Quieting SHORT recurves ??

Tyler C. Moore · May 02, 2012, 10:09:00 PM

I just picked up a Cascade Night Hawk 52'' #53@28, and for the life of me cannot quiet it. It is a wonderful little bow, but I just cannot get it to shoot as quiet as my other recurves.

Anyone who has shot Cascades' short bows, or others like the Bear Super Kodiak/Mag's imput would be appreciated.

Are short recurves just inherently louder than longer recurves??

Currently the brace height is 7.75'', with beaver puffs and felt pads on the limbs..

Orion · May 02, 2012, 10:26:00 PM

Difficult to tell from the pix, but your brace height may be a bit low. The recurve limb tips are pretty far forward. This means there's a lot more limb for the string to hit at release, creating noise. Raising the brace height will reduce the string contact with the limb tips and should reduce noise accordingly. dUsually, short bows require quite a high brace height 8-8 1/2 inches or so. Good luck.

texbow2 · May 02, 2012, 11:04:00 PM

I used to do yarn wraps on the string where it connects with the limbs but I've now settled on using the smallest rubber brus buttons on my recurves. Sometimes using a thin ribber gasket between the limb and riser can help as well. See what the mfg recommends for brace height, you may need to go higher

JamesKerr · May 02, 2012, 11:17:00 PM

I wrap all my recurve's strings with yarn and then tye on wool silencers. Once I've done this my recurves are whisper quiet.

Knotter · May 03, 2012, 12:31:00 AM

i shoot a short checkmate (a very similar design - same bowyer) and mine like string leeches. I'll echo what was written about brace height. The beaver fur looks nice but you have to play with the distances from the tips. APITA

Try 2 twists at a time up to 8 1/2.

The only other suggestion is another string material. FF's are loud on small bows.

huntmaster80 · May 03, 2012, 12:44:00 AM

i have a 50" two tracks ambush and it is super quiet and fast. It is equipped with a SBD string with Pierres acrylic puffs

Tyler C. Moore · May 03, 2012, 12:50:00 AM

thanks Orion. the limb tips do have a ways left to go. I'll see how much higher brace height works. all other suggestions are helpfull as well.

Rick Richard · May 03, 2012, 08:18:00 AM

8 1/2 inch brace height and SBD strings should work.

Gen273 · May 03, 2012, 10:57:00 AM

I had a 56 inch Cascade, and with a SBD string and yarn around the loop ends and wool puffs it was quiet for a recurve. I think I braced it a little over 8 inches.

Good Luck

Jesse Minish · May 03, 2012, 11:06:00 AM

What is your string? My 52" Cascade came with a endless loop B50 and it was so much more quiet when I put a flemish string on.

Tyler C. Moore · May 03, 2012, 11:22:00 AM

The string on it is a D97. since it's not the fastest now to begin with and a few pounds less than what I normally shoot, I'd rather not go to B50 and loose speed. trying a high brace height now!

beachbowhunter · May 03, 2012, 11:27:00 AM

Higher brace height usually does the trick.

KentuckyTJ · May 03, 2012, 11:28:00 AM

Those beaver/rabbit silencers have never worked on any of my bows. Love the looks of them but they just don't silence well.

TOEJAMMER · May 03, 2012, 12:16:00 PM

I have a few 52 inch Cascade's, 3 Golden Hawk Magnums and one Night Hawk. They are all very quiet but all have Flemish B50 strings.
I know a lot of people set a high brace height on these but mine are more in the area of 7 3/4 inch. Th bows are all in the 56 to 65 lbs. at 27 inches. One thing to be aware of is Steve says only B50 r its equivalent on the 52 inch bows. On his longer bows it is alright to use the more modern material. Not sure how old your string is but my experience is that strings after a certain point, seem to become noisier. Hope this helps.

Tyler C. Moore · May 03, 2012, 01:32:00 PM

The string on it is a D97. since it's not the fastest now to begin with and a few pounds less than what I normally shoot, I'd rather not go to B50 and loose speed. trying a high brace height now!

Irish · May 03, 2012, 01:51:00 PM

Steve Gorr only recomends B50 on his short recurves. 56 inch and higher, FF is OK. Mine is quite at 8 5/8 brace, B50 and Bow Hush

Tyler C. Moore · May 03, 2012, 09:14:00 PM

Can you folks tell my why no FF on these tips. The only thing I can think of has to do with the string angle being more acute on shorter limbs, thus the downward force from the string loop on the tips is greater than a longer bow. This bow however is only #52, and I cant imagine the loop damaging two backings of micarta.

Any ideas or info is appreciated.

papawoody · May 03, 2012, 09:36:00 PM

What type of string do you have? Flemish or endless? My 60 recuve kicked like a mule and sounded like a 10gauge with the endless loop. switched over to a flemish and it tamed it down a lot.

buckster · May 03, 2012, 09:41:00 PM

Might want to try one of our Bikin strings with our new DOUBLE KATS silencers. They are really super quiet and we offer a money-back guarantee!

Tyler C. Moore · May 04, 2012, 12:31:00 AM

Bow is officially DEAD Quiet. And I might still check out one of your strings buckster!!!

Ended up being a 8.1'' Brace Height and wool wrapped ends. Thanks for the advice. As the brace height increased I also went from an MFX 400 with 200 up front, to a MFX 500 with 145 up front. Bare-shafts like a dart.