Took off the beaver balls

[Stringpuller#1]

I had a set of beaver balls on my recurve and I took them off replacing them a certain rubber string silencer at both ends..........wow, my bow seems a lot quieter now. All you can hear is the sound of my fingers sliding off the string in my ear. I won't say what brand they are so I don't appear to be plugging a specific product but they just slide down your string on both ends and are held in place by friction. There is still maybe the same hand vibration but it's not bad either way. Also I slid a set of string silencers on the string as well, they're also made of a rubbery material so that probably helps also with the noise/vibe reduction. My arrows fly great out of it so far. I'd like to hit up my near by pro shop and actually test my true draw weight@true pound, right now I know my take-down limbs are 60lbs and I'm a 28 1/2" draw. My arrows are 555 grains, but that's measured in grams(36) and then multiplied by 15.4323584. I'd also like to chrono my set up and see what my actual numbers are. I figure if my limbs are sixty, and my actual usage is high fifties than my arrow weight is proper for me, even though I read on here people shooting 600 to high seventies at my draw weight. Right now my arrows seem fast and I wouldn't want to get in front of one  

[Stringpuller#1]

It's ironic I got into traditional and every time I turn around I'm making another modification to Martin Short putting him further and further away from true traditionalism  

[Stringpuller#1]

I meant finger savers, sorry I put string silencers twice

[lpcjon2]

I have rubber whiskers on my Hill and they work.Im not a fan of the finger savers, I think a glove or tab is a better choice. Watch for wear, and see if they spin on the string after some use, that could be dangerous and you can accidentally have a release when drawing.

[macbow]

I use the finger savers on my bow fishing recurve. I don't like them for hunting. If they are,working good for you doesn't matter to anyone else.
Was the reason for trying them because of finger soreness?

[nutmeg]

I've never liked finger savers either. I used beaver balls for several years and finally removed them and put on wool strands. Much quieter.(nut)

[FarmerMarley]

I don't use "beaver balls" anymore.
I like the wool silencers like Bow Hush for a traditional look, but I really have been liking cat whiskers lately. I cut them down in size and install them like in this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyGuPxe1BMA

These cat whiskers works great installed this way and I weighed them compared to the wool silencers, much lighter!! And they are more water resistant and don't get smashed as bad.

I also felt sorry for all the male beavers out there.

[magnus]

Your last statement was funny Marley!

Guys check out the new Scallop string silencers from
Two Tracks. Work fantastically look cool are light weight easy to instal and easy to adjust.

Stringpuller if they work for you then your good to go. Like said above just check for wear and tear. Enjoy!

[1screagle]

I have tried lots of different silencers for my strings. I have and do use beaver balls and have found them to be very effective. I also use them in conjunction with a cat whisker and a bow jax. I think it's important to try placing them at different places on the string to find the most effective placement as I do believe this matters. I have a bow with 2 beaver ball silencers and nothing else, it is the quietest bow I shoot. The variables are many, too many to say this or that is going to work for you on this particular bow. When hunting in wet weather I do have a bow with just cat whiskers that work very well. My 56" recurve is 61#@28" and is so powerful at release I found it very hard to get it quiet to my liking. For that bow I use bow hush and wool puffs. After playing with brace height this has been the best for that bow so far. On one longbow all I needed was Bow Jax and that works well too.

[White Falcon]

I still use beaver balls.

[heydeerman]

Who named these thing beaver balls anyway???

   

[bornagainbowhunter]

I have bows with beaver balls, bow hush/hush puppies, musk ox hair and cat whiskers.  I must say the bow hush/hush puppies combo quieted my recurve the most.  It is now longbow quiet. I did not use it hunting much due to the twang.  Got some bow hush/hush puppies for Terry, now it goes to the woods...nothing but a dull thump.

On my longbows, I have beaver ball and musk ox hair.  The longbow with beaver balls is the quietest followed closely by the musk ox bow.

[xtrema312]

Lots of option on silencers and some bows like different ones.  I use cat whiskers most times, but I have had some wool puffs work as well or a little better for a couple bows.  Never had much luck with the fur all but one bow that was very quiet with them and nothing else was as good.  Location on the string is a factor. I think it is a combination of what the bow and string need for weight and or air resistance to offset the vibration of the bowstring.  While air resistance or the ability of the material to cut the vibrations is probably most critical, I think that different weights of material could impact pitch of the sound and a different pitch and often seem more or less quiet to our ear. I like to have some different options on hand to use on new bows and strings to figure it out.

[Stringpuller#1]

I assume if one were to stack their string top to bottom full of silencers it would slow the string down, but has anyone measured and or noticed decreased performance with a normal one up one down ?

[vtmtnman]

I always thought fur silencers were terrible at quieting bows.Mostly for looks.

[NC BowBender]

This is a post from the author noted:

Heterodyning
By Rocky Weeks
 

This tip requires a bit of radio theory and brain-work. The subject is heterodyning. A very basic definition is two different frequencies that are combined to produce two new frequencies: the sum and difference of the two original frequencies. What does this have to do with traditional archery equipment? Well, knowing this fact helps us to quiet our bows.

Most of us have tried various types of string silencers. Some folks have trouble getting any of them to work. Here is the solution, no matter the type of bow or type of silencer material. Measure the distance from where the string leaves the bow limbs top and bottom. Divide that distance by four and also by three. For instance and simplicity let us say your measured length is 60 inches; divided by four equals 15 inches and divided by three equals 20 inches.

Attach your top string silencer 15 inches down from where the string leaves the bow, and attach the bottom silencer 20 inches up from where it leaves the bow. Doing so cancels out the sustaining frequencies that would make a naked string hum or twang when released. The quartering distance (15 inches) cancels out all even multiples of the frequencies and the distance in thirds cancels out all the odd multiples of the frequencies. The end result is a string that resists vibration after the shot and goes thump instead of twang.

By the way, the same principle applies to whistling broadheads. Using a thin strip of fine sandpaper to buff the leading edges of the rear of the vent cutouts kills the sharp edges that create the whistle. Sometimes only one vent has to be done, sometime one a bit more than the other.

[Lethalflight57]

Another recommendation here for the String Scallop silencers from Two Tracks.  They work extremely well on my long bows and recurves.  They don't collect moisture, don't collect burrs, and are easy to adjust to find the best location to quiet the bow.  

I also use and believe strongly in Bow Hush and the those puffs are so effective and look so "traditional" on either a longbow or recurve.

Of course there are several ways to quiet a tuned bow and we each have our preferences.  The key is to experiment to find what works and that gives you confidence in a quiet bow at the moment of truth.