Good afternoon folks,
My longbow, Traditional Only Oberon, is quite loud... I say this in comparison to my recurve. I have the brace height at 7.75". I do not have a quiver on the bow, as the one I had made the bow feel very unbalanced. The bow is strung with a "high performance" D97 Flemish twist string that came with it and does have two wool silencers. Would a better quality string help, different brace height? As always, I appreciate your input.
Adam
7.75" is quite a bit for a long bow. I usually run mine about 6.5"
Not sure what is recommended but I'd lower it to 7ish and see what she says
Like stated above brace height is to high I run mine 6.5", how heavy is your arrow how far down are your string silencers,
I just looked at the Oberon longbow online, I didn't realize it was a an R-D long bow as opposed to a straight limbed ASL type bow. I have a a Toelke Whip that is of similar design it prefers a brace height of about 7-3/8". So maybe start at 7" and work up from there, that's probably more realistic for an R-D bow.
You have a good quality string already. Follow the advise above as to lowering your brace height. Your bow will "tell" you when you have it right. Play with your brace height adjusting it up and down in small increments and see what your bow tells you. Also as asked above, what is your arrow weight?
As already mentioned, brace height for your longbow should not be the same as for a straight limbed ASL and the range of 7"-8" seems appropriate. There are a lot of factors other than brace height that could be in play, the string, the wrong arrow spine, a bad release and the bow may simply be noisy by design, some are.
I did look at the 3rivers archery site and there are a number of reviews, almost everyone positive. The only mentions of brace height were for 7 3/4"-8" and there were a couple on changing the string and nothing about the bow being noisy if that helps in addressing the issue..
What are the specs on the bow (poundage at draw length)?
What are the specs of the arrow you are shooting?
Are you shooting split or 3 under and where is your nock point set?
Where are the silencers placed on the string?
I've found that 18.3% of total string length down from the nock point to be optimal positioning for string silencers. I also use para cord sheath material as string silencers. Just pull out the white stuff and put three or four 2" pieces in the string at each end. This works for me with D/R longbows 60-62 inch long with heavy arrows. YMMV
:campfire: :coffee: :archer2: :campfire:
Measure 7 1/4" from the back of the sight window at the shelf not the grip this will work for most R&D longbows and some recurves much less will be noisy also try two sets of cat whiskers and tie them on the little knot also helps .
Try a different string material and see what you get, I use BCY Mercury on all my bows and I find it an excellent choice and very quiet
Another benefit of the para cord sheaths is that four pieces weights about 12 grains. Doesn't weigh much.
:campfire: :coffee: :archer2: :campfire:
Quote from: Wudstix on November 06, 2025, 11:30:06 PMI've found that 18.3% of total string length down from the nock point to be optimal positioning for string silencers. I also use para cord sheath material as string silencers. Just pull out the white stuff and put three or four 2" pieces in the string at each end. This works for me with D/R longbows 60-62 inch long with heavy arrows. YMMV
:campfire: :coffee: :archer2: :campfire:
Thats interesting....I will try that.
Randy Gusafson, Ron LaClairs old friend had lots of time on his hands in the cold UP winters. I remember visiting his shop and talking quieting bows with he and Ron. They dug deep into string stranding, silencer materials, etc. What I came away with was Randy's discovery that silencer spacing mattered more than anything. He claimed that a bow string vibrated kinda like a sine wave, with high and lows. he would space his silencers UNEVENLY, and try and catch both a high and a low.
One of my favorite silencer materials is a bag of wool scraps I got from Teresa Asbell. They look ugly but work. The silencers that 2 Tracks makes (or used to make, I'm not sure) are excellent.
The absolute A#1 string silencer system, in my book, is the one Terry Green and his daughters used to sell.
You guys are all wonderful! I truly appreciate your time with helping me figure this out. Turns out my brace height was about 3/4" too tall, just over 7" seems to be the sweet spot. I also filmed my release and realized that I wasn't opening my fingers fast enough. Now I "flick" my fingers open and it seems to be working extremely well! For point of reference, it's a 40lb bow, drawn to 28". I shoot 3 under and am shooting Easton Legacy 500 spine, cut to 29", 100gr brass inserts and 150gr VPA heads. Again, I thank all of you for sharing your knowledge and time! God Bless!
My 40 lb bows are drawn to 28 and they like 600 and 700 spine arrows. Out of my Kanati, I am shooting 600's cut 29.5 with 200 up front and they bare shaft perfectly at 20 yds. My brace on that bow is 7 1/4. Maybe your arrows are a little stiff and hitting the riser?
Thanks Roger, yes, Bow Hush
Check your:
silencer spacing
Lower brace height to 7 inches. Shoot and see/listen, Twist up until 7.25 inches
Heavier arrows