For World Archery competitions a bow has to fit within a 12.2cm ring in the barebow division. When people refer to barebow weights they are usually referring to small weights that stick close to the riser to fit within the ring. It's usually not in a hunting context.

There's no reason you can't use a 10-12" long stabilizer on your hunting bow. I don't see it too much and it's probably due to a variety of reason. Some folks probably want to keep their shooting setup similar to their 3D setup, some don't think they belong on a recurve, some want to keep their bow light, etc.

My local shoots go by NFAA rules and they didn't allow stabilizers in the recurve class until the past few years. I started off shooting without one to keep my hunting bow legal for shoots. After they allowed it I used a short 2-3" Doinker stabilizer which helped the balance and reaction a little. Never went for a longer one since I didn't want to hinder my maneuverability in the woods. Nowadays I don't shoot without one since my short stabilizers didn't help all that much and to keep my bow's mass weight down (which is ironic since I'm always looking for a 7-8 arrow bow quiver).

I say this all the time, but check your tune after doing anything to your bow. Adding weight to my bow makes my arrows tune stiffer.

 

For World Archery competitions a bow has to fit within a 12.2cm ring in the barebow division. When people refer to barebow weights they are usually referring to small weights that stick close to the riser to fit within the ring. It's usually not in a hunting context.

There's no reason you can't use a 10-12" long stabilizer on your hunting bow. I don't see it too much and it's probably due to a variety of reason. Some folks probably want to keep their shooting setup similar to their 3D setup, some don't think they belong on a recurve, some want to keep their bow light, etc.

My local shoots go by NFAA rules and they didn't allow stabilizers in the recurve class until the past few years. I started off shooting without one to keep my hunting bow legal for shoots. After they allowed it I used a short 2-3" Doinker stabilizer which helped the balance and reaction a little. Never went for a longer one since I didn't want to hinder my maneuverability in the woods. Nowadays I don't shoot without one since my short stabilizers didn't help all that much and to keep my bow's mass weight down (which is ironic since I'm always looking for a 7-8 arrow bow quiver).

I say this all the time, but check your tune after doing anything to your bow. Adding weight to my bow makes my arrows tune stiffer.

I really need to find some shoots and get to shooting with some more experienced folks and see how they set up and what not. I just really hate doing stuff that involves people.
Ive heard this on the tune as far as stabilizers and quivers. I need to get a rig set up proper with everything and see about how it all shoots.

 

Whatever shoots best. I currently have a short weight on my riser, probably 8-10 ounces. Sometimes I use a 10" stab. If weight is an issue, remember 'leverage'. A 4 ounce weight 'out there' works like a heavier weight close in to the riser.

PS "Is there a reason folks don't set up their recurves with stabilizers that I'm missing?"

Some people worry that it isn't 'traditional' ;-)

 

Makes sense, same as on a compound with running a longer stab with less weight to achieve similar results
I think Ive already crossed the line from "traditional" with having an elevated rest.

 

I use a very short stabilizer on my Titan II/Max 6 hunting rig. It improves the balance in my hand. Not enough extra weight to notice, but the extra mass probably does improve stability a little bit.

 

Hey, we're reporting you to the trad police, Matt!

While I've only shot a buddy's Satori a few times, I can see how you might want a stabilizer/weight on it to adjust the balance. Figure out what you need in that area before you spend a lot of time tuning arrows since there's a good chance that will affect things. Good points by Dana above.

Personally, on a hunting rig, I'm willing to live with a little tip back in favor of a shorter stab and more compact bow. Your mileage may vary. It's all part of the fun in sorting out a new rig.

 

I got a couple bars(4" and6") coming with 14 oz of weight to screw with.
I often set up my compounds so dang heavy Id start thinking on places to stash it after a long day of hiking. I dont want to be anything like that again. Hoping this new riser balances out a bit different.

 

I ran a Ktech 3 w Mathews S coil module on the lower limb bolt of a Blackwidow HS.
This was an '83 model w single pin and bolt attach. Had a little noise/vibe and the stab helped tone it down. Also helped balance w quiver.

Didn't stick out much and worked........bow already heavy so a little more was no big deal.

If it helps ya shoot, run it

My '75 HS was run without, as was my '72 HF1225 and my current '91 HS
They all had/have 1/4-20 tapped limb bolts.

Only my '83 had 5/16-24

They all had risers tapped for a stablizer at front, but I didn't like it that close to my hand (worse on the HS).
Lower limb bolt was perfect location.

 

I tried a few times to add a stabilizer but couldn't tell any difference. Recently I was going through my stuff and found new Limbsaver 3.5" S-Coil Stabilizers. I am going to leave it on and hunt with it this year.

 

For hunting, I think the main reason is that we generally want the lightest and most compact set up that we can accurately shoot with.

