THE SHUDDER OF THE ARCHER'S BOW - SOFTENED.

Byline: Rochelle Kaplan Special to the Daily News

Bill Leven's propensity for projectiles had primitive beginnings. By the age of 8, he was shooting crude arrows - with a 40-pound longbow his father had given him - at rabbits and ground squirrels in his backyard in Mission Hills.

Although he didn't actually hit many of the varmints - often he chose to aim at the critters while lying on his back and shooting upside down - he was undeterred and even more eager to construct a better weapon.

His fascination with herpetology - and ultimately, snake venom - led him to fashion what he thought at the time was the coup de grace of weaponry - an aluminum blow gun with a wooden mouthpiece capable of expelling barbed, poisonous darts. This creation, however, didn't win him many friends or favorably influence any grown-ups but rather got him suspended from school for shooting the thing on campus.

Thank goodness Leven no is longer interested in boyish shenanigans and has turned his talents toward more constructive endeavors. Still, if it weren't for his past prophetic pranks, he might never have developed the products for which he is most famous these days: archery stabilizers. Although another archery innovator, Earl Hoyt, invented the very first stabilizer, Leven's patented ``Doinker'' system - unique because of its rubberized piece between the rod and end weight - has revolutionized the archery industry since 1993 by dramatically reducing shot noise and vibration and increasing shooter comfort.

``Everyone today that manufactures a stabilizer system is actually producing a take-off on mine,'' Leven said with genuine humility. ``They are all copycats out there.''

Imitation might truly be the sincerest form of flattery. According to Leven, there are at present six or seven companies that manufacture archery stabilizers using rubber.

Previously, stabilizers were hit and miss. In the '60s and '70s, archers created stabilizers by placing weights at the ends of tapered ski poles. Then, in the '80s, archers used stabilizers filled with springs and hydraulics and different powders and ``mystery'' materials, which were much too heavy and tended to leak.

Leven - who had immersed himself in competitive archery after quitting his job as a writer and business consultant for Entrepreneur Magazine in 1989 - came up with the concept of using rubber after spending weeks watching ``hundreds of archers shoot thousands of arrows'' at a local archery shop in Simi Valley called Arrowsmith.

``What I saw was that with existing stabilizers (back then), the entire bow setup all vibrated and moved together at the shot because they were all solidly connected,'' Leven said. ``In a flash of insight, I discerned that I somehow needed to disconnect the weight of the stabilizer from the bow.''

Leven discovered that by including a rubber piece - which is the actual Doinker - between the stabilizer and the end weight, the weight can act independently from the bow, dissipating vibration rather than sharing it with the bow. His prototype stabilizer was produced in one afternoon using a rubber plug he'd bought at a hardware store that he inserted between a carbon rod and a weight.

Leven applied for a patent, tentatively calling his product the ``Oscillation Reduction Mount.'' Among his customers were future Olympic gold-medalist Justin Huish - whose parents owned Arrowsmith - and Huish's coach, Lloyd Brown. Both Huish and Brown suggested the name Doinker because of the sound the bow made when using the stabilizers. Huish won two Olympic gold medals at the 1996 Olympics using the Doinker system.

Leven manufacturers his Doinker system in Canoga Park. The system is available only in archery shops at about 2,500 stores nationwide.

Many of Leven's employees also shoot, some having participated in archery before they worked. General manager Billy Wise felt fortunate when he found a job as an assembler three years ago at Leven Industries but never imagined it would lead to a new hobby.

``When I came to work here, I saw all the archery magazines and I saw other people shooting, and it took me a week before I went out (to Woodley Park) and picked up a bow and arrow,'' said Wise of Canoga Park. ``I liked it immediately, and the following week, I went out and bought a bow. I haven't quit since.''

Patrick Moses and Pat Keily hunted before working for Leven, using bows and firearms. Keily will participate in his first bow hunt later this month.

``I've been a hunter for about seven years, but I only used shotguns or rifles,'' said Keily, the quality assurance manager. ``Now that I'm working here, I got interested in bow hunting and can't wait to go pig hunting for the first time.''

Leven, who expects to double his line of 49 products this year, is preparing for the annual national archery show and believes the sport is growing in popularity.

``Archery is a sport that practically everyone can enjoy,'' Leven said. ``It would be rare to find a youngster - or even an oldster - that didn't secretly pine for the opportunity to at least try a few shots.''

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Photo:

Archery innovator Bill Leven holds a bow with his patented ``Doinker'' stabilizer system, which is made in Canoga Park.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer