I am wanting to know what you guys prefer to silence your string. A friend and I were messaging back and forth and he stated that he felt like the rubber cat whiskers type silencers performed better than the wool yarn ones. And that the cat whiskers made the bow more dead in your hand.
I was wondering how the rest of tradgang felt. I am only really used wool silencers, so I don't know.
The trick to Cat whiskers is tying them on right. They don't mind getting wet either. The yarn looks like a dead rat on your string in the rain.
How they are tied on, where they are tied on, how much you use (you can leave them too long), etc. all makes a difference--in some cases, these variables matter more than what material you use.
QuoteOriginally posted by LBR:
How they are tied on, where they are tied on, how much you use (you can leave them too long), etc. all makes a difference--in some cases, these variables matter more than what material you use.
Thanks Chad. I thought about messaging you and asking you, but i figured i had already messaged you enough! lol. thanks for all of your help!
No problem at all. Holler at me any time.
Type of string???
Flemish super string = Bow hush (not mentioned?)and properly tied on whiskers, if you hear or feel anything you need to find another bow :-)
I agree that proper placement is more important than the material used. That being said, I don't think you can do better than cat whiskers to really cut down on noise, but on my already pretty quiet longbows, I like the the look of beaver fur.
Dead rat in the rain maybe but if your looking for the best way to gather mountain grass seed to take home this is it. Its hard to get the seed loose though. lol
Catwisker!!
Lou
I used to use the thick soft fur from the belly of a raccoon. It worked great, all underfur with not many guard hairs like you get on the back. They worked great, cost me nothing cause I tanned them myself, easy to put on. Downside was that for bowfishing or in the rain they soak up a lot of water and decrease cast a lot.
On my latest bow I use double cat whiskers. Initially I only put half a pack on my string, but because of tuning issues I found that I needed a little more. I like that by trimming them I can adjust the weight and how stiff or weak the arrow acts. Plus they look cool, and match the black glass on the bow. Also, they are waterproof.
I only use cat whiskers. I believe he goes by S2 has a really good video on how to tie them on that works for me. I bought a spool of it in the Bass Fishing section, so I have enough for 15 years for $5.
Cat Whiskers.
I agree that placement is important, for cosmetic looks bowhush is hard to beat. In wet conditions I prefer whiskers. I believe the water shakes out of them easier.
QuoteOriginally posted by Kirkll:
The yarn looks like a dead rat on your string in the rain.
Its evedent that you haven't used Bow Hush or you couldn't make that claim.
Lets us not forget, that 'SILENCERS' aren't the ONLY thing that gets wet in the rain. Most never seem to remember that feathers, arrows, beheads strings, arrow rests, and bow limbs ALL get wet and hold water, even cat wiskers, and are effected....so stop just blaming the silencers no matter the material.
I quick short plucks of the string will clear the water from pretty much all of your bow, string and silencers.
I've posted plenty of pics of dead WET animals with LIVE RATS on my string.
:biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
Thank you for this post, this and the last thread on silencers, have really but a run on Bow Hush and Hush Puppies. My daughters want to personally thank you all for helping their small business.
They will be along tonight to thank you. They wanted to last night but our oldest had a last minute deadline for auditions so we didn't have time.
Thanks again to all our loyal customers.
Well I love the look of the traditional silencers of fur or yarn but do not like the weight of them when they are wet. So unfortunately on the one bow I have that really benefits and needs silencers, I stopped using the cat whiskers (and yarn or fur) as they get caught on brush and stuff. I now use the little one-piece rubber silencers.
Here are my observations:
Some bows are loud. Even when properly tuned, some bows make more noise than I like. I have one that has BOTH rubber whiskers and fur on it. Bow design has more to do with "quiet" than anything you can put on your string. Arrow weight and material are a huge percentage of this equation.
Where they go on the string is everything. And rarely is the correct spot an even distance from each end.
Rubber whiskers are butt ugly, and detract from the good clean looks of a traditional bow. Couple that with the probability (I haven't scientifically tested them) that they have NO advantage over yarn or fur, I detest using them.
Rain, wetness....considering the total soaking your gear gets when weather happens, the water repelleny that rubber APPEARS to have means nothing. Also....rubber whiskers absorb water as much or more than anything else. We think of rubber as in finished sheets (like on the outside of boots) Trust me....after 30 years of selling jacketed cable...some of it rubber....rubber and rubber like materials absorb water.
For my money....wool or fur silencers.
I like wool yarn, I weave it in the string and after 20 shots or so I trim it pretty short. seems to work well.
Mine have never looked like a wet rat.
What those other guys that kill a lot of stuff said. I use Bowhush's Hush Puppies.
It is funny though that people wont address the rest of their gear getting wet and making out like the silencers are a make or break if it rains like they are the only thing effected.
