Help with bow noise

[Jethro21]

My bow is noisy and I can't get it under control. It is 62" Toelke Whip, #63 @ 31.5. I have played with brace height and think I have it pretty good at 7 1/2. I have tried wool, cat whiskers and string material, 2 and 4 puffs on the string. I have moved them up and down on the string and keep getting noise.

The only way I can explain the noise it is is almost a wood sounding thunk. My sideplate is calf skin and has wear, I had thought it was alot but given the amount of arrows shot I think is probably normal wear.

My release isn't the best but even when I get a great release the noise is there. I am shooting pretty heavy arrows as well, 32" GT75/95 footed 4 fletch with 200gr up front.

What am I doing wrong??? I am pretty irritated because I know this bow has a reputation for being very quiet.

Any help?
Jethro

[tj69]

I would raise the brace height up to 8". Just to know if it is better then.
What style are you shooting? Split or 3 under?
Maybe you should raise the nock point a bit? Just an idea.
You can add a little piece of self-adhesive
Velcro loop tape where the string is leaving the limbs.(on the strung bow)
That is eliminating the string slap.
Good luck!

[Bjorn]

That bow should be very quiet when properly tuned.
For one, your nock may be too low.

[Bowwild]

I'm not familiar with the bow. Is it a recurve? I have no experience with longbows. If a recurve like TJ wrote try 8-8.5 brace ht. My new Bear TD Supreme was noisy and vibrating when I received and shot it yesterday. I added whiskers and that helped. But the vibration and noise was still too much. I then raised brace ht to 8.25 (from the 7.5 that my Predators work best at) and 95% of the noise is gone.  3RiversArchery advised that when at rest at the correct brace height the string should just be raising out of the string groves. Then I stuck two accessory Sims vibration dampners just below the recurve section of the limb. The last thing I'll do to finish quieting the bow will be to put a strip of Sims Vibration dampening material under the string as it comes out of the string groove track.

[Mike Most]

I have to go with Bjorn and say raise the nocking point a bit.

the other thing that helps me personally is making sure I am pulling with my back muscles to help keep myself in line.

Just a thought.

Mike

[crookedwoody]

IF THE RAISING OF NOCK DOESNT HELP,TRY SILENCERS AT 1/4 AND SET AT 1/3 THE LENGTH OF STRING.IT REALLY HELPED MY BOWS.I HAVE A BOW LEE 54" RECURVE YOU CANNOT HEAR ANY NOISE WHEN SHOT.MAY WANT TO CHECK TOELKE WEB SIGHT FOR BRACE HEIGHT LIMITS BEFORE RAISING TO MUCH.IT COULD BE HITTING YOUR ARM GUARD ALSO MAKING NOISE,HAD THAT HAPPEN ALSO.GOOD LUCK...CHRIS

[Roconman]

Sounds like your arrows are hitting the shelf probably too weak.Try some lighter points and see if that changes anything. Your arrow set up sounds awfull weak to me.

[bshunter]

BH first, nothing wrong with 2 sets of sring silencers 1/4 and 1/3 points...along with all the other great advice already given.

[skarcher]

Originally posted by Roconman:
Sounds like your arrows are hitting the shelf probably too weak.Try some lighter points and see if that changes anything. Your arrow set up sounds awfull weak to me.

I have to agree with Rocoman, it sounds like your arrows aren't clearing the bow properly. The only 2 things I have found on my Whip to cause this is very weak arrows, or gripping the bow way too tight and torquing it on release. I shoot best with mine with a very light grip with the bottom 3 fingers just touching the handle.

Have you tried bare shaft tuning?

[Jethro21]

I agree that this is most likely a setup problem.

I have tried 175gr and 145gr points with my setup with same noise. I bare shafted again today with 175gr and 200gr and 200 gave the best results, however I will add that I am only a step or two above beginner as far as trad goes.

I am not saying it is the 100% accurate gauge, but stu miller's spine calculator shows this setup pretty close (I know it isn't 100% accurate though).

skarcher, I try to grip loosely but try to put more of my heel into the grip than I do with a recurve, that seems to make the least noise.

[skarcher]

Stu's calculator has worked great for me, but if you're using it for GT's, for some reason you have to go a little stiff, approx 5 lbs. Set up the calculator for "0" center cut and fast flight and add about 5 lbs. In other words if the calculator says you need 75 lbs, what will probably work is 80. This has been my experience with 35/55's which I use. All other shafts seem to be spot on.

My advice would be to grip the bow so it feels natural. Don't consiously try to put any particular pressure in any particular place, just relax and let your hand go where it wants to. That's what that grip is designed to do.

If you have a big enough target, shoot at it with you eyes closed, and let yourself feel the bow and concentrate on a clean release.

