Intro to Upgrading Bow Components

I bought my first compound bow a couple of months ago and have been steadily practicing since then. It's a Bear Wild that I got on sale at Cabela's, and I have to say that I'm very happy with it as a first bow. I'm happy with my progress and believe I could take an ethical shot at around 35 yards for now. I'm enjoying it enough that I can see myself spending more money in the future, but before I even consider a new bow down the road, I want to get a good handle on bow components/accessories and go from there. Not to mention, I want to actually harvest a deer later this year before I consider upgrading to a new bow. I'm looking at upgrading a few parts on my current bow later in the summer, which brings me to these questions:

• What should I look for in a "good" stabilizer upgrade? What makes one stabilizer better than another?
• Ditto for sights. Aside from number of pins, what makes one sight better than another? What should I be looking for if I upgrade beyond the stock sights?
• Does anyone fire more than a couple of arrows on a hunt? I'm considering downsizing to a 3-arrow quiver, since 5 seems like unnecessary weight while hunting.

I don't mind asking "skill" questions at a local archery place, but when it comes to equipment I'm hesitant to take their word for it because of the possibility they're just trying to upsell me. Thanks for any advice.

-There are a number of different articles on the web regarding stabilizers. If you are looking for actual stabilization and not just vibration dampening I'm a firm believe you need to go at least 8 inches. It made a world of difference for me and I shoot a 12 inch stabilizer currently and love it. Something with adjustable weight up front is great because you can adapt it based off how it feels

-There are a million articles and threads on sights. Some like single pin slider for the sight picture others just like fixed pin. Mulitpin sliders give you the ability to adjust like a sigle pin but allow you to lock in like a fixed pin for a number of yardages Most important thing to me is durability (You don't want it to shift during a hunt) and pin brightness/size. Small pins increase accuracy but can be more difficult to see at low light. In addition sights with dovetail mounts allow more adjustability and can increase accuracy. Also it's not necessary but micro adjust or tool less adjustment is a great feature

-I'm a big fan of carrying as many arrows as you can. I don't think there is to much weight difference between a 5 and 3 pin quiver so I'd rather have a 5!

Hope this helps! Feel free to PM me for details on anything!

As far a sights go I believe simple and durable is the way to go. Black Gold, Spot Hog, and Copper Johns are a few that come to mind. If you want to only carry 3 arrows in a quiver for weight savings, that is fin but make sure you have a bunch more in a tube back at camp. I for one believe in having as many arrows as possible. I shoot grouse, yotes, and squirrels so I need plenty of arrows. Also I have taken a tumble and broke a few arrows in my quiver and was glad to have more.

NYSKIER said:

Hope this helps! Feel free to PM me for details on anything!

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Thanks! I know there are articles out there and I've read a few of them (always eager for information), but I value hunter opinions a bit more than the average web article just due to how gear-centric a lot of hunting coverage has gotten. There's a new gizmo every year and I find that listening to people on places like Hunt Talk helps me filter out the noise.

Redman said:

I for one believe in having as many arrows as possible. I shoot grouse, yotes, and squirrels so I need plenty of arrows. Also I have taken a tumble and broke a few arrows in my quiver and was glad to have more.

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That's a good point. I guess I'm coming at this from the angle of a Texas whitetail hunter (sitting in a stand either on private or public land), but I'd definitely be interested in taking my bow on the road for future hunts that cover more ground, so I may as well get used to having a few more arrows available.