Hey Gang,
I recently picked up a psav that was so loud when I shot it that I jumped the string! I have braced it at 8.75" and found an aluminum shaft that bareshafts like a dart and weighs just over 10 gpi. I replaced the factory string with a bikini string from Allen Shaffer that helped a lot. It is now at an acceptable noise level. I love how the bow shoots but would like to get it a little quieter and am considering padding the string grooves with the soft side of some velcro strips. Has anyone else tried this already? What were the results? Is there any chance of harming the limbs by doing this? Thanks in advance for your help. Jeff
Give Bow Hush a try. Tony Z.
Before adding something on the limb, I would order a set of the Bow Hush, see their banner atop the shooters forum page, this is a simple and proven method to quiet recurves.
Thanks,
Jeff, I'm glad my string helped out. Just be aware, adding anything else to the string will probably require re-tuning. I use a strip of moleskin on my limb grooves. It seems to help out quite a bit.
Allen
That's exactly why I came up with Bow Hush.
Yes, listen to Terry! Bow Hush is the way to go for silencing that annoying string slap. :thumbsup:
I use basic moleskin bought at Wally World or stick on Velcro with great results I prefer the moleskin , with a similiar string and brace to yours my PSA is very quiet
Bow hush and a bow quiver might help.
Bow Hush and Hush Puppies was the only combination I found to make my Widow recurve quiet. It's easy to install and worth every penny.
On a BW SAV I had,I made up a padded loop 8 strand D97 and put on bow hush and whoolie wisps.I was as quiet as my longbows.I got comments on how quiet it was at the club.
I just hate to see the string groove silencers on bows. They might help, but they alter the way the string lays...and they look real ghetto :) to me anyway. The bow hush will do a great job... Another solution is to not wax that portion of the string...ever. It won't hurt a thing and once most of the wax is out of it, the string will be softer and won't make all that racket when it slaps.
bigjim
I'll have to admit owning a black widow was a dream of mine for decades.... but now that I own a PSA I am disappointed with the noise. In fact every BW recurve I have ever heard was noisey? And there seems to be a ton of posts asking how to quiet them down?
I have fooled with brace height, heavy arrows and Bow Hush/hush puppies and wool silencers - all helped but it is still louder by far then my Bruin recurve with no silencers.... certainly a lot louder than any longbow I have ever owned?
Could it be this particular bow?
Is your bow tillered for split and you are shooting 3-under, or vice-versa?
I've had a few come to me for help getting them quiet--each of them left happy. I used 12 strands of Dynaflight '97, padded loops, and cat whisker silencers. Lots of tuning, silencer adjustment, and proper nock fit made the big differences.
Haven't set one up with BCY-X yet, but on every other bow I've tried it's been quieter.
Sbd string and sticktamers sold by BW. The difference was amazing. I have and have had a ton of BW they will all soon have both things on them. Good luck
I am not the original owner of the bow but he said it was tillered for split finger and that's how I shoot it.
I agree with daveT1963, I believe the design of the bw recurve is inherently louder than most recurves. I don't doubt that they can be made quieter, but it seems like you have to work harder at it than other recurves. And for the record, the only bow as quiet as a longbow is a longbow. Lol. Thanks for all the suggestions guys.
Try the Stiktamers Black Widow has one their website.
I have a PMA and it is not loud using one whisker on each end 12" down from limb contact (shooting 10 grains per lb) no louder than Predator anyway. I have other bows that make less noise as well.
I have only read about the Stiktamers, I have never tried them myself.
I padded the limb tips on my PSA with no issues and it seems to help. Also twisted up a string with BCY-X and padded the loops with B-50, then added cat whiskers. It's made the bow much quieter.
Big Jim is on the money, in fact Bob Lee strips the wax out of the ends of all their strings with acetone, JJ say's the string grooves are their for a reason, makes sense to me, and who's gonna argue with Mr. Lee
I have been using commercial grade velcro on my pch. It works fine. I never noticed a difference in the shooting with or without it. But now you have me worried! You think it alters how the string comes home? Mine usually gets a grove in it pretty quickly anyhow.
