Black Widow bows still loud?

[Don Armstrong]

I bought a psa black widow about 10 years ago. It was before they went to cnc. I loved the bow except it was loud. I ended up with 2 sets of whiskers. Finally sold it as it was a little heavy for me. Are the new ones loud? Thanks, Don

[Biathlonman]

Everyone I've ever heard was, and that includes several new CNC models.

[TradBrewSC]

I don't own one personally but have friends with PSA's. With well positioned puffs and bow hush I find them to be exceptionally quiet.

[Trenton G.]

Although they are fantastic bows, one of the first things that I noticed when shooting them are how loud they are. The ones I shot only had the black widow string silencers so maybe adding some different silencers would change that. The longbows didn't seem that loud, but the recurves seemed to make quite a bit of noise.

[ksbowman]

I shoot with a couple of guys that shoot BW td bows and both have the hockey puck LimbSavers on them with string silencers. Both bows are quiet and have  good speed.

[Steelhead]

I Have had a lot of Widows.An 8 strand SBD (Silent But Deadly) bowstring with wool puffs and 8 and 3/4 inch Brace Height made them quiet,very pleasant shooting and faster.

If you get one try that combination!

[CoachBGriff]

Maybe it's due to what I've had to compare it to, but I find my PCH to be very quiet.  Previously I shot a Hoyt Dorado which sounded like a wooden gong!

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[CoachBGriff]

I am shooting about a 600 grain arrow though with  53 lb. bow.

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[ron w]

I have had several, and shot a lot more. With wool puffs and limbsavers all of mine have been very quiet. A friend has several and they seem loud......till I shoot it. He thinks it's his release, could be. I just got another one, a PSA 58" and so far I can't seem to get it to whisper. I'll get her silent sooner or later. I had an old MA 62"er.......that thing was almost silent.......who knows what makes them do different things. 

[A Lex]

I've only got a couple of bows, both Blackwidow PL longbows. Both have two small wool puffs on each end of the string at 8 & 13" from the tip, an 8" brace height and I only shoot heavy wooden arrows. The bows are almost dead silent. Just a dull muffled "Thud".

Love my Blackwidow longbows.

Best
Lex

[GCook]

The PSA I just sold was definitely not loud.

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[bigbadjon]

I think opinions are going to vary on this one. Almost any bow can be made quiet by shooting a heavier arrow, looser nock fit, adjusting brace height, and etc.

[awry]

Placing string silencers per the heterodyning meathod has helped me quiet bows tremendously.

[SteveB]

With proper brace height, correct nock fit and some type of cushioning for string slap, they are as quiet as any recurve. Cushioning methods include, felt pads in bottom of groove, sticktamers, Bow Hush or other yarn wrap or my mountain mufflers. A good part of my customers are BW shooters.

[Roger Norris]

I have a PCH and a KB recurve. They were no more trouble to quiet down than any other recurve.....proper tuning, including proper arrow weight and they just made a dull "thud" on release.

And I am way paranoid about bow noise.

[Boone the Hunter]

They can be made very quiet it takes some tweaking like many bows. Pick one up out of a box loud as a gunshot but with some love all is very well. My primary hunting bow is a 62” 43@31 old SA and it’s deadly quiet put 4 deer down already this year with it. My setup is a braceheight around 8 3/4” with a total arrow weight around 530grains. Hugely important is stiktamers (or something similar) to stop the string slap. As well as some vibrantion dampeners at the fade outs on the limbs. I shoot 3 under which tends to be louder but my bows a nice quiet thud on release. I’ve more than once killed deer with a second arrow after a miss because they weren’t spooked at the shot. In my case I don’t know how my long draw and lower poundage play into it, maybe a heavier bow has more noise and may need a bit heavier arrow to compensate. I’ve owned a lot of different bows and usually after some work you can always find each bows sweet spot for noise and such.

[A.S.]

I totally agree with SteveB.  They can be as quiet as any other recurve.  I like to add yarn wraps to the string where it contacts the limb, or add Velcro to the limb itself.  I have found that two pair of small whiskers installed 9-10" and 14-15" from the string ends, along with the padding, makes them very quiet.

The older, skinnier limbs seemed a bit louder to me.

One other thing that some guys overlook, is the rubber O rings on the limb alignment pins.  They need to be replaced every year or so.  When they flatten out completely, it will cause a bit more noise.

[JRY309]

I feel it has a lot to do with string construction and material and brace height.I had a BW SAV ironwood years ago,I made up a padded loop 8 strand D97 with bow hush and home made wool puffs.It was one of my quietest recurves I've had!

[cacciatore]

Once you find the right arrow and replace the factory string they are quiet as any other good bow

[pavan]

My BWs from the 70s with the aluminum risers were not loud, what changed?