This may be a dumb question but..

[tuxdad]

#6134

How many string silencers do you or have you used on your bows?? Right now I’ve used only 2, but I have a rather noisy recurve I picked up that I’m thinking of adding another set to ..

Thanks in advance..

[skifrk]

#49685

On my current longbow, I have none. If you do a search for heterodyning on here it will help you find the correct placement for these silencers.

[Stephen Graf]

#50012

In the past, I have had 4 silencers on recurve strings. I don’t know that it helps that much. I prefer to use a single set of silencers and position them based on what the bare shaft arrow tuning tells me.

The silencers can be moved up and down to fine tune your arrow setup. If your arrow shows weak, move the silencers towards the tips. If your arrow shows stiff, move your silencers towards the nock set.

This heterodyning thing has me scratching my head. Heterodyning is the process of adding two frequencies together in order to obtain a third, different frequency. Somehow that’s been coopted by some hand waving into some sort of formula guaranteed to make your bow more quiet. Snake oil.

Put a couple wool silencers on your string and tune the bow for best arrow flight with a 10 grain per pound arrow, and that’s about as good as you’ll get.

Check your brace height and arrow weight. They are usually the biggest culprits in loud bows.

[tuxdad]

#51473

I checked the brace height, and it’s on the lower end for this bow.. Will try that to see how it goes.. I had tuned it in when I first got it but never actually checked the brace height..

[wojo14]

#56653

I do not think you need more than a set of silencers. I like wool.

Recurves are typically louder.

Raising brace height and shoot heavier arrows. Never less than 10gpp(my opinion)

You put limb pads on the tips of your recurve? it helps.

If it is a take down, sometimes some very thin padding under the limb at the riser helps too.

Good luck and have fun!8)

[tuxdad]

#15142

Limb pads(on the tips) were the first thing put on.. Haven’t had a chance to get out with the rain the past few days..

Never heard of adding padding to the riser(yeah it’s a take down).. Will keep that in mind if I don’t get it quieted down…

Thanks for the ideas..:D

[Greg Ragan]

#15357

One of the things I love about my Hill Style bows. No need for silencers if you use a well waxed heavy hunting string. Q:lol:uiet!

[tuxdad]

#16352

I’ve got a couple of longbows that I shoot as well, just to keep me in touch with both sides…:wink:

[grumpy]

#26679

I have 4 on my Fred Bear Super Mag 48, and it still makes a noise like plucking a string on a base guitar.

[tuxdad]

#28698

Well I was able to make it out today for a bit and with the brace height at about halfway, it’s definitely a LOT quieter !! I’ll be playing with it a bit more after the holidays, and hunting season is over…

Grumpy, I was prepared for the worse and had already made an extra set of silencers(just in case).. 😆

Thanks again folks !!:D

[arthurw]

#51722

I’m still an amateur àt shooting recurves. I pad the limbs at the grooves, and use beaver fur silencers. So far my Sierra is whisper quiet, Kodiak Hunter has a twang.

[John Cholin]

#25776

arthurw

I am shooting a Bear Cheyenne which is a 55 inch (AMO) recurve that is 52 inches tip-to-tip. Initially it was quite noisy. I started with the Bear-Puff wooly silencers but that wasn’t enough so I added silencers. Pretty soon my bow-sting looked like a string of beads. Finally, I tried just one set of otter fur strip silencers sold by 3Rivers. I placed them with their centers half way between the nock set and the contact point where the string contacts the limb, top and bottom. I installed them by separating the string strands and threading through one end and then wrapping the fur strip around the sting, fur side out, in a helix until all I had was just a little bit left and threaded that little bit through the string strands. This makes the fur silencer about 3 inches long, along the string, and about 3/4″ in diameter due to the length of the fur. This set-up quieted my bow right down.

It seems from other posts that arrow weight, bow weight and arrow spine might also be issues. My bow is 60# at 28″, but I’m drawing 29.5″ My arrows are between 580 and 600 grains, spine 75 to 80 pounds.

