OK, I know traditional archery is supposed to be less technical than shooting wheelie bows.  That said, relative to noise levels, is there a decibel level or number that can start to distinguish the difference between loud and quiet bows?  I have shot some that seem pretty loud to me as the noise is right at my ear, but others around remark how quiet the bow is.  Any thoughts on this?

Bob.

Experimentation is the only answer as all bows can be adjusted or tuned for minimum noise levels. Brace height, different silencer materials and their placement on the string. Be aware that total weight of anything on your string will begin to affect tuning ie; more wt.= slower.

Whenever I have an issue with noise in a bow I can alomsot always contribute it to the string slapping the back of the limb(on a recurve of course) and the best way Ive found to stop the salp is a set of brush buttons tied on about an inch below where the string leaves the limb.

Dewayne

Being one with too many bows, some bows are by design quieter, others need a little help getting there. As for dead quiet, I'm real impressed with my Dan Toelke Chinook, 54@26, Easton 400 Camo FMJ's, Dead Quiet.

One thing that most don't talk about is the noise generated by a less than good shot made by shooter. During a Rod Jenkins' shooting clinic this summer we all noticed how much quieter our bows were when we allowed the bow to do what it was made to do...in other words, don't get in the way of it. By not holding it right and not following through to the conclusion of the shot you can add more string oscillation making more vibration resulting in noise. But like most things we like to look for an easy quick fix. To work on your shot is harder than just adding a string silencer. Yes, string silencers and stuff is a good thing to do. But you might look at your shot.

Snag I agree completely.  I was talking with Dan Toelke earlier this week about just that.  I have a bow ( a Dwyer ) that is so quiet, I can really hear a bad release, all I hear is the "pluck".  

I guess what I mean is some bows just have a different sound, and next to my ear it sounds terribly loud.  However, those next to me say, wow, that bow only gives a soft "punk" sound ... how is it so quiet and so fast both?  To me, it is very loud!!!  I have the bow right next to my head, so it is louder to me.  Thus jsut wondering if there is a non subjective number one can use to quantify the "loud theashold" of a bow.  Say if it is over 50 decibels or something it is getting a bit loud etc.  

Likely, there is no such thing.  I think I am just hyper sensitive to noise especially when hunting and freak at the slightest noise.  I hunt from the ground and stalk/still hunt the deer I shoot.

Bob.

Even the most exagerated design can be quieted enough to hunt with, but it takes searching through the tuning spectrum to get the magic match of brace, arrow, release, et al.

Folks should get their bows as quiet as is humanly possible, but you shouldn't need to load them down with silencing material.  I can make my bows hunting quiet with catswhiskers or even dacron B50.

I think the biggest issue for deer or whatever jumping the string, is the animals attitude at time of shot.  A tense deer, especially if it is looking your way, can react in tenths of a second to any sound.  A relaxed deer will tolerate a lot before going into panic mode.

Get your bow as quiet as you can, and pick your live shots carefully.