Sting Silencers

[DanielB89]

I am wanting to know what you guys prefer to silence your string.  A friend and I were messaging back and forth and he stated that he felt like the rubber cat whiskers type silencers performed better than the wool yarn ones.  And that the cat whiskers made the bow more dead in your hand.  

I was wondering how the rest of tradgang felt.  I am only really used wool silencers, so I don't know.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

The trick to Cat whiskers is tying them on right. They don't mind getting wet either. The yarn looks like a dead rat on your string in the rain.

[LBR]

How they are tied on, where they are tied on, how much you use (you can leave them too long), etc. all makes a difference--in some cases, these variables matter more than what material you use.

[DanielB89]

Originally posted by LBR:
How they are tied on, where they are tied on, how much you use (you can leave them too long), etc. all makes a difference--in some cases, these variables matter more than what material you use.

Thanks Chad.  I thought about messaging you and asking you, but i figured i had already messaged you enough! lol.  thanks for all of your help!

[LBR]

No problem at all.  Holler at me any time.

[REALmacoy]

Type of string???
Flemish super string = Bow hush (not mentioned?)and properly tied on whiskers, if you hear or feel anything you need to find another bow :-)

[DanielB89]

[skunkhound]

I agree that proper placement is more important than the material used. That being said, I don't think you can do better than cat whiskers to really cut down on noise, but on my already pretty quiet longbows, I like the the look of beaver fur.

[savage1]

Dead rat in the rain maybe but if your looking for the best way to gather mountain grass seed to take home this is it. Its hard to get the seed loose though. lol
Catwisker!!

Lou

[bendotwood]

I used to use the thick soft fur from the belly of a raccoon.  It worked great, all underfur with not many guard hairs like you get on the back.  They worked great, cost me nothing cause I tanned them myself, easy to put on.  Downside was that for bowfishing or in the rain they soak up a lot of water and decrease cast a lot.

On my latest bow I use double cat whiskers.  Initially I only put half a pack on my string, but because of tuning issues I found that I needed a little more.  I like that by trimming them I can adjust the weight and how stiff or weak the arrow acts.  Plus they look cool, and match the black glass on the bow.  Also, they are waterproof.

[sore fingers]

I only use cat whiskers. I believe he goes by S2 has a really good video on how to tie them on that works for me. I bought a spool of it in the Bass Fishing section, so I have enough for 15 years for $5.

[stagetek]

Cat Whiskers.

[katman]

I agree that placement is important, for cosmetic looks bowhush is hard to beat. In wet conditions I prefer whiskers. I believe the water shakes out of them easier.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Kirkll:
The yarn looks like a dead rat on your string in the rain.

Its evedent that you haven't used Bow Hush or you couldn't make that claim.

Lets us not forget, that 'SILENCERS' aren't the ONLY thing that gets wet in the rain.  Most never seem to remember that feathers, arrows, beheads strings, arrow rests, and bow limbs ALL get wet and hold water, even cat wiskers, and are effected....so stop just blaming the silencers no matter the material.

I quick short plucks of the string will clear the water from pretty much all of your bow, string and silencers.

I've posted plenty of pics of dead WET animals with LIVE RATS on my string.

                     

[Momma Kohunna]

Thank you for this post, this and the last thread on silencers, have really but a run on Bow Hush and Hush Puppies.  My daughters want to personally thank you all for helping their small business.

They will be along tonight to thank you.  They wanted to last night but our oldest had a last minute deadline for auditions so we didn't have time.

Thanks again to all our loyal customers.

[eflanders]

Well I love the look of the traditional silencers of fur or yarn but do not like the weight of them when they are wet. So unfortunately on the one bow I have that really benefits and needs silencers, I stopped using the cat whiskers (and yarn or fur) as they get caught on brush and stuff.  I now use the little one-piece rubber silencers.

[Roger Norris]

Here are my observations:

Some bows are loud. Even when properly tuned, some bows make more noise than I like. I have one that has BOTH rubber whiskers and fur on it. Bow design has more to do with "quiet" than anything you can put on your string. Arrow weight and material are a huge percentage of this equation.

Where they go on the string is everything. And rarely is the correct spot an even distance from each end.

Rubber whiskers are butt ugly, and detract from the good clean looks of a traditional bow. Couple that with the probability (I haven't scientifically tested them) that they have NO advantage over yarn or fur, I detest using them.

Rain, wetness....considering the total soaking your gear gets when weather happens, the water repelleny that rubber APPEARS to have means nothing. Also....rubber whiskers absorb water as much or more than anything else. We think of rubber as in finished sheets (like on the outside of boots) Trust me....after 30 years of selling jacketed cable...some of it rubber....rubber and rubber like materials absorb water.

For my money....wool or fur silencers.

[sbschindler]

I like wool yarn, I weave it in the string and after 20 shots or so I trim it pretty short. seems to work well.

[CLOVIS]

Mine have never looked like a wet rat.

[Skates]

What those other guys that kill a lot of stuff said. I use Bowhush's Hush Puppies.

It is funny though that people wont address the rest of their gear getting wet and making out like the silencers are a make or break if it rains like they are the only thing effected.