Matt / PA

I hope I'm not breaking any major traditional codes of honor or anything........

I was messing around with my recurves tonight and while they are pretty quiet they still have a good deal of vibration and that "boing" sound to them even with heavy (570gr) arrows and beaver ball silencers as well as dorking with brace height to find a mild spot. My long draw and endless loop string probably add to that noise.

I know some guys aren't afraid to glue on some Limbsavers but I didn't want to go that route so I started rooting around........

Then I spotted them. My last year's Bowtech "Vibrablock" limb silencers.
They are a one piece slip over style silencer that just happens to fit recurve limbs perfectly. They don't mar the finish and you can slide them anywhere along the limb to find the best location.
To say they cut vibration and noise would be an understatement! They really work well. They turn a bong into a mild thump.
If you didn't know any better you'd think they were made for traditional bows.

I don't want to use a bow quiver (Selway etc) that would help cut vibration so these were a great find.
I want to get these bows shooting as quietly as humanly possible and these stupid little hunks of rubber helped tremendously.....far more than you will ever be able to notice on a high performance compound bow.

If anyone is interested you probably will shy away from this years version as they are really squiggly and wild looking but would probably work great........however last years have a more modest wavy design and look pretty neat on a recurve limb. If you can find them IMO they are a great little investment to quiet down a bare limbed recurve or longbow.

I know it's probably not the wood bow way but my only interest is silence and if that means a few neat little hunks of rubber I have no problem with it so feel free to make fun.

This way when the first deer of the season walks up it'll just stand there while I keep missing.

Arthur P

Interesting... I wonder how much they interfere with limb action though, and if you have any performance loss with them.

I can tell you one thing for fact. Beaver balls look way 'trad' but they really don't do a very good job of silencing string noise. They're fine for bows that are pretty quiet to begin with. Cat whiskers are much better for a naturally loud bow.

Matt / PA

Arthur,
Here's a link to a set of the style I am using from Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bowtech-VibraBlock-anti-vibration-system_W0QQitemZ7209069117QQcategoryZ36100QQssPage NameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have no clue if they are affecting performance but they do work. They're pretty light but I don't have the knowledge to know how they would affect limb action.......all I know at this point is me add rubber make bow quiet.
How much performance do the heavier cat whiskers eat up vs the beaver balls?
The Pearson I have shoots great but I would classify it as noisy compared to the Bear and Shakespeare.
I'll see if I can find another set laying around and if I do I'll send them to you to play with.

(On an unrelated note: I have to say too that it's funny for a guy like me to be gravitating toward the pokiest bow of the 3 as well)

Arthur P

I've never shot througha chronograph to check how much actualdifference, but I've had no change in my point-on distance or gaps when switching from one to the other. So I'd have to say performance differences are negligible. Except to the ear.

LOL! We all tend toprefer shootingthe bows we shoot best with, no matter what the speed. Give me a pokey bow that shoots where I look. Keep the pocket rocket that's unruly. Now... On the other hand, if I've got a pocket rocket that also shoots where I look...

LBR

Cool find! I'm not against anything that's ugly or different, as long as it works. I agree with Art on fur silencers--they have never done nearly as well for me as cat whiskers, and not nearly as adjustable either (silencer placement can make a big difference in string noise also).

Thanks for sharing!

Chad

Arthur P

I was nosing thru my 3Rivers catalog last night and found something I'd not noticed before.... Bow Tunerz. Looks like you're not the first to have the idea, Matt. [&:]

Matt / PA

Son of a............



Well at least I know I wasn't out in left field anyway.

LBR

I wouldn't go so far as to say that! It does look like you weren't out there all by yourself though.

Matt, any chance you will be coming to Denton Hill this year? As it stands, I'll be there--not as a vendor, just for a mini vacation. Let me know if you will be there, we'll figure out how to get together and shoot a round or something.

Chad

Matt / PA

Chad,
I'm sure I should probably know what Denton Hill is..........but I don't.

Remember I'm just a traditional poser.

If it's a big traditional 3D shoot, I just got a taste of what a beginning compound shooter must feel like when I ask them if they want to shoot a round with me.[]

I'm not sure I have enough arrows to make it through a round.[8D]

LBR

Sorry Matt--I forgot you were still fairly new to this side of the sport. Denton Hill is at the Denton Hill ski resort in PA--it's the largest traditional gathering in the U.S. Several courses (5, I think) but non-competitive. On one course you ride the ski lift up and shoot the course back down the mountain. I've never been, but heard it's great--gobs of vendors and just lots of fun in general.

If I'm not mistaken, it's July 27, 28, 29, and 30. Hope to see you there!

Chad