Counter Weight

[Hobanger]

What do counter weights do to improve shooting?

[Progen]

Depends on where you put them and contrary to popular belief, they do not actually improve shooting, not as a direct consequence of their being there.

[Patchy]

they do not actually improve shooting

yes they can If you need them the can gentle out the roll also a key point is more mass weight less wind drift provided you can handle the extra weight at the end of the day.

[Progen]

You missed out the disclaimer after the comma. :lol:

Anyway, as said, it depends on where you put it. No point putting a counter weight in your pocket although some might say that'd stabilize the stance.

[reversehaven]

Hm. if i were shooting standard class with a metal bow... and if i wanted to add weights... for better feel of the bow or better weight distribution.. where would you reccommend i start experimenting with putting it?

[Progen]

Reversehaven, there are only 6 places you can add weights to. The ends of all the rods, 1 on the top bushing, 1 on the lower or as a backweight facing yourself. Try all of them.

Did I miss out anywhere else? Oh yah! Your pocket if it'd help in better weight distribution. I drink too much and have a beer belly but I have a big butt to balance that. :lol:

[hoyt for life 2]

That is all incorect if you listen to the fiberbow guy who says its easyer to hold a light bow steady in the wind than a heavy one, this guy designed a bow so he must know what hes doing. :roll:
But to slow down the way the bows rolling over add weights to the vbars, or bushings at the bottom of the bow. To speed it up put it on your frount rod or the top bushing.

[Patchy]

That is all incorect
No it isnt think about it If you have a light object and a much heavier object of equal size lets say one riser made of carbon fiber and one made of gold both are hung up on a piece of cable which riser do you think is going to be blown around more in the wind.
The fact is that a heavy bow will be more resistant to wind. but too heavy a bow and the archer will be the variable. the archer may find at the end of a days shooting the heavier bow will hold less steady as there physical strength cant cope with the mass weight of the bows setup.

[New Tricks]

The only reason I have ever used a weight other than a front long rod is to stop a bow flinging sideways on release and biting me from the bottom od the rest arm. i have since put a strip of bike tube on it and lost the side rod.

[hoyt for life 2]

That is all incorect
No it isnt think about it If you have a light object and a much heavier object of equal size lets say one riser made of carbon fiber and one made of gold both are hung up on a piece of cable which riser do you think is going to be blown around more in the wind.
The fact is that a heavy bow will be more resistant to wind. but too heavy a bow and the archer will be the variable. the archer may find at the end of a days shooting the heavier bow will hold less steady as there physical strength cant cope with the mass weight of the bows setup.

thats just what the fiber bow dude says, i dont beleve a word of it.

[Patchy]

thats just what the fiber bow dude says, i dont beleve a word of it.

Ok then I guess the earth is flat too :roll:

[Archangel]

Ok then I guess the earth is flat too :roll:
It is. Just go to the edge of it and have a look over the side ;-)

[Progen]

I frequently see the edge of the world after too much beer but it's miraculously gone when I sober up. Wonder why. :oops:

[recurve boy]

thats just what the fiber bow dude says, i dont beleve a word of it.

Ok, go and load weights onto your bow such that you cannot control it anymore. See what happens.

[hoyt for life 2]

thats just what the fiber bow dude says, i dont beleve a word of it.

Ok, go and load weights onto your bow such that you cannot control it anymore. See what happens.

way ahead of you bro, scores have improved greatly.

[recurve boy]

thats just what the fiber bow dude says, i dont beleve a word of it.

Ok, go and load weights onto your bow such that you cannot control it anymore. See what happens.

way ahead of you bro, scores have improved greatly.

So, really, you failed to add enough weight to your riser.

The key is control. Sometimes you will get more control by reducing the weight and thus shoot better. It's like bow poundage. Higher poundage can give less drift. But if you can't draw your bow, what's the point?

[Purple Hats]

OK - I think we have established that there is an optimum amount of weight to put on the bow, depending on the individual case.

I added a side weight to my bow in order to have it balance correctly, after noticing that it was slightly right heavy (most likely due to the sight). To compensate, I added a side weight on the left side. This has corrected that problem, while adding a little extra weight to the bow. I prefer the extra weight as it 'dampens' the subtle movements that I make at full draw. However, once it gets moving, it's harder to stop. I've shot PBs with the side weight, and believe that it works for me, because I can still control it.

Trick is to get the right amount of weight in the right place for you. This is simply a matter of trying things for a while - don't shoot 10 shots and decide it's good - shoot a FITA and then decide.