I made my own bow hush wrap once out of yarn once. It must have been the wrong stuff because it didn't do anything for silencing.
I guess I'll have to order some and try it.
How do you like the stick tamers?
Tedd
I've only ever used Wooly Whispers on my BW...2 on top, 2 on bottom.
The difference between your bows may not be loudness, but different frequency. A higher pitch may actually sound louder...especially since it's right next to your head/face.
QuoteOriginally posted by Joe2Crow:
bikini string from Allen Shaffer Can you elaborate?. This interested me.
Brace is a little high if you ask me.
The brace is within factory recommendations and should make it quieter, not louder. But thanks for your input.
LOL - don't know what frequency my BW is on but the simple fact is it is a very loud bow. I have never had a problem getting any other bow to sperak softly. While it is a good shooter, very nicely made and nostolgic - it is also a very LOUD bow design (at least my PSA is).
I will keep my BW as I love the history and will use if for stumping and stuff - but I have much better recurves (namely Bruin and Marriah) that are quicker, just as shootable and far more quiet.
Sorry don't mean to offend anyone but there is a reason why there are sooooo many posts asking how to quiet them down.
I had leather on the string grooves on my pa and it was pretty quiet. I had them removed when I got it refinished this year and man is it loud without them. I had some old wool yarn laying around so I made some string silencers and then padded my string loops with it. It was absolutely dead quiet after that. Only problem was the wool yarn wasn't the best quality so it began to fray and what not. I will be ordering some bow hush and hush puppies before this hunting season.
I found the stock string at the time was the main reason my PCH was loud.
SBD sent me one and I added Bowhush n Hush Puppies of course, and was amaized at how quiet it was after the change from the stock string, again...at the time, and the spider silencers. Being that the BowHush weighs hardly nothing, I've never once had it 'untune' a bow...or had a report of one becoming untuned from a customer, and we've been selling BowHush for 14 years now I guess. Plus you don't have to worry about the 'goo' to get off using adhesive pad remedies.
I don't know if BW has changed their strings or not.
Hope you get it worked out....
I've had a couple PSAs and they weren't too loud. I was on the lower end of the BH recommendation.
I've had several BW's & my current bow is a PCH model. Some have shot softer right out the gate than others. I take off the stock silencers & tie on one set of 1"1/2 cat whiskers about 15" to 16" inches from the limb tips & have noticed this helped. If your arrow tune is good & your limbs are timed right it should be pretty quiet at that point. If not I'd say bow hush & hush puppies would be your best bet to really make it stealthy. I do hear a fair amount of talk about BW's being loud, but man they sure kill a ton of game, mine was good to me last season. Good luck
QuoteOriginally posted by rraming:
Try the Stiktamers Black Widow has one their website.
I thought it was necessary to repeat myself, I do this a lot with my children as well - I mean no offense
I think I own 8 Widows. I say "think" cause I ain't been to the basement in a while.
All of mine seem to quiet down when I brace them at 9". Nuthin fancy on the strings. Just a couple yarn puffs.
I am sure BW can be made quieter. I installed hush puppies and bow hush on mine and it helped a lot. However, I am sorry..... but with my other recurves I really don't have to do anything to get them even more quiet. When I slapped bow hush and hush puppies on my Bruin - well its almost as quiet as my longbows. My Marriah is also right there.
I love my BW and I think they are a great bow - but I doubt most would list quietness as one of their Pros.... especially if they have shot some of the newer static limb recurves and some of the others with better limb design - IMHO.
As far as speed, if that is your cup of tea - most widows will hold their own but there are quicker bows out there.
Do you install the bow hush right below the serving? I was thinking they were for vibration noise, did not think about string slap. I may have to try some.
I had a PSAV...ended up taking the BH up two turns at a time until suddenly it got REAL quiet....ended up just a tad over 9...and didn't lost anything but the noise...
Widows sound louder when you're shooting them too....have some one shoot it past you and see what the deer hear......
BW PSAX is my go to bow and I just use the spider silencers. The only thing the animals hear is the arrow hitting the ground after it goes through them. All joking aside mine is very quiet.