...I know that most everybody uses them...but are there any out there that DON'T use them? Do they REALLY make that much difference? Just curious... :knothead:
I ask because I've shot with and without them, and I'm not certain I notice that much of a difference...
make differeance on some bows some not so much. your mileage will vary. experiment for yourself and enjoy tuning your bow and seeing what works best for you , put them in is easy try and see. some wool yarn works good, or cats whiskers or water mammel fur is good.
i have tried a few and actually think the limb saver leeches work better then most. i have cat whiskers on my hybrid though.
when i take them off my bows i know there off
They definitely can make a difference in the amount of sound your bow puts off. I've never tried to hunt with a completely unsilenced bow. Dampening the "twang" is just part of the set-up.
Now, does it matter to the animal we hunt? I don't think my bow is silent to deer in bow range and I've never had one react to my shot until after the arrow hit or missed.
I have a 56 Kodiak that I shoot heavy arrows out of and its one of the most quiet bows I own. No silencers on its D97 flemish string.
I really notice a difference and I would rather gain silence having them on vs gaining a few feet per second. Love cat whiskers. :thumbsup:
They work well for me. I hate a loud bow....silence is your friend when hunting!!
The right brace height & string silencers make a big difference . Limb savers for a recurve seem to help too .
More noticeable on some bows than others, regardless of style, about 9-10"in from the nock has been beneficial. I experimented as coyote 1956 described
As all above but I think the beaver hair strips add a touch. Brush buttons seem to help as much on a recurve to ease string slap on the limbs.
Agree on heavy arrows!
My $.02
I don't never have except along time ago with some recuves not so much with longbows. Now I shoot selfbows always right of the wood. Dead quite. People with good form and release shoot quiter.Also arrow weight makes a great difference. as wellas poundage you shoot. Some bows are louder than others no matter what.
I think it makes a difference to me. I like the bow to be as quiet as possible.
I've been doing a little experimenting lately so this topic is right up my alley.
I have just recently been experimenting with different arrow spines since both of my two bows shelves are cut 3/16" past center so it allows me to shoot quite a few differently spined aluminum arrows.
When I was shooting my 66", 42# @ 30" recurve (12 strand Dyna97 bowstring) with a 32", 2117 arrow weighing 602 grains, the bowstring didn't need string silencers. Bow was whisper quiet with no bowstring noise.
Two days ago, I wanted to see if I could shoot a light 2212 target arrow out of it. After getting a 32", 2212 arrow tuned perfectly with an overall arrow weight of 476 grains, the bowstring noise was very loud. I put on a pair of rubber catwhiskers and it helped a little, but my wife, who was standing 20 yards from me said the bow was still loud to her ears.
I then put on a pair of homemade yarn puff silencers I made and the bow instantly become whisper quiet. No string twang noise and my wife couldn't hear any noise at 20 yards.
String silencers do work. Do a little experimentation on your own and you'll probably come to the same conclusion.
Usually the bow you are shooting sounds different to the shooter than it does the bystander.
Do silencers work? Yes! can your bow be quiet without them? Sometimes!
Personally I like the way they look so I use them regardless.
I think it depends on the bow to what degree of noise comes from a shot but use them on all my bows just to try to get that extra degree of silence.
Set up a camera on a quiet day with no wind or background noise near a target and launch a few arrows with a bow that has no string silencers for starters say about 18 yards ...Just show the target and not the shooter and shoot a few then go back and watch the video with the sound up cause it seems most animals can hear a tick past gas so the louder the better...This will help let you determine if that bow is loud...Now put whatever style string silencers on and do the same and see if you notice any difference in the noise....Some bows don't need anything and others do and strings ,brace, arrow weight and release style can make a difference... As I watch others videos and they set the camera up near the target facing it I try to pretend I am a deer and I turn the valume up to see if I hear them release before the arrow hits the target...Close your eyes and listen as well and that may help you determine if you need to quiet the bow more...Just an idea not something I actually do but thought about when people show their shots as they record them ...I always notice the sound of the bow releaseing before the arrow hits it target....Now if you shoot 40/100 yards then you may not hear nothing...I personally never cared about the speed thing but worry about the sound and I like making my own puffs...They also look nice on a bow to me... :archer2:
I think what kind they are and where they are located on the string makes a big difference.
To me;nice look,lower pitch sound,less vibration.Will it help prevent to jump the sting 100% sure?Do'nt know but I prefer with than without.
I've got the beaver balls on all my bows. i love the look of them but my bows are quiet without them. I have had them loosen up a little and make a bunch of noise on there own. My buddy's bow sounded like a banjo til he put some on and the lowered vibration was noticable also.
If you put silencers on a guitar string it would not make a tone. Kind of the same thing and that is a fact.
The rest is opinion about dealing with the trade-off involved.
They diffinitely work! Some work better than others. I'm a recurve guy, and most recurve's need them. Maybe not all, but most. JMHO! Jason
Thanks for the great input fellas. There are some good ideas here to experiment with as well. I have been shooting with the cat whiskers recently. I think that maybe I'll run an experiment similar to what nightwing and keefer are suggesting and go from there. I'll also try some different types of 'em. Smilinicon, you've got a very good point...the tone on the guitar string would definitely change...
