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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: J. Cook on August 23, 2018, 09:39:42 AM
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I really want to use these big ole Snuffers ...but they are sooooo loud. I shoot the smaller Snuffers without the effect. Do any of you have tricks to quiet them down?
I am usually hunting highly pressured deer. Last year, 2 different bucks that were otherwise calm and feeding, turned inside out before the arrow got to where they "used to be" standing. Same bow set up that I've never had that issue with. The broad heads were the only difference and very loud to my ears, so I can only imagine what it sounds like to a deer.
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I have heard of people covering the holes with Vaseline to quiet them.
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After over 40 years shooting Snuffers I’ve never had that problem nor even heard them. Now just exactly what are “small snuffers” that you say don’t have this noise issue?
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There are some Snuffer SS made out of stainless steel that are 100 and 125gr I believe. Most likely the ones he is referencing.
After over 40 years shooting Snuffers I’ve never had that problem nor even heard them. Now just exactly what are “small snuffers” that you say don’t have this noise issue?
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I have the 125's (with adapter to make them that weight) and they don't make noise at all (they are about the same size as the Woodsman heads). The big 145 glue on's are very loud. I've heard people say don't worry about it...call it the "hiss of death." But they obviously aren't hunting pressured animals. Both deer I've shot at were not even in the same spot when the arrow got to them...that's how quickly they scared and bolted. Again...this bow and these arrows have put quite a few critters on the ground. The bow isn't loud.
I can hear them when shooting - they hiss very loud.
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The vaseline trick works but requires frequent reapplication. Try filing down the back of the vents to a false edge or dehorning them to make the air pass over with less resistance.
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I have heard of putting tape over the vents. Just make sure you have enough fletch on the back to do the steering.
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This may sound odd but I rotated them until I didn’t hear them. I figured it was way air was moving through vents. Of course I can’t use the blade edge as an aiming reference which some folks do.
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Try spinning the head on a bare shaft in a 1/2 drill. Use a slow speed. An arrow only spins about once every ten feet. Next put a field point on the arrow that held a heavy head and spin it. Try an arrow you heard in the drill. Put talc or powder on the shelf and windows to see if anything is hitting. The heavier head may have change your setup. When using the drill hold the shaft in a cotton rag to control the spin.
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Try spinning the head on a bare shaft in a 1/2 drill. Use a slow speed. An arrow only spins about once every ten feet. Next put a field point on the arrow that held a heavy head and spin it. Try an arrow you heard in the drill. Put talc or powder on the shelf and windows to see if anything is hitting. The heavier head may have change your setup. When using the drill hold the shaft in a cotton rag to control the spin.
It's not a tuning issue as a result of arrow slapping or anything. The heads are not heavier than my field tips (?). I mentioned 2 weights of heads explaining that my smaller diameter snuffers don't hiss out of any bow, but the larger diameter ones make a horrible hissing noise (from any bow, any arrow). The vents on these larger heads hiss loudly all the way to the target. I know they've put a lot of meat on the ground over the years for people and the size really appeals to me. But if I can't figure out how to quiet them, they are of no use to me.
I will try to file down the backs of he vents and see if that works as suggested. Every broadhead arrow I shoot out of any of my bows in spun true during the tuning process. This is an in-flight noise, not point of release or tuning noise.
I bareshaft all my set ups, so they are as tuned as I can get them. It's a noise manufactured by the broadhead - extreme hissing. If you've ever shot one of the big Snuffers - I would have to assume you've heard it.
Thanks for the replies so far - I'll try filing one down in the vents to see if that helps.
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This issue has always mystified me. I shoot the 160s and 145s, and I've never heard that "hiss of death". String jumping has not been a problem either, and believe me, the deer are pressured where I hunt. Maybe it's because my 160s are a couple of decades old? I reuse them after killing some beast. Perhaps the newer ones have rougher edges, or something.
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I've never had a problem with anything getting out of the way of them, so I don't worry about it.
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filing the backs edge of vent to a knife edge.
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Sorry about your exerience. I can't say what happened. I have had multiple broadheads that hiss, and had deer stand there, and others react, but I almost doubt that it was the hiss any more than the feathers. How far away were your shots, by the way?
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TBM had a Tip of the week on them and they said sand the back of the vent a bit
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Those tips regarding touching up the back of the vents seems easy enough, and a good place to start.
