hey everyone i just got a blackwidow sa 11 3 piece takedown recurve 47#@26 it shoots great but makes alot more noise than my 1 piece longbow. it has rubber cat whiskers and yarn puff balls on the string, but this sounds more like a limb vibration noise. everything is tight as far as the limb bolts so is this just part of the sacrifice for the recurve or is there something i can do to help this. PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN. love the bow just not the noise maybe my longbow spoiled me?

Cavscout,
       You didn't say what length bow you have and what string you are using. I have heard people say that B/W bows are noisy, but I haven't found that to be the case. I have a PSA11 62" 51# at 29" and I use a B-50 string on it with spiders at 9" from the string end and 15". This is my hunting bow and it is extremely quiet. My other B/W is a SA X 58" and 57# at 29". This bow is for 3D and has a D-97 string set up the same way. My brace height is 8.5" for both bows. Try a B-50 string set up like this and your problem may be solved or just try repositioning your string silencers.

Rick

I put moleskin on the string groves of my limbs. I also shoot heavy arrows and make sure that my arrow nocks are not too tight. But a recurve is  not as quiet as a long bow. If you play with it you can get the noise level down.

I was shooting a sa111 but tried everything to get it quieted down nothing got it as quiet as my lag longbow so I sold it and went back to the lag.I am spoiled also.

if you dont mind the looks you can get the dimpled bow wrap grip wrap then wrap one on each limb in the same area on each limb(measure it)...i have an ma11 that sounded a loud snap until i tried this and it worked very well...nice and quiet now

I own 6 Widders and here's how I tame em down.  I offer it up only because it hase worked on all of them.

1.  Use a padded loop string.

2.  Set the brace height at 9 inches

3.  Use a single set of yarn puffs about 12 inches in from where the string first contacts the limbs.

yup, raise the brace height

Raise the BH

You can also use a thin felt (sticky on one side) between the limbs and the riser.

Bow hush.

When placing your string silencers....you wanna take you string length (where it meets the limbs) and 1/4 it.  Take your 1/4 measurement....measure up and down from the spot where th string meets the limbs and mark/install.

Heavy arrows help a lot, also.

Limbsavers aren't out of the question.

Like Otto I've had up to 7 Widows at one time. I sold 5 of them and started building my own recurves last month.  my experiance (like Otto's)tuning my own PSA's, MA's and TF's, a padded loop FF string, a brace height of 8 3/4" to 8 15/16" and a single wool puff 12 to 14 inches on each end always made mine huntable quiet even with a 8.75 grain/lb arrow. I also bare shaft tune my arrows and can put broadheads and field points in the same spot.

What Rick said, B50 on the blackwidows that I hunt with and a higher brace height. DB

thanks for all the advice guys. i already padded the string, installed the yarn balls and will adjust the brace height. if that doesnt satisfy me i will go to heavier arrows. you guys are great for helping me. good luck to everyone this season and maybe some of us from ohio can get together and do a weekend hunt if im still layed off when deer season gets here. i wish it would hurry up!!! I got enough land for 2 guys to hunt with me but it would be tent camping on the farm in monroe county, ohio

Look to the string grooves too.  Serve your string with yarn out where it contacts the limb and it should help.

Is it only the take down bows that are noisy?

All them widows are noisy, "buy me, BUY ME!!" I hate it.  

So... you are saying all Black Widow bows are noisy, not just the take downs?

WANNA Sell It?      

Widows are great bows but like all high performance recurves they need to be tuned. Recurves as a whole tend to make more noise than long bows.
There are many things that will effect the performance and noise level. I own a PSA & a PTF and here is what I've found:

1. I keep my arrow weight at or above 10 grains per pound of pull. Example (55lb x 10gr = 550 grain arrow) minimum.

2. Brace Height has a large effect on both noise and performance. It takes some time to establish "your" correct brace height. Many people who slam Widows have skipped this step and never find out how to make the bow perform. Junk in, Junk out. A PSA should be braced between 8.25 & 9 inches. Mine performs best (for me and my shooting style) at 8&5/8 inches.

3. I use two sets of beaver fur string silencers. One set is placed at 1/4 of the way down from the limb tips. The other set is place near the limb tip so it just slightly touches the limb when the bow is strung.

Enjoy your Black Widow, they're fine bows. I see so many people pick up and shoot a high performance bow and form they're opinion without ever having tuned the bow or even matched an arrow.

Check out Black Widows web site and register for their forum. Great people and a welth of info.

Had one took many, many critters with it and ended up selling it because of the noise. Trade it for a Schafer or Morrison. As good or better bows without the noise fight.

Like all the guys said before: raise BH (my Widow BH is at 8,5") good silencers and 10gn/# arrows
And my experience is, it also depends on the silencer position on the string.(I use buzz busters)
So my Widow is pretty quiet, but I guess a good longbow will always be a bit quieter then a recurve.

The easiest way to silence a noisey bow is to open the string up and put your silencers in. Widow does it with their silencers. In the string not on the string. String Leeches work for compounds and they work for Traditional too.