Great poll. I've had good luck and bad luck with both. Like someone else said. Some bows are simply louder than others
I use plain yarn that you can get for quilting in hobby shops. I keep mine from getting to wet by applying a waterproofing agent that is used in fly fishing. For anyone that is interested in it it is called Loon Watershed and it works pretty good for me. I have also used it on furs and wool and the results a pretty much the same.
I use to use wool and then I switched to cat whiskers a few years ago. To me, they do a really good job keeping my bow quiet and are very durable. I have never tried Bow Hush silencers but maybe I will.... I do like the looks of the wool...
I'll save my worn out dacron string and let the wax left in it dry up. I will then cut 1-1.5" pieces and tie 2 of them in an X shape with dental floss. I'll have 2 pieces on the top limb and 2 on the bottom limb. This is a really cheap, very effective silencer that doesn't hurt performance all that much.
Hush puppies on all my bows - perform great and look very trad.
I find cat whiskers to be the best while also not robbing performance. Yarn can do as well bit it slows the bow down a bit more. Also cat whiskers respond better to rain.
With that said, I like muskrat fur the best.
I love rubber string silencers but have to admit the bow hush products are the only wool silencers I've liked. And for the skeptics I say for six bucks you can give it an honest try without breaking the bank. Guess at the end of my day at least supporting the home team is pretty important.
But if you are really worried about soaked silencers just twist up two identical strings one with bow hush and the other with rubber silencers. In the event of rain swap them out. I learned the hard way that two strings is mandatory on a hunt. Dont believe me get careless with a sharp broadhead and touch a tight string.
I wonder what the difference in performance between a bow hush or yarn silencer vs a cat whisker really is.
Anyone ever tested this?
It's going to depend on how much you use of either material, and where they are placed on the string. The two biggest mistakes I've seen is using way too much silencer material and just sticking it in the string rather than tuning for the best results.
Chad
I use Fisherman's Wool to make my own silencers. I have tried different things over the years and like the Fisherman's Wool the best.
Besides, I buy a skein of it at the hobby store for about $10, and have enough yarn to make a BUNCH of silencers!
Bisch
My bow is pretty quiet already, the yarn balls I use are probably as much aesthetics as anything. Plus I'm guessing this roll of yarn will last me for years. Ive considered water proofing them, but I dont feel it to be urgent yet, couple taps on the string and the major water is gone anyhow. To each their own.
Daniel, I have tested wool vs cat whisker, I usually use 1/2 of it on each side of string, I won't post chrono results but in the real world at twenty yards same impact point for me. Bow hush just looks so darn good on a trad bow.
I think the yarn/bow hush looks so much better than the cat whiskers. Though a friend(Chris Jackson) made me a string that came with cat whiskers installed and man did they look good. They were short and maintained a round shape. I like to call it, "eye candy"
It's Cat Whiskers for me. I keep trying to use fur or yarn, but I end up going back to the whiskers for my hunting bows.
I cut them to 1.25", install them to get that little round ball effect, and forget about them. I ignore them in the rain, they don't pick up burrs, they work as good as anything I've tried and you can slide them up and down the string for tuning.
I do like the looks of fur better, but I'm dealing with it.
Just recently added the bow hush system to my Morrison Cheyenne and to say that I was impressed is an understatement.
Best silencer I have ever used and have used them all.
My Morrison is now quiter than any recurve or longbow I have owned and took little performance away in terms of speed.
Whiskers work fine but wear out quickly and can slide easily. IMO they belong on training wheels but that's just me!
"Whiskers work fine but wear out quickly and can slide easily."
Again, it's a matter of installing them properly.
Lots of great silencers available--as long as you use them properly. None of them will work to their potential if you don't do your part.
I use both. One small set of each.
I just put beaver fur on my bear. i love the look and they work pretty well. I can't tell much difference between them and the cat whiskers sound wise.slim grim made me a new string the fur came in the mail a few days later. so i have the old string with the cat whiskers still on it if i ever decide to switch back
Wool here..
I zip tie my cat whiskers, like Robertsons. I cut them to 3.5". I have shot them in the rain and it didn't seem to make a difference. To me, it'd seem like wool or other animal hair would be affected more than cat whiskers, if both were water-soaked. Sliding zip tied cat whiskers on the string help me tune better than adjusting brace height. Overall, I prefer the look of wool, but think cat whiskers are more water resistant.
All I use is SBD strings from Pierre. Years ago I started to order them with the Acrylic Yarn Puff Silencers. Pierre installs them on the string. They outlast your string, perform great and don't collect water. Best silencers I ever had, so I never looked back.
Few years ago we ran a test because we wanted the same answers. Long story short of all the materials tested was the cat whiskers were more quite and was better in FPS. Yarn did a fair job with silencing but was very poor on performance. Yarn was about 4-5 FPS slower.