[reversehaven]

progen- lol. nice one. the pocket. hahaaa. i'll borrow your joke and tease my seniors about it :P

The key is control. Sometimes you will get more control by reducing the weight and thus shoot better. It's like bow poundage. Higher poundage can give less drift. But if you can't draw your bow, what's the point?

true. but honestly, i think the difference of holding either bow in wind.. light or heavy.. is almost negligible. most of the time you're worried about your BODY being pushed by the wind, rather than the riser on your bow arm. because first of all, your bow doesn't have as much surface area as your body. Which would the wind be blowing on more? riser or body? body.

balance is key, though, quoth from recurve boy. You have to find that intricate balance of weights, to either riser or to stabs...and basically that tcontributes to the feel while you shoot. Besides, most of the time, when you shoot, you try to avoid wind right? (cuz whether or not your riser is more handle-able in wind, shooting in wind compromises arrow flight) so to me, wind should be a non-issue when you choose to position weights.

However, i'm not discounting the fact that shooting in wind without consideration for wind conditions (in the context of riser weight) would probably give you a disadvantage over the person who has considered and allocated the weights accordingly (lighter or heavier, whichever is true).

[Flehrad]

I'm not wading into the debate as such, but placing a change in direction, but still on counter weight.

I recently stacked on extra weight after the nationals just to get some more arm strength for control (because that's another issue regarding control in wind). I put some more back weight, and I put a short-rod onto the lower limb pocket bushing.

Then I shot 90m. But what was strange was that it was really easy to get through the clicker compared to normal. My hypothesis is that the extra front weight due to the shortrod changed my dynamic tiller just that little bit so that the angle of the bow at full draw meant the clicker position was easier to achieve at anchor.

Can anyone make any sense of what I'm trying to say? And if so, has anyone also done/experienced something similar? Or, anyone willing to give it a try and see if they get the same results?

[hoyt for life 2]

I'm not wading into the debate as such, but placing a change in direction, but still on counter weight.

I recently stacked on extra weight after the nationals just to get some more arm strength for control (because that's another issue regarding control in wind). I put some more back weight, and I put a short-rod onto the lower limb pocket bushing.

Then I shot 90m. But what was strange was that it was really easy to get through the clicker compared to normal. My hypothesis is that the extra front weight due to the shortrod changed my dynamic tiller just that little bit so that the angle of the bow at full draw meant the clicker position was easier to achieve at anchor.


Can anyone make any sense of what I'm trying to say? And if so, has anyone also done/experienced something similar? Or, anyone willing to give it a try and see if they get the same results?
i felt when i added weight to the bow it was easier to draw back like you said, i thought it was because the extra weight made me concentrate on my front arm more and the back one just did its thing, with out the usual bitching and moaning about the clicker.

[Archangel]

progen- lol. nice one. the pocket. hahaaa. i'll borrow your joke and tease my seniors about it :P

The key is control. Sometimes you will get more control by reducing the weight and thus shoot better. It's like bow poundage. Higher poundage can give less drift. But if you can't draw your bow, what's the point?

true. but honestly, i think the difference of holding either bow in wind.. light or heavy.. is almost negligible. most of the time you're worried about your BODY being pushed by the wind, rather than the riser on your bow arm. because first of all, your bow doesn't have as much surface area as your body. Which would the wind be blowing on more? riser or body? body.
Nope, you're wrong. The wind may exert more force on your body, but it's much more stable; the bow is being held in place by your body, and is a long way away. Force x distance...

It's pretty easy to figure this one out anyway; all you have to do is go and shoot in some wind, and notice that your bow moves about much more than the rest of you does :roll:

[alexvpaq]

I'm not wading into the debate as such, but placing a change in direction, but still on counter weight.

I recently stacked on extra weight after the nationals just to get some more arm strength for control (because that's another issue regarding control in wind). I put some more back weight, and I put a short-rod onto the lower limb pocket bushing.

Then I shot 90m. But what was strange was that it was really easy to get through the clicker compared to normal. My hypothesis is that the extra front weight due to the shortrod changed my dynamic tiller just that little bit so that the angle of the bow at full draw meant the clicker position was easier to achieve at anchor.


Can anyone make any sense of what I'm trying to say? And if so, has anyone also done/experienced something similar? Or, anyone willing to give it a try and see if they get the same results?
i felt when i added weight to the bow it was easier to draw back like you said, i thought it was because the extra weight made me concentrate on my front arm more and the back one just did its thing, with out the usual bitching and moaning about the clicker.

lol maybe, but just get all those stabilizer off and try to pull that string... it will be incredibly harder to pull, then, just had the long rod , WOW much more easier to pull... and that probably because of that strange effect of the stabiliser trying to go down(by gravity) and you pulling, keeping that thing up ^^ so there is like to forces pushing in to different way making thing easier,

This is only a theory, and if my theory is right , adding some weight on the front of the longrod should make the bow EVEN easier to pull!

HAVE FUN SHOOTING
and killing paper target... damn those with their X shaped eye! :D