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Which String Silencers Are Best?

19K views 33 replies 27 participants last post by  Swampfoxforeman  
#1 ·
I need to replace them on a #45 Sage bow I bought from someone on this site. Looking through the Lancaster catalog and there are a few choices: nitro whiskers, colored whiskers, rubber silencers, wooly whispers, beaver balls, beaver string silencer. I'm a trad newbie so could use a little help although maybe it's not a big deal, just personal preference. What are you guys using?
 
#2 ·
You're going to get a lot of answers, but good 'ol rubber catwhiskers are still very hard to beat.

I am using wool puff silencers but only because they were easy to install and my bow was already pretty quiet.
 
#4 ·
So I have wool puffs on my bear T/D, cat whiskers on my grizzly, otter puffs on my buffalo, and some random fur/yarn on my shakespeare(s) that I use for fly tying. Know what? they all work about the same. For some reason the T/D "likes" the wool puffs more to my ear, but when my daughter shoots with me she cannot tell any difference. I like the looks of the wool and otter myself. What I would recommend is to try out a couple different types and see what makes a difference for your bow. They are relatively cheap and easy to install.
 
#5 ·
I have tried several and finally settled on making my own out of yarn. You can get a spool of yarn in the discount bin at a craft store for $3.00 and have enough material for the rest of your life. Once they are shot in they look identical to the fur silencers at a fraction of the cost and they are much easier to install, plus you can choose whatever color or colors you want to give it your own personal touch!
 
#6 ·
I like them all. I switch them around depending on my tune. I like to tune my full length arrows to my bow. So where some small cat whiskers might put me a little weak. A big wool puff will put me a little stiff. Then I slide them up and down till I'm happy with my bareshafts.
 
#7 ·
I think otter fur strips wound around the string look the best and work well. I think wool balls don't look quite as nice but work a little better. Cat whiskers work well but I don't like how they look on my stickbows.

If you are shooting a recurve don't forget to address the area where the sting and limb make contact at brace. Either mole skin on the limb or wool yarn wrapped around the string work, make sure you cover up about 1" past the last point of contact at brace. I prefer the wool yarn wrapped around the string, less chance of filling in the groove on the limb.
 
#13 ·
I use the beaver balls, but they work about as well as wool, as far as my damaged hearing can tell. I just prefer the way they are mounted in the string. They both quiet the string more than enough for me. Rubber cat whiskers work about as well, it may just be my perception but they seemed slightly less effective. They're none so expensive you can't try them all over a short period of time.
 
#15 ·
Fur and wool both work fine, when dry. They absorb some moisture, so shooting when its wet can be quite the adventure. On a positive note, they look more like they belong on a stick bow than the others.

I choose cat whiskers due to the fact that much of my shooting is done in the mountains where rain and snow can hit without warning.
With cat whiskers, there is still a wet explosion on the shot, but it is a fraction of those with fur or wool.

I really like the look of otter, but if it is a bow I will use outdoors, I use cat whiskers.

Aside from that, they all work.
 
#25 ·
Pastprime,
I made a little jig after watching a video. It is actually like a small loom. It is good winter therapy if you know what I mean. Kind of like fly tying. PM me your address and I will send you a pair...any color preference? The ones with the lighter color are a heavier gauge yarn, the darker ones are finer.

Good Shooting->->->->Craig
 
#31 ·
I've tried cat whiskers and beaver balls, but my favorite on my 45-pound Hoyt Buffalo has been little rubber things called BowJax. I take down my bow between shooting, and in my experience, the string wax kind of messes with the cat whiskers and any kind of fur silencers - they get kind of matted and the hairs or whiskers get stuck together. I don't detect any real difference in the sound level between the various kind of string silencers, especially when I'm careful to get the brace height just right, so I've gone the sort of minimalist route and have been pretty happy with the BowJax.