Factors affecting bow noise

[Vintorez]

Hi all,

I've been reading a bunch of "what's the quietest bow you've shot" threads and it got me thinking on what factors affect bow noise and what could be tweaked to make a bow quieter. As the members here have a wealth of knowledge and experience I'm wondering if we can take a scientific approach to this and draw up a general guide that's something akin to Dr Ashby's 12 penetration factors but for bow noise (and not necessarily 12).

So, off the top of my head, some factors that potentially affect bow noise:

- Type of bow (recurve, longbow, etc)
- Bow profile (R/D, HH style, etc)
- Draw weight
- Arrow weight, arrow material (carbon, alum, wood) and spine
- Brace height
- Weight and material of bow
- Type of string and its weight
- Presence of string silencers and their type
- Split vs 3 under
- Tightness of nock fit
- Shooting off the shelf vs off the hand
And no doubt more that I'm forgetting.

What other factors would you add and how would you rank these in terms of importance? Have you ever played around with your setup and changed just one thing at a time (e.g. string) to observe the difference in noise? What combination of factors do you think would theoretically produce the quietest setup? For example HH style longbow shooting split finger with x gpp heavy carbon arrows and x type string silencers on a y type string.

I know it's just a stick and string and I'm overcomplicating it but I just love technical stuff like this (hence my starting off with a compound).

[McDave]

I've found that with take-down bows, a lot of noise comes from the take-down bolts and bushings vibrating against each other.  In bad cases, you can pound on the riser and hear the vibration noises without even shooting the bow.  Wrapping the bolts with Teflon pipe sealing tape above the threads helps.  Similar vibrating noise can come from bow quivers, which may require a little more detective work to isolate the source.

A source of noise unique to recurves is string slap against the recurved ends.  I think wax on the string exacerbates this noise, so I don't wax the ends of my strings where they come in contact with the limbs.  Some people chemically remove the wax from the string ends, which I think is a little extreme.  I just don't add anymore when the old wax dries out.  Some people put Velcro strips on the recurved ends where the string contacts.  I tried this and eventually took them off, because I am anal about limb twist and was worried (probably unnecessarily) that the Velcro strips might keep the string from properly seating in the string grooves.

[Friend]

Release

[Gerald Denley]

In terms of ranking brace height is #1. Fine tuning brace is the first step to reduce bow noise. String material is #2 with dacron being louder than low stretch. #3 is design.

I don't like velcro in the limb grooves either as the grooves serve a purpose.

I wrap the ends of the string below the loops with fine wool so that eliminates wax against the limbs issue. And it looks nicer than a piece of velcro tacked on.

[SL]

What friend said! Most folks with a good release tend to also have the quietest bows.

[Sam McMichael]

I agree with Friend. Also, the loud, foul cursing when I muff a shot due to my bad release.

[mahantango]

I also agree release is one of the most important factors, and I'm with you McDave on putting anything over the string grooves.

[mistercmath]

For reliably scientific analysis in bow noise, I recommend referring to Cody Greenwood, his Trad Lab website, and podcast interviews with him. He does the science and his discussion of archer bias is very illuminating.
It's odd how archers are poor judges of sound level. But the measuring equipment is reliable.
I would like to see how your survey compares to what Cody can find.

[durp]

bow quivers...bow quivers full of arrows with feathers touching 

[hybridbow hunter]

Bow noise matters much less than arrow flight noise when bowhunting

[ozy clint]

i believe that string tension at brace makes a difference to the pitch of the sound a bow makes. just as the pitch on the same guitar string changes with tension when tuning. greater tension means higher frequency.
that's why i reckon that bows with higher pre-load and lots of brace height tension, like highly recurved carbon bows have a reputation for being perceived as louder.

[Tedd]

The type of glove you use. Also when ever I tried 3 under it was loud.
Tedd

[yimbow]

I find when I use just a plain brown jersey glove instead of a leather bow glove or tab, it’s much quieter. I use a tab for practice but just a cloth glove for hunting.

[katman]

i believe that string tension at brace makes a difference to the pitch of the sound a bow makes. just as the pitch on the same guitar string changes with tension when tuning. greater tension means higher frequency.
that's why i reckon that bows with higher pre-load and lots of brace height tension, like highly recurved carbon bows have a reputation for being perceived as louder.

Excellent thought.

I think bow design and build is most important. Never been able to get a dynamic recurve as quiet as an ASL and never will.  Bowyer getting the tiller/limb timing correct is very important.

In regards to felt on limb covering string grooves, no need to cover them up. Put a 2"x1" section of felt on limb starting where the string comes off limb at brace, that is where the slap of string is.

[CEW]

I'll add tiller to the list.

[gordydog]

All good stuff.  If you want to put a band aid on bow noise, shoot heavy arrows. Going up 50 grain increments in arrow weight from 400 to 700 grains it's interesting to note the drop in bow noise.

[Jim Wright]

I believe it is in how well the bow is designed. I have owned and shot quite a few bows by Dan Toelke and I've been around quite a few of them shot by others. This takes in to consideration most of the variables already mentioned. There has to be a reason they have been consistently and noticeably quieter.