Can bow noise come from limb bolts or pockets

[Ray Johnson]

I have a BW PSA that is louder than I like.Will antler bolts cause extra noise and is there something I can do inside the limb pockets to help?I have ordered an SBD string.Hasn't gotten here yet.

[Bjorn]

I have several A&H ACS 3 pc. Antler bolts make no difference and I have no noises coming from the limb joins or bolts. You can rub string wax on the surfaces-see if that helps. IMO the SBD string will help considerably.  

[NittanyRider]

Are you talking about excess noise when you release, or when you draw?  I have an ILF rig and I was getting a faint clicking/popping noise when I drew that I swore was coming from my tacky bowstring when it pulled away from the limb.  Several tradgangers suggested that the noise was coming from the limb pockets and to put a little Vaseline on the limb posts and riser pockets.  I took their advice and sure enough, the noise was gone.

If you are talking about a loud shooting bow... try a set of Limbsavers.  Those and some wool puffs did a lot to soften the crack from my carbon limbs.

Good luck!

[McDave]

If the noise is coming from the limb fastenings, it is more likely to be coming from the alignment pins than from the limb bolts, assuming you have the bolts tightened properly. The area under the limb bolts is pretty well fastened down and shouldn't move during the shot.  The limbs can move against the alignment pins slightly, however, making a noise. Sometimes this can be stopped, either temporarily or permanently, by putting a dab of vasoline on the alignment pins. If it stops it temporarily, at least you know where it's coming from, and if it persists you can call BW for help with a permanent fix.

Another common place for noise is string slap against the limb grooves. I think Terry Green makes a product that helps with this (Bow Hush?). Sorry, don't remember the name exactly.

[Dave Lay]

after reading somewhere about this, i have been putting plumbers teflon tape on the limb bolt threads, to tighten things even more...

[Ray Johnson]

Thanks for the info.I may try the vasoline.I just wrapped my string ends with wool yarn and took the spider silencers off and put some wool puffs on.It helped and also changed the tone of the sound.At first,it was almost a "whack" sound if you know what I mean.Now,it's reduced and the whack is gone but it's still louder than I like.I've done searches on this and that's where I got the idea for wool puffs and wrapping.Also,I shoot three under and my bow is tillered for three under.I called them and they said that they now recommend zero tiller.I would have to send it in and pay to have that done.They said it would help.I will try all other options first.

[McDave]

The reason proper tiller is important for noise reduction is that improperly tillered limbs will return to the braced position at slightly different times, setting up a vibration.  For many years, BW recommended a positive tiller for 3 under that was higher than any of the other brands I know of, all of which recommended either zero tiller or slightly positive.  I wondered about that, and there were debates on the BW forum about whether BW's recommendations for 3 under tiller were correct or not.  It is interesting that they now recommend zero tiller, which is consistent with the other brands I am familiar with.

I know that Rod Jenkins ordered a bow from BW several years ago, and specifically requested zero tiller, even though that wasn't BW's practice at the time.  When he shot the bow in a class I attended, it was one of the quietest bows I've ever heard.

I don't know that it would be worth it to pay BW to change the tiller, as my understanding is that it won't really affect the accuracy of the bow.  OTOH, if you wish you had ordered a bow that was a few pounds lighter, you could kill two birds with one stone and in that case, it might be worth it.

[DennyK]

You are gonna love that SBD string-I have them on both my bows, mine are 8 strand with the recurve wraps and I tied in my own catwhiskers. For the bows I wax the limb bolts, put a light coating of Vaseline on the riser footings and the alignment pins-no trouble with noise. One bow I have antler knobs the other a Great Northern limb bolt quiver. Also 570 Gr arrow, 8.75 brace height.

[Bill Carlsen]

I had a Rocky Miller Predator take down that "clicked" when I drew it after I shot it a few years. Turns out the locator pins were press fitted and I could loosen them and take them out with pliers. I epoxied them all back in place and the noise vanished.

[mark land]

Putting wax on the limb bed and pins and bolts helped with mine and definitely quieted down the bow.  Also keeping my brace height above 8 1/2 and normally around 8 3/4 as well as using double silencers on the string and limb pads at the tips made it very quiet comparably!

[WhiteOaks]

I hunted my Cheyenne hard last year and developed a click on the first couple of draws each day. Rubbed the limb bed and alignment pins with string wax, tightened the limbs dow, rubbed off the excess wax and now she is deadly quiet again. Another great tip I learned from TG.

[bogeyrider63]

I also use string wax on my alignment pins. A quality string with silencers placed in the correct position is also important.