How do string silencers such as the rubber "cat whiskers" compare to a product like Hush Puppies as far as sound dampening and performance.
It probably depends on bow and string type. I don't use the rubber ones as I just don't like the looks. Fur and the yarn type work well for me. As far as losing speed, I dunno, and don't care if I lose a couple fps. I would shoot one of those things with wheels if I wanted speed.
There was an article in TBM several issues ago about several types of silencers and there performance. You might look that up. Pretty good article. I don't remember what issue though.
Thanks!!! I don't care a whole lot about speed either or I wouldn't be shooting a bow that's 40 pounds at 25 inches!! lol.
By and large heavier will rob more performance especially as it moves toward the middle of the string.
My Cari-bow Peregrine with SBD string needs no silencers at all.... spookey quiet..
With the human eye, you won't see any noticable loss in feet per second between rubber cat whiskers and yarn wool puffs.
But, my ears can hear the difference from when I was using cat whiskers and yarn puffs. The yarn puffs made my bow quieter than with the cat whiskers upon arrow release.
Food for thought.
The string silencer test is in the June/July 2009 issue of Traditional Bowhunter Magazine. The author tested several types of silencers and listed the decibals and fps in a little chart.
Rubber whiskers were only .7 of a decibal quieter than beaver fur, but the beaver fur silenced bow was a tad faster. (6 fps)
He used the same bow for all his tests. Pretty interesting article.
He also states that a shooters form and release can have an impact on bow noise.
The TBM article favored the Cat Whiskers, I think. Don't mean to hijack the thread, but does the length of the Cat Whisker make a difference? Mostly everyone trims theirs, but is that for looks or performance? Placement is supposed to be important, with the 1/3 placing better that the 1/4 position. More to it than just material?
I like the sound (pun intended) of no silencers, Dutchy.
I'm quite partial to beaver silencers myself and make my own from strips of tanned beaver pelts. I'm going to try raccon and see how they hold up as well. I'm just kind of a fan of all natural material I guess? I like using what God gave us whenever possible.
I've got rubber whiskers and like them. Although, it helps that my bow is pretty quiet to begin with.
I use the hush puppies on a 59# 'curve, and when I go to a tournament, everyone raves about how quiet my bow is. These are people who have nice, new, very high dollar trad bows. I do not use anything in the string grooves, and no brush buttons - just hush puppies.
Of course I shoot a 600+ grain arrow and a B50 string too. But I'm sold on the hush puppies.
I like the rubber cat whiskers.
In terms of speed, I will take quiet over speed any day.
i got my SBD string in the mail yesterday with 2 puff balls and yarn on both ends and its rrrrrridiculoulsy quiet. the string i took off (replaced)had 2 rubber cat whiskers and it sounded like a wheelie when i shot it. sure both will work but im sold on my SBD! my 2 cent
I like cat whiskers for several reasons. They don't hold moisture, scent, or burrs. They work better than anything I've tried--SVL has made a fortune (literally) from silencing products made from rubber.
Two big mistakes I see with cat whiskers: One, people leave them way too long. Too long can produce it's own noice. Two, they aren't installed properly. They should be tied on around the string, so they can be tuned. Moving the silencer up or down the string just an inch or so can make a big difference with some bows. The silencers have a "sweet spot" just like the brace height--you tune them for the best results.
Properly installed and tuned, it normally only takes a small set for great results.
Chad
I use and favor CAT WHISKERS. I use " Cool Cats" they come in 14 colors so they can match any set up.
The heavier the silencer, the more it will slow the string down; but I've never been able to see any appreciable difference. I don't like all the movement with cat whiskers; maybe I had them too long. I do like wool puffs or string leeches; both work equally well for me at 1/3 points.
QuoteOriginally posted by archer66:
How do string silencers such as the rubber "cat whiskers" compare to a product like Hush Puppies as far as sound dampening and performance.
Just a little something else to consider in overall performance tuning... in the instructions to his dynamic spine calculator, Stu Miller points out,
"If using multiple or extra heavy string silencers on your bow then the required dynamic arrow spine will be slightly reduced. Subtract 2# from the bows required dynamic spine number."
Here's the kind of performance the gals at BowHush like to hear about their Hush Puppies....
BowHush - Hush Puppie Performance Charts (http://www.bowhush.com/hero.html)
I love my Hush Puppies!... they're on all my bows... I'd trade 1 or 2 fps for a quiet shot any day!