I hope this info helps. I’m delighted with my Bear Cheyenne!

John Cholin

[grumpy]

#41459

I FOUND THE TWANG!!!!

Apparently I am twisting the bow and/or string when drawing it. If I draw it and slowly let it down while I (or someone else) watches the tip the string is off the groves in the tips. As it nears the brace height it slips into the groove, and you have the twang. I’m thinking that I am canting the bow, but not canting the string. If I go out of my way to twist the bow, I can get rid of it, but it feels really unnatural. I need more practice time to figure it out, but I’m thinking it is ME. This wouldn’t show up in a long bow, or a recurve that didn’t have the pronounced groves for the string. Need to try changing how I hold my drawing hand.

So much for Audrey telling me I have perfect form.

Aside from the twang, I really love the Bear. Feels like it was made for me.

[Ralph]

#49736

Just a thought Grumpy but I had a funky little noise and a feel on a recurve once at the tip ends.

It was sporadic. I finally figured out it happened basically in cool weather. I use to keep quite a bit of string wax in the tip grooves and on the string loops thinking it would help with wear and tear in that area.

I had so much wax that in cool/cold weather the wax was stiff and causing the problem.

[grumpy]

#52116

Nope, this is year round. Twanged all summer.

[Ralph]

#52288

Not tryin to get your business, just a problem I found once and thought it might be helpful.

We’re to get snow again tonight, no blizzard though thank goodness. Falling snow one thing, 60 mph blowing snow another.

Gettin any snow your way yet Grumpy?

Ralph…

[grumpy]

#61620

Got 2.9 inches last Tuesday (wimpy), rained this morning (40 deg), and it is all gone.

Keep in mind that they were “plowing” with front end loaders this time last year, and it was below zero.

On the other hand, I went on a winter rove Wednesday in my new camo suit. Climbed a hill (no mountains here in Mass), and I was WARM: 20 deg winds gusting at 45 mph 😀 Had to take off the outer shell while climbing.

[arthurw]

#54802

Long John, thanks for the advice. I’m gonna try moving my fur silencers to the halfway position. I think I have them too close to the tips right now. I’m playing with arrow weight, as well. I’m shooting the same arrows out of my 50lb Magnum as I did with my 43 lb Hunter. Those weights are at 27″ draw. I added about 46 grams of weight to 2 arrows and left 2 alone. Still the same twang. I can play a mean version of dueling banjos.

[Mark Turton]

#59006

Hi Arthur

A couple of observations based upon my own experience when setting up with new arrows, remove string silencers and adjust the brace height until the arrows fly nicely and someone stood close by can tell you that the bow is at its quietest then add string silencers.

Skirk suggested heterodyning its simple and works. If you make your own wool bundles be generous make a good size silencer.

Look forward to hearing how you get on, Mark.

[John Cholin]

#60615

arthurw,

As an EE I had to research the term “heterodyning” as used in this context. Its a little different than in electrical engineering.

I think my otter fur silencer are doing the same thing, although by accident.

The twang of a bow string is due to the fact that a bow is a mechanical oscillator which has a bunch of frequencies associated with it. The dominant frequency is defined by the length of the string and its mass. Adding mass to the arrow will tend to dampen the dominant frequency because the center of the string is where the peak amplitude occurs.

The string also has harmonic frequencies associated with it. The first harmonic is associated with each half off the string vibrating with the center of the string as a node (no motion) and the peak amplitude at one half of the half, or 1/4th, of the string length. Putting a dampening feature at the 1/4th points on the string will attenuate the first harmonic.

The second harmonic occurs due to vibrations of 1/3rd of the string. The peak amplitude locations are at the string center and at 1/2 of each one third string length, or 1/6th point. The arrow, again, dampens the center but the 1/6th string-length points top and bottom can use damping.

By using an elongated fur silencer both the 1/4th and the 1/6th locations are damped by the same silencer. As I understand it, the added mass of string silencers will subtract from the energy delivered to the arrow so fewer/lighter silencers would be better.