Stabs and weights do help - and if you're not in a competition with rules, you can do whatever you like. You can even shoot recurve with a wrist release!

My compound has the 12" B Stinger, but on my recurves the longest I have a 7". I used a barebow weight (to fit the 12.2cm ring rule) if I'm competing.

My Border Tempest does not have any extra weight.... the front bridge design does shift the mass forward.

 

For hunting, I think the main reason is that we generally want the lightest and most compact set up that we can accurately shoot with.

Stabs and weights do help - and if you're not in a competition with rules, you can do whatever you like. You can even shoot recurve with a wrist release!

My compound has the 12" B Stinger, but on my recurves the longest I have a 7". I used a barebow weight (to fit the 12.2cm ring rule) if I'm competing.

My Border Tempest does not have any extra weight.... the front bridge design does shift the mass forward.

That tempest is on my short list

 

Compared to the Satori... the Border Tempest is a huge jump in handling. If you get one, it's a tough bow to beat if you like moderate mass. It handles very well for an unweighted bow that doesn't feel like a boat anchor or feel like it wants to tip back all the time.

I've owned a 21" Satori and found that I needed weight up the front just to make it sit the way I liked. In the end I sold it as it always felt like it wanted to tilt back a lot.

All being said, shoot the bow the way you like. The longer the stab /weight the more it affects your tune. So tune your setup with all the gear on if that's how you plan to shoot it.

 

Compared to the Satori... the Border Tempest is a huge jump in handling. If you get one, it's a tough bow to beat if you like moderate mass. It handles very well for an unweighted bow that doesn't feel like a boat anchor or feel like it wants to tip back all the time.

I've owned a 21" Satori and found that I needed weight up the front just to make it sit the way I liked. In the end I sold it as it always felt like it wanted to tilt back a lot.

All being said, shoot the bow the way you like. The longer the stab /weight the more it affects your tune. So tune your setup with all the gear on if that's how you plan to shoot it.

This satori seemed like the most "standardized " riser I could find when shopping for my 1st recurve. I love trying new stuff, and getting to know different equipment. If Johns new JCA riser is as amazing as I feel like it will be the satori will be up for sale next week though. I will be getting my hands on a tempest and a wf 19 asap. Those both look appealing. The lines on the tempest are straight up beautiful though. I feel like It would have to be pretty miserable to shoot for me not to love it.
Be awesome if a quiver and stab got me needing more weight up front of my current arrows though. Hopefully some bars show up this week to play around with.

 

In the "try as many bows a you can" phase - which I did over about 3 years when starting out, the Classifieds is definitely the place to hit . You can buy and sell and not lose too much.

2nd Hand Tempests do show up occasionally if you are patient... usually around $550-$600. I think WF19 usually around $450.

And then there's limbs. That's another world of opinions and personal preferences!

 

In the "try as many bows a you can" phase - which I did over about 3 years when starting out, the Classifieds is definitely the place to hit . You can buy and sell and not lose too much.

2nd Hand Tempests do show up occasionally if you are patient... usually around $550-$600. I think WF19 usually around $450.

And then there's limbs. That's another world of opinions and personal preferences!

Lol, o man. Just last week I was up late about 3 nights in a row mulling over a set of uukhas. Then it dawned on me. These dang max 6s are freakin awesome so I got a heavier set of them ordered up. Now Im back to thinkin ,how am I ever going to know if those uukhas are the cats pajamas...
this ILF recurve world is all brand new and shiny to me at the moment for sure. Then I get to seeing some of the stunning wood riser bolt down bows. I swore up and down that getting rid of all my compound gear was going to save me so much money. It is looking like that is so far from the case.
Being a lefty hinders me a bit on the used market but looks like a decent amount of lh gear pops up. Got my eyes out for sure.

 

A couple of weeks back I gave one of the most stable light weight bows that I have ever owned and killed game with. A yew glass ASL with a myrtle riser of my own design and tiller, 14oz. I got the bow to have very little to no reaction to the release, due to my grip design and sand paper tillering to achieve perfect limb timing. I like to get the bow to have that float on target after effect, while the arrow is in the air. Many years back with BW takedowns and Bear takedowns I did it with short stem rods and the lightest possible weight mercury stabilizers and always shot with a wrist strap and open hand. A fairly slow action set-up for hunting, really better suited for target shooting. I got bored with stationary and static hunting, so i went to ASLs and never looked back. With ASLs and certain recurves the shooters arm weight adds to the stability, as long as you are are not doing a lot of strange things like whopping yourself in the butt at release with a lot of hand torque. I believe that many venues in 'trad' archery are getting over complicated with mechanics and mechanical shooting techniques. Fred Bear was only an average shot, but he did pretty good in the field. The old masters have things that they could teach to the newer generation.