I've tried a lot of different things, from spiders to otter to wool. Wool works best for me. I still have a little string slap "thump" that I want to quiet down, but it's already pretty quiet.
I often hear that fur, yarn, wool hold water when it raining...and its usually stated as a negative toward the silencer only.....like nothing else gets wet or is effected. Rubber silencers hold water too.
When its raining I pluck my string occasionally to clear the water from my WHOLE BOW....yes, the water on the silencers...the water that is beaded up on the sting, the limbs of the bow, and the shelf/rest area. The silencers, no matter what they are made of, are going to be effected by water,...but so is EVERYTHING ELSE.
You should always strive to keep your arrows n feathers dry....and keep you bow clear of water by plucking your string.
I'm a fan of beaver fur silencers, or a yarn product like Hush Puppies. Rubber silencers do teh job, but they are heavier and to my eye, not attractive at all.
I have noticed that rubber seems to do a slightly better job of taming the higher pitch of a performance recurve.
Hush Puppies on all my bows
QuoteOriginally posted by Hopewell Tom:
The TBM article favored the Cat Whiskers, I think. Don't mean to hijack the thread, but does the length of the Cat Whisker make a difference? Mostly everyone trims theirs, but is that for looks or performance? Placement is supposed to be important, with the 1/3 placing better that the 1/4 position. More to it than just material?
I like the sound (pun intended) of no silencers, Dutchy.
The article favored cat whisker - this is correct. Lighter and did a better job at noise reduction, they don't get wet either!
Still trying to figure out how rubber don't get wet if its raining?
Also, wonder why they claim rubber is lighter ...when the rubber silencers are heavier than Hush Puppies???
I've used them all Wool Yarn, Beaver Fur, & Rubber Whiskers, I've learned to tune them to suit the noise level I'm looking for & have been very happy with each product, never really worried much about the speed.
I'm with ya Terry, if it's raining everything get's wet, just keep plucking every once in a while to reduce it.
Perhaps the correct terminology is that rubber doesn't "absorb" water although it does get wet.
Anyway, makes no difference to me. My preferred bowyer sends 2 strings with rubber cat whiskers installed so I just go with the flow.
Got bobcat fur on my Cari-Bow and it is the quietest bow I have ever had
I'm really not trying to be a smart alack....or pick flies off of turds....but contrary to what most folk 'say' cause they 'heard'...rubber DOES absorb water.
If you want a silent bow, you should grow-up on a farm operating noisy machines, and have a love of rifles, too. Not only are my bows silent, half the time I don't know what my students or my wife are saying!
Have gone to the wool silencers. The Muskox silencers from 3Rivers & the Navajo silencers from Centaur Archery have worked great and shed rain very well.
I don't pay any attention to rain because I don't hunt in the rain. I bowhunted one time in the rain and I was miserable.
Since I use a pair of yarn wool puffs, I don't pick up burrs because I don't carry my bow like most bowhunters. I carry mine on my shoulder where the limb touches my shoulder next to my head.
i've tried quite a few different string silencers from rubber to wool and i'll take hush puppies any day. new zealand wool is extremely water resistant, super quiet and it takes half the wool to silence a bowstring. got no stake in this race - if i found a better string silencing material, i'd switch in a new yawk minute.
QuoteOriginally posted by Terry Green:
I often hear that fur, yarn, wool hold water when it raining...and its usually stated as a negative toward the silencer only.....
Last week I shot a 3d tournament in the rain, and I mean it started raining at the first target and was raining a little harder at the end.
My feathers didn't have any waterproofing on them, I was shooting lighter points and my arrows showed off that they were too stiff once my feathers matted down...
BUT - the hush puppies were not noticeably affected. I thought they would hold water, but they really didn't. I suppose I was shooting it out by shooting regularly, but they were fine the whole time.
Cat whiskers here also.
Put them on by folding one sheet and cutting it in half and using only one half on each end of the string.
Put them on with small zip ties, that way you can slide them up and down the string to find the best place. Location does make a huge difference.
I find that on my recurves the best place is 5 inches from where the string contacts the bow.
Try this and you will be surprised at how quiet a recurve can be with the silencers this close to the limb ends.
John
Slade, when you find a good weather proofing. Feel free to share.
Billy