Disclaimer: I’m new here, certainly no expert on archery, just an about-to-retire engineer. Free advice is worth what you paid for it.

John Cholin

[arthurw]

#8421

Thanks everybody. Wasn’t too sure about the term heterodyning, but it sure worked. Yesterday I had the twang even when I only drew the string an inch and let go. I put the fur at the 1/4 positions and wrapped down to the sixths, or very close to it. Now I draw back about an inch and get a dull thunk, the twang is gone. I won’t be playing banjo anymore.

[Ralph]

#9011

Ain’t it fun when it start working for ya. 😀

[Mark Turton]

#14131

R2, frustratin when it dont!

Arthur, when you next get a wet afternoon make up some wool silencers I think you will be surprised how well they work.

Regards, Mark.

[Ralph]

#15151

Yup on the wool silencers. I use both wool yarn and synthetic wool yarn and I’ll be darned if I can tell any difference. Some say they can but for me, not me.

I never have trouble with noise in my longbows. I come down two spans of middle finger to tip of thumb with hand stretched from the tips of limbs, about 17″, put some wool and go for it. I might have to move them a tad depending on a shorter or longer bow but it works for me. My wool silencers (yarn) are no bigger around than a quarter when I’m through.

I try my best not to get me nor my silencer wet but if I do so, a little pluck on the string sprays the water out of my wool puffs, probably an advantage for synthetic material, but plucking don’t seem to help me any…

Recurves, that’s a bit different. I have to work with them more. Sometimes I’ll put a real small silencer about 8″ down from the limb tips then split the difference between nock set & those little guys with my normal silencer.

Not scientific, just lots of years of trial and error.

[John Cholin]

#15270

arthurw wrote: Thanks everybody. Wasn’t too sure about the term heterodyning, but it sure worked. Yesterday I had the twang even when I only drew the string an inch and let go. I put the fur at the 1/4 positions and wrapped down to the sixths, or very close to it. Now I draw back about an inch and get a dull thunk, the twang is gone. I won’t be playing banjo anymore.

Good for you! If I was any help I am pleased.

Now let’s go shoot, turkey season will be here before we know it!

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[Stephen Graf]

#15312

R2 wrote: Yup on the wool silencers. I use both wool yarn and synthetic wool yarn and I’ll be darned if I can tell any difference. Some say they can but for me, not me….

I’m too deaf to be an authority on what works best to silence the sound, but I can tell a difference in how they behave.

When I use real wool, the yarn frizzes into nice puff balls. When I have used acrylic yarn, it never frizzes up.

I didn’t experiment much with different acrylic yarns, just stayed away from it after I saw that. Maybe other synthetic yarns frizz up.

[Ralph]

#19204

The one on the left is synthetic, real wool on the right…….

Works for me………

[Mountain Man]

#62205

I started to use monkey tails like yhe guys with compounds on my recurve and longbow

There little rubber loops you can move up and down the string to find the sweer spot helped with string vibs and noise alot

I also use bear hair on my limbs where the string notches and my self rests

[grumpy]

#42607

I have bear hair growing on my limbs too. Comes from growing up in the Green Mountains.

bty, You DO have a dirty old hat….

[Ralph]

#43053

What about beaver balls?? 😀

Anybody use them??

Did once, they work fine but my homemade cheapies are just as good.

[David Coulter]

#43630

R2 wrote: What about beaver balls?? 😀

Anybody use them??

Did once, they work fine but my homemade cheapies are just as good.

I tried them once. Going on makes it quieter but taking them off made a lot of noise.

[Ralph]

#43676

So much for the silence of the woods……..

I’ll leave the fetching of some of this hair to try to some of you younger guys…

[Mountain Man]

#52160

grumpy wrote: I have bear hair growing on my limbs too. Comes from growing up in the Green Mountains.

bty, You DO have a dirty old hat….

Im a Green mountain transplant

I grew up in upstate NY ADK’s

And im sure i have a bunch of dirty hats

🙂

[Author]

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