't talk further about a poor shot, we call them flyers....it was a good aim but the shot ended up flying away...
you always opening the angle outward on that side where is a flyer...
flyer on left from the group, you swivel outward the left side sidebar...maybe just a hair but will work, maybe need more....
some peoole like to have one sidebar only....me I like both sides just because easier to tune....


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