at least about 10 of an overall length 504 of the top riser section 202 in another embodiment the length 500 is at least about 15 of the overall length 504 in another embodiment the length 500 is at least about 20 of the overall length 504 in yet another embodiment the length 500 is about 25 of the over length 504 the width 502 is less than the length 500 in one embodiment the width is about 50 of the length 500 fig6 depicts a compound bow 600 that comprises the riser 200 a first bow limb 602 and a second bow limb 604 a first cam 606 and a second cam 608 are attached to the first bow limb 602 and the second bow limb 604 respectively bowstrings 610 are stretched between the first cam 606 and the second cam 608 when the bowstrings 610 are actuated the first bow limb 602 and the second bow limb 604 bend and apply a strain to the riser 200 the second top step 300 see fig3 minimizes the deformation in the riser 200 caused by the strain the presence of cams in the compound 600 permits a bowstring to be drawn with high force which results in significant strain on the riser 200 accordingly the riser 200 is particularly useful with compound bows in one embodiment the riser is monolithic such that the top riser section the bottom riser section and the middle riser section are formed as a single piece the riser may be formed from a lightweight material such as aluminum this written description uses examples to disclose the invention including the best mode and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention.