If you're looking to level out your bow, a mathews rear stabilizer mount is probably the single best upgrade you can make to your current hunting or target setup. We've all been there—you draw back, anchor, and look at your sight bubble only to realize you're canting your bow hard to the right. It's annoying, it messes with your consistency, and honestly, it's a distraction you don't need when a deer is finally walking into your shooting lane.
Why your bow keeps leaning to the right
Most of us load up our bows with a bunch of stuff on the right side (if you're a right-handed shooter). You've got your sight, your rest, and most importantly, a quiver full of heavy arrows all hanging off one side of the riser. It's basic physics; the bow wants to tip that way. You can fight it with your wrist, but that creates torque, and torque is the enemy of a clean release.
That's where the mathews rear stabilizer mount comes into play. By adding a weight that kicks out to the left and slightly behind you, you're creating a counterweight. It's like a seesaw. If you get the balance just right, the bow will literally sit dead level in your hand without you having to manipulate it at all. When you don't have to fight the bow to stay vertical, your groups naturally start to shrink.
The magic of the rear mounting point
One of the coolest things about the way Mathews designs their risers is that they don't just expect you to clamp a bracket onto the front stabilizer hole and hope for the best. Most of their modern frames have a dedicated mounting point lower down and on the back of the riser. Using a specific mathews rear stabilizer mount that fits into this spot keeps the profile of the bow much slimmer.
If you've ever used a universal side bar bracket that attaches to the front, you know they can be a bit bulky. They stick out, they sometimes wiggle loose, and they can get in the way of your hand or your accessories. The dedicated rear mount keeps the weight lower and further back, which is actually more efficient for stabilization. You can use a shorter bar with more weight and get the same effect as a long, clunky bar. It makes the whole rig feel more compact and "purpose-built" rather than just something you slapped together with aftermarket parts.
Getting the setup dialed in
Setting up your mathews rear stabilizer mount isn't rocket science, but it does take a little bit of trial and error. You can't just bolt it on and expect it to be perfect immediately. I usually start by putting the mount on and adding a few ounces of weight to the back bar. Then, I'll draw the bow back (with an arrow nocked and a target in front of me, obviously) and close my eyes.
When I open my eyes, I look at the bubble. Is it off to the right? I need to swing the stabilizer out further or add more weight. Is it leaning too far left? I need to pull it back in toward the riser. The goal is to get that bubble to settle right in the middle the moment you hit your anchor point. When you achieve that, you'll feel a lot more relaxed because your body isn't working overtime to keep the bow straight.
Is the extra weight worth it?
I hear this a lot: "Why would I want to make my bow heavier for a mountain hunt?" It's a fair question. If you're hiking ten miles a day, every ounce counts. However, there's a difference between "dead weight" and "functional weight." A bow that is a half-pound heavier but perfectly balanced feels better in the hand than a lighter bow that's constantly trying to twist out of your grip.
Using a mathews rear stabilizer mount actually makes the bow feel lighter during the shot because it stays steady. You aren't shaking as much trying to keep the pin on the target. Plus, that extra weight on the bottom and rear of the bow helps soak up any leftover vibration. Mathews bows are already pretty quiet, but adding a rear-mounted stabilizer makes them feel almost dead in the hand. It's a "thud" instead of a "ping," and that's exactly what you want when you're trying to be stealthy.
Getting your pin to sit still
We've talked about the side-to-side balance, but the mathews rear stabilizer mount also helps with your "pin float." If you find that your sight pin is bouncing up and down or moving in big circles while you're trying to aim, it's usually because the bow is front-heavy.
Most stabilizers sit out front, pulling the nose of the bow down. By adding that rear bar, you're balancing the bow on its center of gravity. This slows down your pin movement. Instead of erratic jerks, you get a slow, steady "float." You're never going to be perfectly still—we're humans, not tripod mounts—but if you can turn a jittery movement into a slow drift, your brain has a much easier time timing the shot.
Durability and the "Integrated" feel
If you're using the actual Mathews-branded hardware, the fit and finish are usually spot on. They use a notched system on many of their mounts so the bar can't just spin or sag if you bump it against a tree. There's nothing worse than being in the middle of a hunt and realizing your stabilizer is dangling at a weird angle because the bolt vibrated loose.
The mathews rear stabilizer mount is designed to handle the abuse of a thick brush or a bumpy ride in a UTV. It locks in solid. I've seen guys use some cheap off-brand mounts that stripped out or started rattling after a hundred shots. When you're shooting a high-performance bow, you really don't want to go cheap on the parts that hold your balance together.
Final thoughts on the setup
Honestly, once you go to a rear-mount system, it's really hard to go back to just a single front bar. The bow just feels complete. It's like driving a car with a perfectly tuned suspension versus one that's pulling to the side.
If you're on the fence, just try it. You don't even need a massive 15-inch bar sticking out the back. Even a small 6-inch or 8-inch bar on a mathews rear stabilizer mount can make a night-and-day difference in how you hold at full draw. You'll probably find that you're more confident, your shots are more consistent, and those long-distance practice sessions become a lot more fun because you aren't fighting your equipment.
At the end of the day, archery is all about removing variables. You want everything to be the same every single time you pull the string back. By fixing your balance issues with a dedicated mount, you're removing one of the biggest variables there is: human error in correcting bow cant. It's a small investment that pays off every time you look through your peep and see that bubble sitting right where it belongs.