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If you go to soften the vent edges, use 200 grit sandpaper, or finer even. all you're looking to do is eliminate hard edges that will "shred" the air stream.
You could also try putting a piece of packing tape on the sides of each blade to cover the vents. I'm sure it would add no more than 4-5 grains, and if you trim the tape to shape with a razor blade, it would be really low profile.
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I'm going to try and soften those edges on the vents - thanks for the replies. They look like they'll put such a great hole in one that I really want to use them!!!!
Pat, both shots were around the magic 17 to 18 yard mark. I'm going to try and set up a down range video to capture the sound of these things. It's exceptionally noticeable to my ears and far louder than any other heads I shoot including vented Woodsman's, The smaller diameter Snuffers, and Giant Tree Sharks.
Thanks again guys...I'm going to get it figured out. Keep the ideas coming...
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I switched to solid heads, no more hiss. Grizzly instincts mostly...
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Use VPA heads. Better heads in my opinion anyway.
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Have never experienced excessive noise when shooting snuffers.
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Use VPA heads. Better heads in my opinion anyway.
VPA heads are not as wide as the big Snuffers. There's a reason I've never used them. :goldtooth:
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If I was having these noise issues, I would simply search out a different broadhead.
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Steve Jr gave me six Snuffers a few months ago. I have been shooting them several weeks getting ready for deer season. Mine shoot really good and I don’t notice any load noise. They shoot like field tips for me. Mine are the 160 grain. I like them so much, I am looking for some more. I like the way the Wensel Woodsman and the Snuffers both shoot. I am excited to hunt with the Snuffers. Everyone that has used them said they do an amazing job.
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I'm partially red/green colorblind, and reds give me fits. I need all the help I can get with blood trails. Snuffers make big holes. That really helps, and it's not unusual for me to see the deer go down, which is better than any blood trail! Since curling a tip on the offside shoulder of a small deer, I file the tips down a bit and reshape them to be stronger.
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VPA makes 1 1/4" cut. I thinks that is what a snuffer is? But the 1 1/8" is plenty.
3 Blade 150gr. Screw-In Vented Black 1 1/4″ 2 1/2″ 1 3/4″ .040″
3 Blade 175gr. Screw-In Non-Vented Black 1 1/4″ 2 1/2″ 1 3/4″ .040″
3 Blade 200gr. Screw-In Non-Vented Black 1 1/4″ 2 1/2″ 1 3/4″ .050″
3 Blade 250gr. Screw-In Non-Vented Black 1 1/4″ 3 1/4″ 2 1/2″ .040″
3 Blade 300gr. Screw-In Non-Vented Black 1 1/4″ 3 1/4″ 2 1/2″ .050″
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If you ever do get around to it, I would love to hear the audio of the snuffers, before and after taking care of the back end of the vents.
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If you ever do get around to it, I would love to hear the audio of the snuffers, before and after taking care of the back end of the vents.
Me too...Mine are 160's on a CE Heritage 250 shaft with 3 X 2.25" shield cut and I'm not having any issues.
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For those of you not having issues - that's great and I wish I was in your camp. But from some of the other replies you can see that people have often encountered noise with these. I'll try to get a workable video that captures the sound. I just know that I hear a difference - and my ears don't hold a candle to a deer's hearing.
The head looks great, and has proven results for so many. For those of you that say shoot something else...I have a box full of dozens of different heads. None of which have this level audible "hissing."
I'm going to try and file the inside edges and see when I get time.
Thanks again for the constructive replies!
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Please don't take my replies to be cynical. I am genuinely interested in the results.
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I use big 5.5 shields or bananas with mine,, mostly 160 snuffers and I don't hear or notice any problems and still consider them the most bad A$# glue on broadhead available... just traded some new treesharks for new snuffer 160's and I'm pretty happy because they are getting so hard to find nowadays and always have an eye out for brand new snuffs :goldtooth: .
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Put them on and hunt with them, make your shot and then make your decisions based on hunting experience. If they are 160's and you don't like them then I will buy them.