TBM ran the tests about a year ago and wrote about it..........various materials, decibel meters-the whole nine yards-multi page etc. I'm sure you can search for it. There have been some tests on here too in the past.
Animals,like humans,react faster to noise than to visuals.A deer "jumping" the string is a deer reacting to the sound of the bow.I don't think a bow can be too quiet.
Proper brace height with a string the bow likes and the minimal amount of silencer material to dull the sound down further,I think just makes sense.
I think deer react a lot more often to a sharper "twang" than a lower pitched,dull sounding thump.
My favorite, of those I've tried are Cat Whiskers. But from time to time someone writes they degrade performance more than other types. On some bows I've simply kept, for now, what the Bowyer or previous owner has on the string. So I have one with wool balls, Bojack, String Leaches, and Cat Whiskers. I did take the Spiders off my PAX when I arrived --I just have a hard time accepting four of those things aren't too much "slow down" on my string.
I traded for a very nice Checkmate several weeks ago (since traded it again). It came with these yarn-like strips, I think they are called "Tarantulas"? That bow was whisper quiet! When I have to make my self listen for the bow's sound instead of noticing it right off, I know I have a pretty quiet set-up.
I like that video test idea mentioned above!
To keep it short. Definitely yes.
I'll put "tarantulas" on the list to experiment with. Thanks again everyone.
:archer2:
If they even work a little, i want to use them. If they can help keep an animal from reacting to my shot then I want them.
I've never owned a bow that didn't benefit from some type and amount of string silencers.
What ever you do, don't put anything on the string till you have tuned the bow, arrow, string and brace height. Then what ever you do add, keep it light and make sure you put them at the 1/4 and 1/3 node locations..
I have found tying in a few small rubber bands at those points does as mush good as fur balls etc.
QuoteOriginally posted by Earl E. Nov...mber:
What ever you do, don't put anything on the string till you have tuned the bow, arrow, string and brace height. Then what ever you do add, keep it light and make sure you put them at the 1/4 and 1/3 node locations..
I have found tying in a few small rubber bands at those points does as mush good as fur balls etc.
Interesting! ...do you have any pics that you could share?
Without my beaver silencers I can hear a definite twang from the string, it's a reverb twang that resonates up my spine and makes my skin crawl.
But with a 500+ grain woodie and a set of beaver silencers I hear nothing but a very low and almost nonexistent thwud.....
So yes, they do make a difference at least for me anyway, and it's a real significant difference in noise reduction.
Sorry I don't do the photo thing.., What I do is just split the string, and tie in a rubber band. Pull it tight and nip off the end loop.Two or three bands at each location is all I use.. Being cheap I just use the rubber bands that come on the newspaper.
Yes, string silencers do quiet a bow. I've found I don't need more than 2 on any bow I own. As suggested, I tune first, then install the silencers. To find the best location, I put on two rubber bands (by looping them through themselves), then pluck the string and move them around until they dampen the noise the most. I then mark those two locations and install my silencer of choice. I like the beaver fur on the longbow but prefer string leaches on the Black Widow recurve. Your results may vary.
This got me to thinking a bit.
I mess around with weighing arrow components all the time. I decided to weigh some silencers.
I was surprised how much some of these things weigh, especially compared to arrow parts.
-Carbon Express Cat Whiskers (pair): 50 grains
-Widow Spiders-4: 53 grains
-Sims String Leaches-2: 40 grains
Of course I intend to continue using some of these as needed to quiet the bow.
When I get my new bowstring for my 37# bow, I'm going to weigh my home made yarn string puffs and see how much they weigh compared to catwhiskers.
Yes they do,I use the rubber cat-wiskers and they work good for me.
Of course they are essential on a string,also bows very quiet like the old Bear are much noiser without.Just work a little bit on the position,like other guys have already said.The kind you wanna use is most of the time just a personal preference.
On those wool silencers I am making (puffs) the thread is constantly breaking after a few shots. Is there a super thread out there or a better backing material than I am not using?
Thanks
For yarn puffs that last, get Lion Brand Yarn "Wool-Ease" Thick & Quick. It's 80% acrylic and 20% lamb's wool. It also comes in different colors too. It cost me $6.49 for a 108 yard bundle and I get mine from my local Hobby Lobby store.
Great! This thread has been WAY more informtive than I originally expected. Thanks for all of the great info/experience fellas!
Like Zmonster, I've found that if the arrow weight reaches a certain point, it pretty much takes care of bow noise. But that "magic" weight may be more than the shooter wants or needs and then some sort of silencer can make the difference.
Made an interesting discovery this week. I was shooting a bow that I had not shot for several years and noticed a "buzzing" sound on every shot. Upon investigation I discovered the source. It was the beaver ball silencers. They had dried out while the bow was in storage and were not tight around the string anymore. Took them off and replaced with cat whiskers and it is as quiet as it ever was.
WORKS GOOD OM ALL MY BOWS,MUST HAVE...LIKE THE EASY TO INSTALL CAT WISKERS...GOOD LUCK....