How effective are Cat Whiskers as a string silencer?

twostrings · January 17, 2011, 12:15:00 AM

I have a new string, and an unused set of cat whiskers that I was thinking about trying. Are they effective?

I also have a set of what I believe to be beaver hair silencers off an old string. What do you think would be best? Would using both have any advantage?

Thanks,
Twostrings

Stumpkiller · January 17, 2011, 12:28:00 AM

I used Cat Whiskers (living legs to fly fishermen and spinnerbait skirts to bass fishers) but found them to be short lived. At the time my wife had an ionizer and it ate anything rubber in the house. I switched to wool. Lately I have been using beaver fur and prefer that to either. Probably depends on your bow, string material, arrow weight and release.

Both would be quieter but may slow the string appreciably - especially when wet.

S Biles · January 17, 2011, 12:29:00 AM

Ive gotten to where cat whiskers are about all i use anymore, except on a selfbow. There cheap, there water repellent and they work extremely well at silencing a bow. Ive read several articles about the best silencers and there usually at the top of the list. I prefer the fur silencers on selfbows, it dosent seem to take much to silence a selbow, plus just more primitive looking. Just my opinion.

Zradix · January 17, 2011, 01:02:00 AM

They work well.
For the price just put em on and see.
Don't forget that moving them up and down the string can make a big difference in a hurry.

wooddamon1 · January 17, 2011, 01:18:00 AM

Work great,kinda ugly...

Rank Bull · January 17, 2011, 02:14:00 AM

That's all I buy now. They need to be trimmed of course because they can make a slapping sound if left too long. But I find they work as well as anything I've tried and I have found them to last a long time. Plus they are cheap and don't soak up water.

kawika b · January 17, 2011, 02:22:00 AM

Works well enough... and much better than any other parts of a cat.

Don Stokes · January 17, 2011, 02:25:00 AM

Effective, but heavy. The heavier the silencer, the more effect on performance.

straitera · January 17, 2011, 02:32:00 AM

Cat Whiskers are way too easy & very effective to silence string vibration. On all my bows but 1 which has beaver fur.

katman · January 17, 2011, 06:28:00 AM

Don is right, so I cut them in half length wise, install and trim to 1".

lpcjon2 · January 17, 2011, 06:47:00 AM

Thats all I use on my Hill anything else makes to much noise.

jsweka · January 17, 2011, 06:52:00 AM

There was an article a while back in Traditional Bowhunter about the effectiveness of various types of silencers. The author measured the sound with a decibel meter and speed with a chronograph. If I remember right, beaver silenced the string the best while at the same time had the lowest reduction in arrow speed.

January 17, 2011, 07:23:00 AM

I like the wool puffs better but the whiskers work well.

LBR · January 17, 2011, 07:50:00 AM

Pretty much all I use. They don't hold water, scent, burrs, etc. Properly installed (tied on around the string), they are tuneable, and as mentioned that can make a huge difference in how well they work. In the right spot, it only takes a small amount. One mistake I've seen in leaving them way too long, which adds some noise. With all the different colors they can be made to match the string.

I like the look of fur, but I'll use what works best. For me, that's cat whiskers. SVL has made a fortune (literally) on rubber silencing equipment.

Ron LaClair · January 17, 2011, 08:07:00 AM

Cut one in half and lay both halves on the string when the bow is strung. Lay a loop of string serving or dental floss on it and wrap in the middle.

Wrap loosely the first few wraps and then tighter. Stick the end through the loop and pull it under the wrap. Hold the bow vertically between the knees as you pull on the edges and cut with scissors so they end up like little porcupine balls. I like to locate mine about 10" from the tip.

Cootling · January 17, 2011, 08:10:00 AM

If you cut them in half and time them on with dental floss, they fluff out in ball and don't look half bad.

Spence · January 17, 2011, 03:55:00 PM

I use them exclusively now, after having a rodent chew up my beaver fur silencers overnight (and most of the strands of my string in the process)while in elk camp a few years ago. Good thing I had a second string all set up in my pack, as we were miles from the trailhead, and even further from a shop that would carry a longbow string! Rodents have not touched the rubber whiskers yet.

twostrings · January 17, 2011, 09:13:00 PM

Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful. I'm going to give them a try. They will match my bow and string just fine, plus they are cheap enough and seem easy enough.

Ron, I wanted to thank you for showing a good method on installing them. I will try your method later tonight or tomorrow.

Ya'll are the best,
Matthew

JEFF B · January 17, 2011, 09:17:00 PM

they are ok but i like to use bever fur or wool

Tatersalad · January 17, 2011, 09:51:00 PM

I read the same article in the Traditional Bowhunter about the effectiveness of various types of silencers. As i recall the cat wiskers was the most effective at cutting noise but cost a 1-2 fps in speed. Small price for being quite.

Michael