shooting a compound bow is all about the art of being still. thats what separates the pros from the amatures. the pros have mastered the art of being still. it starts with form and funamentals. a stabilizers job is to act as leverage to resist your movement. your bow should be balanced on 2 axis the forward and back and side to side. the back bar controls both. for hunting bows you can use a 10 and 8 inch rods in most cases. this year on my vxr 31.5 ill be using a 15 inch front rod and 8 inch back rod. that bow is really liking that combination. the goal is to get horizontal pin float not up and down. vertical pin float means you are fighting the bow. you want to see horizontal pin float. with horizontal float you can trust the built in centering mechanism in your mind just like when you drive the hand on the stering wheel is keeping you between the lines. you are not thinking about that you are focused down the road.it does the same thing when u aim a bow. focus on the target not the pin and trust the float.that can only be achieved with a perfectly balanced bow. so yes back rods are essential for accuracy. and accuracy is what kills