I've been playing with some GT Traditionals. I'm normally, and will probably always prefer wood arrows.
The questions is....Are there some bows you simply can't quiet down without shooting a heavier arrow, i.e. wood?
I have a Marriah Thermal and a Ancient Spirits recurve that unless I'm shooting a wood arrow(heavy arrow) the bows are not as quiet as I would like them. I've played with brace height, silencers, felt on the limbs and they're both noisy.
I have a JK Traditions Kanati and a ACS CX that are pretty quiet no matter what arrow I'm shooting. I somewhat attribute that to them both being longbows?
Thanks,
Joe
Some string materials are quieter than others. Heavier arrows will reduce the noise of just about any bow, and you can make your carbons just as heavy as your woodies if you want to.
Regardless, I've always found recurves to be louder than longbows. They have string contact with the limbs, i.e., the recurved part of the limb tip, that longbows don't have. The string slapping the belly side of the recurve makes extra noise. It can be reduced by wrapping the string in that area with wool and/or placing mole skin or some other soft material in the string groove, but the additional noise cannot be completely eliminated.
I'll second every one of Orion's comments.
I did the "Bow Hush" and "Hush Puppies" on the string. It helps but they're still not as quiet as I would like.
Unfortunately, I think alot of it is my release. It's not as fluid as I would like. My accuracy is good because I shoot alot, but I wish my release was cleaner.
At some point I may have to stick with longbows for the quietness(hope that's a word).
This works best for me and a double nocking point
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000121
Nock fit and silencer placement can make a big difference, as well as tuning. I'd start with a "naked" string (no silencers), adjust the brace to find the sweet spot (where you have the least vibration and noise), then add silencers and tune those--and inch or so one way or the other can make a big difference with some bows.
String construction matters, and some bows seem to "like" one string over another.
I haven't found a bow yet that I couldn't get hunting quiet, but some require a lot more tinkering than others.
Chad
Why don't you just bump the weight on those carbons to match you wood arrows? Also, putting on a GN quiver full of arrows helps my recurves.
Rob
The nock on the GTs definitely bites the string.
1/8 nylon cord adds weight with out effecting spine. I add 10 inches, it packs tight in the front after a couple shots. Blow it out with an air hose if you don't want them anymore.
A padded loop string really helped my recurves.