[Jethro21]

Ok, I just did some quick experimenting. First, I lowered the brace to 7", that helped significantly. Next, I flung 5 arrows with 5 different points weighing 100gr, 125gr, 145gr, 175gr and 200gr. I did not notice any discernable difference in noise.

I have no friends who shoot trad, so I can't compare my bow with anyone for noise. I suppose I could be thinking it is louder than it really is.

[Grant Sutherland]

This is great!  I have the same problem at the moment....
I have a Navajo Cherokee longbow.  50lbs at 28"
I have played with the brace from 7 to 8, height from darn near level to 7/8 up.  I have the height set beautifully at the moment for arrow flight.
Here's the kicker: I shoot 3 under and get the "shelf type noise".  When I shoot split.... perfectly quite.  Now you're all going to say it's my release..... But here's one better, my buddy tries and gets the same thing.

We joking say that I should switch to split but this noise is bothering me.... I know the bow is quiet, I know my release (although not perfect) is likely not the main problem.... (but could always use work)

As for arrows... we've gone through pretty much every one we could find (wood, carbon and alum) and still get the sound.

I've just gone to a bear fur rest and covered more of the shelf so I'll see if that works...

Just as an aside: we put electrical tape around the entire area to show new marks and rubs. That works really well in showing what is happening.

Thanks

[HATCHCHASER]

If you are getting sideplate wear then your arrows are too stiff.  A weak arrow will not cause sideplate wear.  Lower the spine or raise your point weight.  If an arrow is too stiff then it will bounce off of the riser causing sideplate wear and the thunk you are refering to.  Make sure your nocks are not too tight to the string as well.  You should be able to nock an arrow that stays on the string but dislodges with a tap on the string.

[James Wrenn]

I don't know anything about that bow but the way you describe it I would start with nock fit.Make sure it is not a tight fit.A lose nock makes a much quieter bow than one that plucks the string.The tigt nock will add sound as well as thrown off what you are seeing while bareshafting.Sounds like a spine issue to me and you need to test the bareshafts at as long a range as you have room for and can still hit your target.Up close stuff is pretty worthless when bareshafting because even a shaft that is off a lot won't show up as well as it will farther back. jmho

[SveinD]

I have a 60" 47@27 Classic Whip, and shoot 8 gpp arrows from it with close to no noise..

I inserted your stats in Stu Millers Spine calc, and the arrows cam out a tad weak, if you have FF on it. It is however very little.

You could try and lower weight up front to see if it helps, and also try drawing only to 30 or 29 inches to see if it makes a differance..
Careful not to put to light points on there or the limbs might get hurt.
You can try cutting off an inch to a shaft (if u got spares) to see if stiffening it that way might help..

Did Dan make it #63 @ 31,5" or is that what you're getting? It seems to me that 31,5" draw for a 62" Whip is a bit to long, but if Dan made it to those specifics, he knows better than me..

If you can't eliminate the problem with tips you get here, call Dan up. He will probably have an answer.

[HATCHCHASER]

Don't cut your arrows until you make sure they are not too stiff.   Put a 300 grain head on there and shoot.  If you want to see If they are weak put a thick sideplate on.

[Jethro21]

The bow was not made for me, I am the 2nd owner. I didn't think of nock fit at all, it is probably too tight, I will have to fiddle with that.

As far as the calculator goes-arrow- gt7595, 32", 200gr,15gr insert, 1" footing weighing 13 grs (spec on the 2213 shaft), 15gr on the nock (added 4gr for 1/4" 2213 footing on 11gr nock) and 4" feathers (I assume this is specifying 3x4", however I shoot 4x4")= 66.1

Bow- D/R longbow, rated 55# @28, DL 31.5, shelf location 1/16 (measured the side plate, 1/16"), string B50= 68.4

Now, if I do as skarcher described and add 5# because gt's are stiffer (his post 1st page), if I build out my side plate to 3/16", that should be about right. I may try that.

[Lamey]

The simplest fix would be to call Dan Toelke, the person that made the bow.  He is EXTREMELY helpful in set up/ tuning of his bows, and he has a way of solving "problems" on the phone like no one else ive talked to.

If your Whip isnt dead quiet, than something is not set up right, and its probably something Dan could identify quickly when you tell him your situation.

I have shot 3 of them, own a Classic Whip,   all were the quietest bows ive ever shot.

Forgot to add-  ive tried my Whip from 6-7/8" to 7-1/2",  completely quiet, matter of fact I was having a conversation with another Tradganger today about tuning, and mentioned that the Toelke bows seemed to be the LEAST finicky about brace height.

[Grant Sutherland]

Thank you very much.  I shall try these and get back to you.