QuoteOriginally posted by blueline:
Quiet bow:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwkLroScPT4   That should be a hyper link

Crappy shot - that should be the title of that one.  Sheesh - someone needs to get out to the range and put in some practice time.

Given the speed of sound is apparently about 1,129 feet per second at sea level and that is somewhat faster than your arrows or mine will shoot, the sound (if any) from your bow *will* reach the deer you are shooting at before your arrow will.

It seems to stand to reason then, that a quieter bow is less likely to spark a significant reaction than a loud bow will.  Second shots are nice but first ones (at undisturbed deer) are important too.

Im glad to see someone else thinks widows arent that quiet, I was afraid to speak up.  They arent that loud either though.  And Im comparind a recurve to a longbow.  So nuff said on that.

About the Widow's.  I shoot them myself, never really thought they have a noise issue, though many say they do.  I just put a couple wooly whispers on each end and call it good.  As long as the twang turns into a dull thud, I've always felt that worked fine.

Another consideration on a "quiet bow" is that a quiet bow is an efficient bow.  Noise is created by wasted energy.  That is energy that is not on the arrow.  If a bow is quiet out of the box, it is going to give you better performance throughout.

Small string silencers should be all that is needed to quiet the string vibration.

Mike

Quote"Another consideration on a "quiet bow" is that a quiet bow is an efficient bow. Noise is created by wasted energy. That is energy that is not on the arrow. If a bow is quiet out of the box, it is going to give you better performance throughout."
 

Very true, and a very good statement of explaining why it's important to take care of your BH, and tune your arrow.

Since I've purchased a whisperstik it doesn't seem to be that much of an issue.


Pastor Carl

I hate to admit missin. but I guess we all do, I have killed 3 or 4 over the years with a 2nd arrow, it has more to do with how keyed up the deer is to begain with I think, but I also shoot a widow PSA and feel it is one of the quietest recurves I have shot, but it took some tuneing to achieve that. Bow noise is diffrent when ya are in front and down range than behind the bow.(shootin it)

Getting the brace height right, which is a personal issue as each bow even of the same model reguires it's own attention, and 10 to 11 grains per-pound of draw weight will go a long way toward getting a bow silent. I use the Widow Spider Silencers.  

I have people comment all the time about how silent the bow was.  Widows are all I shoot right now, and I have not had a string jumping incident since 2001, when I got my first Widow.

Seems like faster bows, lighter arrows, lighter strings and poor releases (plucking) can all help make more noise, but some bows are by design quieter than others.  My Widow and Morrison recurves aren't what I'd call noisy, but they are louder than my Super Shrew, and all three are  louder than my Hill Big Five and Abbott.  Aside from proper arrow spine, using heavier arrows and adding more weight/mass to the string (via a heavier string or higher mass silencers) can help turn loud to dull.  Silencer location can also help.  I use tied-on catwhiskers alot and like their water resistance, movability and performance, but a thick yarn puff may be the quietest overall particularly when left large and wrapped around the string for an inch or three.  The thing I don't like about the large puffs though, especially in lighter colors, is how visible they are as the bow moves...sort of like floating tennis balls.  They tend to flash a bit, not unlike a bowquiver full of bright fletching waving around.  Not always critical, but definately a potential problem for close-range shot opportunities.

Lots of stuff contributes to loud bows and blown shots.  The devils' in the details.