what weight and lengh of stabilizer is best on a short ata bow?

That depends on the specific dimensions of that short bow and on the personal feel of the individual shooter.

However, I have come to find that for hunting I prefer a relatively short stabilizer on a short axle to axle length bow. Weight and its subsequent distribution along the length of the stabilizer seems to be just as critical of a factor though.

Just to throw a suggestion out there....probably 6 inches or less with weight evenly distributed along the length of the stabilizer.

Thats very true.

The best thing to do is find a Pro Shop who carries a varity of Stabilizers who is willing to let try them.
Cause what feels right for me might feel like crap to you.

I would say that for hunting, a 6 to 8 inch stab is about as long as is tolerable by most people. A hunting length stab doesn't add much "wand" effect like an 18 to 30 incher does for target applications. Generally hunting length stabilizers add weight and help to cancel out unwanted vibration and noise more that help accuracy. I've forgot to screw on my stabilizer on my hunting bow a few times before I started shooting and noticed no difference in accuracy but there was something "missing". Only to finally get curious enough to look over my bow to discover there was no stab!!![&o]