I was stumping today with a buddy who shoots a 52" 45@28 bear of some kind and I shoot a zipper sxt longbow 50@27.  Is a 3 piece take down usually louder or quieter than a 1 piece?  

He claims my bow had a pop sound when it shot...I could not hear this pop sound and I let him shoot it and maybe he got my ears worried and tuned to this sound but after a while I was worried I was hearing a pop noise.  Maybe its just the sound of the bow and I never payed much attention to it...It always seemed quiet to me.

I have a pair of wool silencers on the string.  Maybe I am worrying too much.  I inspected the limbs because I was worried maybe something was wrong but other than the little imperfections that you expect from hand crafted limbs, I found nothing.  Any ideas?  I know I am being fairly vague.  Maybe I need 2 sets of string silencers.

You may need a heavier arrow, maybe increase your brace or reposition your silencers,................to answer your question I have found 3 oc bows to be the most quiet.

I've got a 3-pc Stalker longbow.  No pops that I can hear.  It is quiet.
I've also got 3 Bear K-Mags (assuming that is the 52" bow your buddy had).  I have a hard time believing his bow wasn't noisier than your Zipper.
What's your arrow weight.  Adding some weight there will quieten any bow down.
My advice?  Keep shooting as is.

SXT's when tuned and braced right (like any bow should be) are about the quietest out there. THinking about a 'pop' the only thing I can think of would be arrow-shelf contact. I would check your brace height and make sure your arrows are spined right.

I shoot 51@28, three zippers ,and 48@28 on another zipper. All arrows from 485-650 and they are scary quiet. Brace heights 6-7.25

lots of things cause noise.  The bow, the string, the arrow.  Too little brace height can cause noise,  to low or high a nocking point can cause noise. Loose limb bolts can cause noise.  accessories (quiver ) can cause noise,  too tight of arrow nocks snap as they come off the string. .  noise.  Too light of an arrow can cause noise, loose points (not screwed tight) . . . yup, noise.

Look at and change one thing at a time.

ChuckC

I was shooting mostly 30" easton 2117 flu flu arrows with 125 grains up front.  This was my first time shooting these arrows.  Normally I shoot 29.5 inch GT 35/55's with 100 grain inserts and 125gr heads.

I believe my brace is 6.5

Sounds like a tuning thing.  I dont get around other trad archers too often cause this is wheelie country.  Took my Zipper to a shoot out of town recently and had multiple people comment 'wow that's a quiet bow'.

Is it possible that he is just trying to get in your head?  I used to shoot with a guy and if he was beating me, all I had to do was say that I heard a noise in his bow.  He would worry about it so much, he did not concentrate on the shot.  Just saying that it is a possibility.  

Might be that your bow has a FF string instead of dacron.  I feel they have a "different" sound to them.

QuoteOriginally posted by nineworlds9:
Sounds like a tuning thing.  I dont get around other trad archers too often cause this is wheelie country.

I know that feeling....LOL

The way I know it is there's a Hoyt or Matthews sticker on just about every pickup.  LoL

If your Zipper is loud?
It's something you've done or not doing correctly.Trust me.I've been shooting them since 1990 and NEVER heard or saw a loud tunned Zipper.Even w/ 7 grs per lbs

Sometimes with a new string I'll hear a light "ping" as I draw the bow. This is wax letting go of the string grooves on my recurve.

So you went fron a 500 spine arrow w/ 225grs up front to a 400 spine arrow w/ 125 grains up front? Your 2117's are too stiff,they are hitting your riser. If you want to use them, add alot more point weight.Your brace sounds low also.

QuoteOriginally posted by Prairie Drifter:
So you went fron a 500 spine arrow w/ 225grs up front to a 400 spine arrow w/ 125 grains up front? Your 2117's are too stiff,they are hitting your riser. If you want to use them, add alot more point weight.Your brace sounds low also.

Sound advice right there.
If your brace height is 6.5" to the edge of the shelf you are fine. IF it is 6.5" to the deepest part of the grip then you are too low.
If you would like give me a holler if you have questions.
Bill

QuoteOriginally posted by Prairie Drifter:
So you went fron a 500 spine arrow w/ 225grs up front to a 400 spine arrow w/ 125 grains up front? Your 2117's are too stiff,they are hitting your riser. If you want to use them, add alot more point weight.Your brace sounds low also.

Agreed...I was thinking the same thing.

My two Zippers (SXT curve and Nitro) are both super quiet! I have spent some time tuning, but both have settled in and are very quiet.

thanks for the replies everyone.  I kind of figure they would be to stiff.  My buddy got a deal on them and I was just messing with them.

Much appreciated,

Kevin

Good news/bad news.

Wax always makes the bow quiet.


Getting it out of your ears is a bear!