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I’ve switched to non-vented heads to reduce noise. That said my bow still makes noise. My string still makes noise. My fletchings still make noise. Everything I shoot still hears the shot before my arrow arrives and sometimes they react while other times they don’t...I chalk that up to the animal’s individual personality, state of arousal/alertness, and how much experience they have with hunters more so than my equipment. However we can all agree that more quiet equipment is objectively speaking better for hunting and because of this simple truth I have paid very close attention to noise as I tune my rig and arrows. I feel more confident having switched to quieter built arrows. I don’t know if it has truly resulted in more game being harvested or not for me but it has improved my confidence and therefore my satisfaction when it all comes together perfectly and I know it’s because I’ve combined well tuned/built gear, with woodsmanship, with experience, and with luck to put food on the table. I say if you are doubting your heads even a little bit, switch to another head that gives you absolute confidence.
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I have argued the noisey feather and broadhead issue until I grew weary of it. Apparently in some places it don't matter. Apparently some folks can't hear it or have never had one go by down range. It makes a huge difference where i have hunted. I tune until I don't need more than a three inch parabolic feather and won't use a broadhead with vents. If I had no other head I would stick Scotch tape over the vents on both sides. When I figured this out I was amazed at how the number of "string Jumping" bad hits and misses went down. Your luck may vary but what could it hurt to be as quiet as possible. >>>----> ken
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160 Snuffers do hiss. While shooting the 160'S at a bowshoot with an audience of 5 observers, only 3 people heard the hiss... the 10 year old and the 2 40 year olds. The 2 50 year olds did not hear the hiss. They were both equipment operators by profession. It depends on your hearing sensitivity. I"ve killed several deer with 160's. I may try sharpening the back lead edge now.
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The quietest arrows are made of wood... just sayin'. :)
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I have had heads hiss in the air that were vented. I solved 2 problems with one move. I began to put unscented chapstick on my heads while in the quiver. I did this to reduce the risk of rusting or pitting while in the quiver, and it also solved my problem with the hiss.
Just be sure that when you coat them in chapstick, you get the edge of the vent and i'll bet you anything your problem will be fixed!
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I'll try that idea Daniel!!!
I videod some different angles, compressed the files, but still can't get them to load here?????
One thing that surprised me was the noise of the field tip arrow. Lots of noise too. However, the broad head is definitely louder with that extreme hiss and is super noticeable to me. The shots were at 12 yards so you can imagine the noise with a 30 yard shot. Eye opening to video it and hear it from a down range perspective. It's a wonder we ever hit anything!!!!! LOL
I'm going try to sand the inner edges, the Chapstick trick, and packing tape. We'll see.
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personally,
i would not use packing tape. try the chap stick. The double benefit of it is great!
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If you were still getting noise with field tips most likely it was the feathers. Vanes are actually quieter but a good 3" parabolic is acceptably quiet to me. Longbows are generally quieter also. The string can make some difference. If you tune it all to be as quiet as possible you might be amazed at the results. Sometimes you even get a second shot. After all bow hunting was meant to be a sport of stealth. No vented heads or high profile feathers with a cut that doesn't support the rear tip of the feather for me.>>>----> Ken
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its too close to deer season now to mess with broadhead changes if you take your deer hunting seriously .... if any doubt about snuffers and what they can do by all means go with VPA or whatever your closest friends recommend.. please post all snuffers for sale or trade in classifieds,,,,,, I promise if its a fair price they will ALL be gone within 1 day..
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The quietest arrows are made of wood... just sayin'. :)
I agree I've actually tried to make them noisy even using mis-match fletching (for 3D joke/fun arrows) and couldn't...
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Try some jake feathers cut real tall. :) I use 5" shields and trim them in an even taper, no hump.
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I’m kinda surprised there’s so much issue here. If deer jumped at every single noise they’d be a wreck. This just isn’t so. A hissing sound moving toward even spooky deer most times will never be associated w danger. Animals learn by association and unless lots of guys are shooting at em w Snuffers I’d not and I don’t worry about it and where I hunt the deer are pressured.
Shoot at a calm, relaxed animal Snuffer or not and I think the results turn out similar
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Daniel, I also use plain Chap-Stick on my broadheads, been using it for several years, as a rust preventative on the raw edges. Its simple and easy and easy to reapply often, and I always keep a tube in my pocket. However I never thought about it hushing the hiss of death from a Snuffer. Maybe that's why I've never had a problem with Snuffers making noise!