Archery Stabilizers

Archery stabilizers are the various types of weights placed on an archery bow to increase the precision and stability while aiming. The stabilizers function well by reducing the inadvertent movements that enhance the repeatability and precision along with increasing the moment of inertia of the bows. The bows are subjected to various types of force acting upon them, such as the muscular force, the force between bow and strings along with the rate of acceleration. The stabilizers minimize all these forces along with force acting in the central bow section, which significantly increases the static inertia resulting in the least movement. It also reduces trembling or shaking while aiming, by gradually increasing the energy to hold the bow against gravity. A variety of stabilizers are available varying in size and configuration but serve the same purpose -

• A stabilizer reduces the vibration when an archer releases the arrow.
• Stabilizes the bow by enhancing the static inertia so that it does not get unstable as it releases vibration after launching the arrow. 

Types of Stabilizers

• Poker stabilizers - These are long-rod stabilizers that maintain bow weight in the front by moving the central gravity towards the forward direction. The stabilizers are placed either in the central region or below the hand position. It effectively functions in -

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1. Reducing the lateral twisting of the bow or the torque effect
2. Reducing the topping (upwards) or heeling (downwards) discrepancies between the bow and hand while aiming
3. Reduces the archer’s error of handling the bow

• Twin or limb stabilizers - The Twin or limb stabilizers are placed above and below the bow-hand. It’s placed in the centre where the limbs connect with each other. Because of this positioning, the stabilizers can also resist the rotation occurred due to the bow-hand error. The bow hand error can cause left and right divergence of the arrow. The twin stabilizers are particularly fitted in the bottom of the limbs providing a smoother shot.

• Reverse or counterbalance stabilizers - These stabilizers are placed below centre region’s bow-hand aiding to backwards retraction of the centre of gravity. It is used in co-occurrence with long rod stabilizers which enable the forward roll of bow eliminating the negative effects of the reverse weights. The stabilizers reduce the vertical turning occurred due to bow-hand torque.

Construction of Stabilizers

The main body of the stabilizers is composed of a solid piece of a tube-like material. Traditionally, the stabilizers were manufactured from metal which used to make it heavy. However, the primary purpose of stabilizers is to add weight, but too much weight also hinders the archer’s performance. Manufacturers, therefore, use lighter materials now such as carbon, ABS plastic or others to make the body lighter yet rigid. Most stabilizers have a dampening device made from a particular type of rubber, gel or sand to reduce vibration, shock or noise.