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String silencer: How far?

12K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  Coodster 
#1 ·
Hi,

I'd like to know where exactly on the string you install your sting silencers.

I've got a Hoyt GM2 and have tried out cat whiskers and beaver fur too, both helped definitely in silencing the bow down a bit, but I'm not sure whether I put them on the right place. I've read somewhere that it should be 10 inches from the end of the string, then I've also heard that they should be at 1/4 of the string and recently just heard from someone else that they shouldn't be further than 3 inches from the point where the string doesn't touch the limb anymore when the bow is strang (that means roughly 5-6 inches from the end of the string).

I have tried out the 10 as well as 12 inch and the quarter position too without hearing much difference, although the 12 inch might gave the best results. However, I have never put them nearer than 10 inches to the end of the string.

By the way, now I have beaver fur on as I didn't hear any difference with cat whiskers either, so the pretty look of the fur has won "the battle", but not sure whether I have them on the right place or not...

Cheers,
Norbert
 
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#2 ·
I like to start at the quarter mark and adjust up and down a little listening and feeling for the right spot. It is not always at the quarter mark for me on different bows. If your bow still seems louder than you like play with the brace height, pad the limb tips, vibration dampeners on the limbs, heck some put two sets of silencers on the string. Good luck.
 
#3 ·
I've also heard of people placing them at the 1/4 AND the 1/3 locations.

I think it is slightly different for each and every bow. Just have to do a lot of experimenting by moving them up and down on the string until you find the best for your bow and setup. How well the bow/arrow combination is tuned makes a difference, and it also helps to place silencing material where the string contacts the limb.
 
#4 ·
I did it the easy way. I put the whiskers on the bow, tied on with serving sot hat I could move them up and down. I started at 8" and plucked the string. You can actually hear the difference by a simple pluck. It goes from a twang or vibration to a dull thud. About a 1-2" pluck is all you need...just move the whiskers up or down the string until the best thud happens!
 
#6 ·
katman said:
I like to start at the quarter mark and adjust up and down a little listening and feeling for the right spot. It is not always at the quarter mark for me on different bows. If your bow still seems louder than you like play with the brace height, pad the limb tips, vibration dampeners on the limbs, heck some put two sets of silencers on the string. Good luck.
Sorry if this is hijacking the thread. Where do you install the vibration dampeners on the limbs?
 
#8 ·
bradd7 said:
I did it the easy way. I put the whiskers on the bow, tied on with serving sot hat I could move them up and down. I started at 8" and plucked the string. You can actually hear the difference by a simple pluck. It goes from a twang or vibration to a dull thud. About a 1-2" pluck is all you need...just move the whiskers up or down the string until the best thud happens!
That's a good idea, it's quite time consuming to move beaver fur, but I guess if I put cat whiskers back and find the right spot you explained and place the fur there it should work.

By the way, has anyone tried to put wool yarn as an extra layer of serving to the ends of the string where it touches the limbs? I've got calf hair groove silencer on, but it seems to wear out very soon even though I put them on just recently, the "knuckles" on the flemish string flatten the hair out very much.
 
#10 ·
Man, I can't believe I forgot, but DAS has a standard length from the end of the string to the silencers. For two sets of silencers, he places them at "x" and "y" inches from the end of the string, and for one set of silencers it's "z" inches. He told me that it doesn't really matter if it's a 58" or 66" bow, that these are the distances he finds to be optimum. I really wish I could remember what they are now. I'm thinking it was around 15" from the ends to the silencers for one set, and maybe 13" and 18" for two sets...
 
#11 ·
eginorbi said:
By the way, has anyone tried to put wool yarn as an extra layer of serving to the ends of the string where it touches the limbs? I've got calf hair groove silencer on, but it seems to wear out very soon even though I put them on just recently, the "knuckles" on the flemish string flatten the hair out very much.
Yep, I added yarn servings where the string contacts the bow. Picked up a lifetime supply of 100% merino wool, installation was very uneventful, and seemed to quiet the "whack" I was hearing beforehand.
 
#12 ·
I get good silencing and performance with wool 14" from tips of my bows. I will first serve in whiskers and find the spot, shoot in string then take them off and serve in the wool silencers.

Odd the beaver fur and whiskers are giving same performance, the beaver fur is much more heavier than the whiskers. Well mine are
 
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