String silencer recommendations

[Brandi]

My bow has a pretty loud string "twang" when shooting so I want to add some of the silencers that stick on the ends of the limbs.  I may also add some of the little balls that go in the strings as well but mainly looking for recommendations for the ones that go over the string grooves. 

We tried some thick felt (the kind you line toolbox drawers and stuff with) on my sister's bow (she has the same bow as me) and it made a big difference.  Unfortunately we didn't have enough material to do mine too so I'll probably just buy some commercially made silencers. 

What do you guys recommend for the stick on strong silencers for your limbs as well as the ball silencers that go in your strings?  Thanks!

[the rifleman]

Some bowyers like bob lee I believe, advise against putting anything over your string grooves--- they are there for a reason.  I make my string silencers out of 3 1.25" of Paracord shell--- they don't absorb water and work well.  You can experiment w different size silencers and moving them up and down the string to find the quietest spot.  My upper and lower silencers are placed slightly different in relation to distance from limb tips.  I believe this helps dampen harmonics.  Brace height can be adjusted to get the bow quieter and a heavy arrow does a lot to quiet the bow as it absorbs more of the energy that you may be hearing when shooting a lighter arrow.  Good luck.

[katman]

Sounds like you have a recurve. A small narrow strip of adhesive felt(craft store), the soft side of velcro or moleskin placed on the limb starting where the string leaves the limb and about 2 inches works for the slap of the string. The twang is best diminished with string silencers, wool or rubber cat whiskers work. Usually start mine at the 1/4 point of string length and adjust if needed for the quietest shot. Adding silencers to the string may change your arrow tune as it adds weight to  the string.

[McDave]

In my opinion, the worst problem we can face with recurve bow limbs is limb twist.  Bob Lee now includes a warning not to put material on the string grooves.  I personally just leave the part of the string that contacts the string grooves unwaxed, which helps with string slap noise.  This company offers a product which might might help with noise as well as help prevent limb twist: https://mountainmufflerstrings.com/products/bow-hush-kit

I've never tried this, but it gets good reviews.  As far as string silencers are concerned, I find that cat whiskers work as well as anything.  At least they're waterproof.

[Wudstix]

Some bowyers like bob lee I believe, advise against putting anything over your string grooves--- they are there for a reason.  I make my string silencers out of 3 1.25" of Paracord shell--- they don't absorb water and work well.  You can experiment w different size silencers and moving them up and down the string to find the quietest spot.  My upper and lower silencers are placed slightly different in relation to distance from limb tips.  I believe this helps dampen harmonics.  Brace height can be adjusted to get the bow quieter and a heavy arrow does a lot to quiet the bow as it absorbs more of the energy that you may be hearing when shooting a lighter arrow.  Good luck.

I too am a fan of paracord sheath.  Personally, I use 4 x 2" top and bottom at 18.3% from limb touch point.  Shoot pretty stout bows and this quiets them very well.

[varmint101]

I have come just to like cat whiskers.  I do know the string wraps like some of the string makers put on(or you can) do make them quieter, but as have mentioned I do believe it can cause a twist in the limb if too much.  I've seen many put mole skin there and Ken Beck of Black Widow Bows suggested to use these stiktamers. I would like to try them. https://blackwidowbows.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=114_122&product_id=950

[Sam McMichael]

Back in the days when I shot recurves, I liked wool puff balls. They seemed to work well for me. Later, when I became a longbow shooter, I came to prefer the fur silencers. They look good and seem to work on both my ASL's and R/D bows.

[Noah70]

I like the cat whiskers or the paracord equally, they don’t retain water and as previously mentioned they can be moved along the string till optimum harmonics are found. I actually downloaded a decibel SoundMeter app and had a friend hold it beside the bow for a number of shots. Quite surprising how much you can change the level.  I add on a set of the small brush buttons,, they don’t slow down the string noticeably.

[Brandi]

Lots of great info here, thanks.  Yes, it's a recurve bow, my apologies for not including that.

How does putting something over the string grooves cause problems? From what I've seen the material goes into the groove and doesn't really cover it up.  It just forms into the groove. Not being argumentative at all, I just don't know and I'm curious.  Especially since we already did it on my sister's bow.

Also, what's a good way to tell if there's any twist in your limbs?

Seems like the wool balls, rubber cat whiskers, beaver balls are all popular.  I had never heard of using paracord sheath but it sounds interesting.  I have enough paracord to rig a Spanish galleon at this point so that's an option.

[McDave]

“How does putting something over the string grooves cause problems?”

Not everyone is in agreement with that it does.  My Hoyt Satori came with some kind of felt-like stuff over the string grooves.  Rick Welch used to do the same things with his Dakota bows, but I don't think he still does.

The idea is that it is best if the string automatically seats itself in the string grooves after each shot, which should prevent it from gradually edging over to the side.  Whenever you shoot the bow with string torque, you are bending the recurved ends slightly to one side or the other.  The string will try to work its way out of the groove, but a positive groove will help it to center itself again.  The original string groove will probably do a better job of this than a felt covered one.  Of course, you shouldn't torque the string, but most of us are not perfect.

You should check your limbs for twist often, by putting one end of the bow on the floor and raising and lowering the other end in your hand as you sight down the string.  You should be able to notice if there is any deviation in the straight line of the string as it enters the string groove.  If you catch limb twist early, you can usually correct it by slightly counter-twisting the end that is twisted while the bow is strung.

[Brandi]

So the string would seat in the groove easier with the hard surface of the bow limb than it would seat in the groove of a softer material like felt, rubber, leather or similar? That makes sense since its a much smoother and harder surface.  I wouldn't imagine it would make enough difference to matter but I'm learning new stuff every day.

Thanks for the limb twist check, I'll be sure to make that part of my routine. 

[Orion]

In fact, it doen't make enough difference to matter.  A lot of recurves don't even have string grooves cut into the belly side of the limb tips.  I've been at this for more than 60 years, and I'm not aware of any instance where a little mole skin or other such material led to any kind of problems/twist with the limb tips.   Removing excess wax from the string groove area, as has already been suggested, also quiets string slap. I like wooly whispers for string silencers.  That's the brand name, but they're also fairly easy to make. 

[BAK]

https://www.tradtalk.com/threads/how-do-you-determine-where-to-place-string-silencers.129283/page-2

1/10th top, 1/6th bottom

[GCook]

https://mountainmufflerstrings.com/products/bow-hush-kit

These work well.

[BUCKY]

String leeches

[Brandi]

A whole lot of different recommendations to choose from, thank you! I probably will go ahead and put something on the limbs just because it made such a big difference on my sister's bow in addition to some kind of string mounted silencer as well.

[kopfjaeger]

I use wool and acrylic yarn. I make my own. They work for me and they are cheap to make. 

[Rob5589]

Rubber cat whiskers for mine

[Todd Cook]

I pad my string grooves with sticky back felt. Never have twisted a limb or hurt the bow that I'm aware of. I make puff balls out of wool yarn. Wrap it 10 times around a credit card and put them in the string, and then cut the loops.

[achigan]

Chuck Deshlers "String Scallops" (Two Tracks Bow Company) work very well on my Thunderchild and my BW PL.