Bowtech shooters, how long do your string silencers last?
I just got my bow a little over a week ago and have already lost one of the "legs" from the top string silencer and top cable silencer. Is this normal wear?
When replacing the string silencers dd you get the bowtechs again or something else?
RE: Bowtech shooters, how long do your string silencers last?
Good question. It really seems to vary from bow to bow and shooter to shooter....at least in my experience. I still have the original set on my MM VFT and my Pro 40 Freedom. Both bows have been shot extensively and yet only the bottom squidee on the string of the Pro 40 is actually showing any signs of wear. Nothing has fallen off.
I have a theory though it is only based on a few bows I have run into. What grains per pound ratio are you shooting with your setup? What draw weight and draw length are you shooting your bow at? Where do you have the squidees positioned on the string? (factory set or did you tinker with their position?)
As you can probably already deduce I believe these factors play a part in how quickly they wear out.
To answer your second question, I will probably just throw some leeches on the string in place of them when they do wear out....simply because they are easier to obtain. It would be nice to see some "squidees" or vibrablocks sitting on some of the local dealer shelves as well though I must admit. Maybe next year.
RE: Bowtech shooters, how long do your string silencers last?
The silencers on the strings of my Liberty lasted about 500 shots or so. The two on the cables are still hanging on after 9 months of pretty heavy shooting. I replaced the silencers with leaches when they let go. Just a little easier to install, as you don't have to remove the string like installing the Bowtech silencers. The leaches are holding up pretty well so far.
I think the durability of any of the silencers has a lot to do with how your bow is set up. I was shooting a slightly heavier arrow, around 7 grains per pound of draw weight. I'm now shooting around 6gpp. The lower that number gets, the quicker you can expect to wear out these soft string silencers.
RE: Bowtech shooters, how long do your string silencers last?
The silencers on my original strings and cables for my Liberty lasted until I changed them with only one "fingertip" breaking off about 1/4 of it's length. I'd say about 1000 arrows.
My current set which are a few months old are holding up well except for the string-side silencer near the idler. All but one or two of the fingers have broke. However, the bow is still as quiet as a mouse fart (quieter than my 60 pound Outback with nearly the same grain arrow..397 vs. 400), so I haven't changed it out yet. I was shooting 80 pounds on that bow at exactly 5 grains per pound, so it doesn't surprise me it wore out so quickly. When the bow had 70 pound limbs I was shooting about 5.7 grains per pound. The dual cams will go through them faster.
If I feel the need to replace them I'll go with real small catwhiskers at the extreme ends to reduce speed loss...I love Sims leeches, but I tire of replacing them at the prices they go for these days. That or I may try the "string bats".
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RE: Bowtech shooters, how long do your string silencers last?
The ones on my cables are still there, and the one on the bottom of the string is too. I had a problem with the one on the top riding up the string after several shots to where it was contacting the wheel and I'd have to slide it back down. It finally fell off, cant even say how many shots tho. Shooting an Extreme VFT with 8.9 grains per inch arrows.
RE: Bowtech shooters, how long do your string silencers last?
They vary in longevity due to position on the string and the geometry of the bow itself.........the squids stretch like crazy because the legs themselves are relatively thin. If you position them where they can reach the cables or string wraparound, I think they actually stretch out and around the obstruction and rip off on the way back.
I can't keep the same legs on my bottom one on my Liberty and it has to be because of this.......the top one is perfect after hundreds of shots. The bottom one ripped after only a few, but it only ripped a certain amount off so I suppose they aren't reaching string anymore on the powerstroke.
I'd be willing to bet that a SIMS leech in the exact same postion wouldn't last long either.
The stock stuff works VERY well, almost identical to Leeches, unfortuantely the soft nature of each product makes them suceptible to damage.
RE: Bowtech shooters, how long do your string silencers last?
The ones on my string lasted maybe 500 shots. The ones on my cables are fine. I replaced them with a set of catwhiskers and a set of leeches that I served in. The 1st set of leeches that I just installed w/o serving them in flew out after less than 50 shots. So far the leeches are holding up good so far. And talk about quiet.......
Bowtech shooters, how long do your string silencers last?
