Silencing is Golden when Bowhunting


Silence is a must when it comes to hunting for nearly every trophy animal whether you are using a firearm, compound bow, or crossbow. Sound elimination is just as important to a bowhunter’s success as having the bow sighted in correctly and tuned properly. When it comes to bowhunting whitetail every experienced hunter knows that deer have the ability to hear and react to the sound of an arrow being shot prior to it piercing their vitals.  All the technology in the world will not prevent a deer or big game target from recognizing the sound of a hunter. With sound traveling roughly 1,100 feet per second, no arrow is fast enough to beat sound. There are a variety of bowhunting accessories that can be added to your bowhunting set up that will aid in sound reduction when it comes to these sharp-eared animals. Most bowhunters will do everything in their power to reduce as much noise as possible from their bow through the use of particular tactics with the help of silencers, dampeners, and other tricks.

Many compound bow engineers are going the extra mile and designing products that will eliminate the sounds from limb vibration. The recoil following a shot is sent through the limbs of the bow and produces quite a dramatic sound. It is the vibration in the limbs that produces much of the sound so you will find that most bowhunters will go out of their way to reduce the noise through the use of silencers. Most of the silencers that are manufactured today are easily applied to the bow and the soft rubber material will soak up much of the vibration coming from the limbs.

 

Bow strings are a major culprit when it comes to making noise when taking your shot when bowhunting.  Most bowhunting enthusiasts will use spiders, leeches, whiskers, or jacks on their bowstring which are place directly on the string at a distance of six inches from either axle. The reasoning behind using one of the various string dampening devices is to minimize the twangy noise caused by vibrations that occur when the string comes to an sharp stop. While there is some talk that there is a loss of arrow speed when using bow string silencers, but in comparison to the noise a string produces, the arrow speed is a mute point. Most string silencers can be easily attached to the bowstring without the need of a bow press. 

 

While arrow rests are an ideal accessory for your bowhunting bow, they can also be a part of problem when it comes to spooking and alerting a deer to your position and shot. A good way to test whether or not your arrow rest is causing a noise disturbance is to nock and arrow, put it on the arrow rest and then shake the arrow until it falls off. When the arrow falls does it make a noise? Does it hit other parts of your bow set up? A quick and easy fix to arrow rest issues is to apply fleece or moleskin to any points where the arrow makes contact with the riser or rest. If metal prongs are the problem, add shrink tubing or moleskin to the prongs.

 

Another piece of equipment that will aid hunters in reducing the amount of noise coming from their bow will be a stabilizer which not only will absorb much of the vibrations, but also balance the bow.

Bow sights are crucial to a bowhunters success but the moveable parts add to the possible noise issue hunters face. As with anything, screws have the tendency to wiggle loose after an extended period of time, particularly when a lot of shots are taken. O-rings and small lock washers will help to keep the screw connections secure and quiet.

It is a requirement for bowhunters to transport their gear from one location to another and lugging a bunch of arrows can be cumbersome without the use of an arrow quiver. While quivers are now able to easily be detached from the bow once a hunter is in the treestand or blind, there are some hunters who choose to keep their quiver screwed in. Quivers are great besides the fact that the screws can be quite noisy if not fully tightened. The arrow grips in the quiver should be in tact in order to reduce vibration noise and if there is a foam block it should not used if there is any deterioration.

If you are not confident where a specific noise is coming from, there are actually a handful of things you'll be able to do to diagnose the situation. First try out plucking the string just an inch or so and listen for vibrating elements. A partner to assist in listening is going to be a massive aid. Should you detect a noise and usually are not certain in which it is actually coming from, you could must take your equipment off one at a time and repeat the approach till you narrow it down. This might sound like an aggravation, however the rewards of silencing your bow may be immeasurable.

There are plenty of lubricants offered to put on bolts, screws, the axles, and any other movable elements. Together with the lots of merchandise available currently to market a quiet bow, there is absolutely no purpose for any bowhunter to have the worries of unwanted noise. There is absolutely no such thing as a bow becoming also quiet.

What other tricks do you have to silence your bow? Share with other bowhunters by leaving a comment below on the outdoor news section and find all your bowhunting sporting goods at PoorFish Outdoors

 

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