Where to place string silencers

[Catskill Longbow]

Hope this is not a dumb question.  I got some otter fur string silencers for my 59'er. What is the general opinion on where to locate them on the string?  should I measure down from the tips, and if so, how far?

[lpcjon2]

On my longbows its about 11" from the string groove and on a recurve I have its 9". distance can vary for others.

[team fudd]

general school of thought is to divide the string into quarters, one quarter of the way down the string place your silencers at either end.  You can adjust from their up to one third of the total string length from each tip to find the spot where the bow is quietest.  Good luck.

[Outwest]

I like mine 5" down from where the string contacts the bow limb.
This works on all of my bows.

John

[BowHunterGA]

Try to keep them evenly spaced from the limb tips. Most of the time I measure the distance from limb tip to limb tip when strung divide by 4 and then place silencer that distance from the tip. Honestly it just looks better that way to me. While very marginal, the closer you place the silencer to the limb tip the less effect the silencer will have on speed, but this is really splitting hairs.

[black velvet]

Try putting them on so you can adjust. Move up and down until you find the sweet spot then tie them in. As wood and shooter both have different characters what works for one may not work for others. Same with nock and brace height.

[LBR]

I agree with black velvet.  You tune your silencers like everything else--there's no "one size fits all" if you want them to work at their peak.  I've seen bows where moving the silencers an inch up or down the string made a huge difference in noise.

Unfortunately I don't know of an easy way to adjust fur silencers.

Chad

[Iowabowhunter]

Good question, I will b interested to see some different tips

[MikeW]

I've always measured from where the string contacts the limb and divided that by 1/4 and 1/3 and placed 2 small silencers at both locations.
I use wool and cat whiskers both trimmed very small.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Ken place the silencers on the string!

Then send me your bow!      :p  

I tend to put them at the 1/4's.  

Good luck!

[Hopewell Tom]

Terry G.said in a similar thread that there was once a study that said the 1/3 spacing was best. Most recommend the 1/4. Cat whiskers allow for the fine tuning (maybe) necessary. I have a rather noisy Super KMag that I'm just about to try the same 1/4 1/3 method MikeW uses. We'll see.

[Living_waters]

The way I was taught was to take the bow by the grip and hold the limb next to your ear and pluck the string. You will notice that there will be one spot where the string will change tone, it will almost jump an octave. This is the harmonic point of the string. If bow is balanced and timed correct other end will be the same.
This does good to dampen sound have not played with it to check speed.

Of course this could be like the time a well know bass pro told me if I looked at the eyes of the bass as soon as I landed it I could see if he was looking up or down, that would tell me if I needed to fish deeper or shallower. Fishing partner asked me after a couple of trips what I was doing staring at the fishes face....Thats when I figured out I had been dooped. lol

But seriously the string pluck works

[Rufus]

Mine are pretty much on the 1/3rd's for a start. Might move one way or other just for looks.

[Catskill Longbow]

Thanks guys for the input.  I am going to try the 1/4 idea and see how it goes.

Charlie-for some reason I get the feeling if my bow goes missing I'll know where to look fist!

[Red Beastmaster]

On recurves I put them at the fadeouts, longbows at around 1/4.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I like to put those fur ones in my pocket to keep my hands warm, and use the rubber ones on my string.  

[Yellow Dog]

I like the look of the fur silencers but with the way you have to install them it's time consuming to move them around on the string to different locations, you just can't slide them up and down the string so it's a little work to find the "sweet spot". On my McCullough Fiftyniner they work the the best starting 11" from the end of the string, wrapped in the same direction of the twist of the string, towards the center serving. I untwist the string some, wrap them on, then twist the string back to brace to tighten them up.

[Bowwild]

To each his own but I tried one set of fur silencers. I probably didn't affix them properly but they don't stay put as well as the whisker arrangement I use.

My recurves are 56-62". I vary placement depending upon vibration noise which is usually 13-15" from the limb tip.

I learned here on Trad Gang (video from the fellows in Hawaii) how to put whiskers on much better than the way I've been doing it for years.  They method in the video doesn't involve splitting the string strands, zip ties or tying knots with the whiskers. It works terrific and it is possible to move them a bit on the string to tune the sound.

[Covey]

1/4 method for me. works perty good!

Jason

[Pepper]

Originally posted by black velvet:
Try putting them on so you can adjust. Move up and down until you find the sweet spot then tie them in. As wood and shooter both have different characters what works for one may not work for others. Same with nock and brace height.

I agree with this, silencers are dampners, but they also perform a tuning function.  
Move them till the bow shoots well and quietly, and that's where they go.