If you’re an avid hunter, then learning how to make a bow quieter can be the difference between a hit or a miss. This is especially true the farther away you are from your prey.
If you are not a hunter, then you most likely just use a bow for target practice. Although making your bow quieter may seem pointless, a lot of these tips can also help improve the accuracy and performance of your bow.
After thorough research, I have found the following tips that are proven to help increase the performance and reduce the noise of your bow by a considerable amount.
1. Use a Well Crafted Bow Stabilizer
It’s very common to see the bows used by Olympians to have those huge two-and-a-half-foot-long bow stabilizers.
They are that big to help quiet and stabilize their bow for the best accuracy possible. Have you ever seen a hunter with a huge type of bow like that? I know I haven’t.
Way back in the day, bow stabilizers looked and felt like a huge metal pipes.
Technology has evolved somewhat and has brought the weight and size of today’s stabilizers to close to nothing while still increasing their ability to reduce vibrations and noise and increase performance.
This bow stabilizer from amazon is lightweight, and its unique design allows the air to pass through it effortlessly to help give a steadier shot while reducing vibration and noise.
There are a few characteristics to look for in a good stabilizer. You want to look for a stabilizer that is lightweight, allows air to pass through it, and isn’t too big.
Not only does a stabilizer balance the bow, but it also helps soak up vibration from the bow riser. This specific model has been tried and tested by many users and has received a lot of positive feedback from actual users.
It’s always best to search around for other models, but you will soon find they all have a few things in common.
2. Install Limb Dampeners
There are a lot of mixed reviews about limb dampeners. It boils down to the company where you purchase the limb dampener.
A limb dampener like this one is pretty inexpensive and has many users claiming that they all see reduced noise and vibration.
A company can say anything to the consumer about their product to make a sale, but when there are real user reviews stating that the product works, then it speaks for itself.
I am a firm believer that a limb dampener is a must-have accessory for your bow if you want to decrease noise and vibrations.
If you know how a limb dampener works, then it only makes sense that this will be the main contributor to suppressing bow noise after shooting.
What Does a Limb Dampener Do?
A limb dampener simply reduces the amount of limb vibration from your bow when shooting. Take a bow without one of these installed as an example.
When the bow fires, there will be excessive vibration in the limb once the arrow is released. This excessive vibration will also give off a lot of vibration and wind noise.
Once a limb dampener is installed on the same bow, the dampener will absorb most of the impact and shock. This will effectively reduce the noise generated when shooting an arrow.
Most companies claim that these dampeners can reduce vibrations by up to 75%. That is an astounding percentage.
Now we all know that companies tend to overhype their products, but there are actual reviews from people stating that the difference is very noticeable in both the sound and handling of their bows.
Since vibration is reduced, so is the noise. Installation is also pretty simple. A limb dampener can be installed in a few minutes and is fairly simple to do.
3. Use a String Stopper
A string stopper does exactly as it sounds. It stops your string. String stoppers are becoming more and more popular in the bow world.
So popular that most bows now come standard with some sort of string stopper already installed. As you can imagine, most items that come in stock on a bow aren’t the best when it comes to performance.
If you are looking to further reduce the vibration and noise of your bow, then using something like this string stop kit would be very beneficial.
It has a universal mounting system that will work with most bows on the market. It’s still advised to do your research before purchasing a product like this to make sure it will fit your bow.
A string stop also pairs nicely with a good limb dampener. Both of these bow accessories work together to help reduce the noise and vibration of the strings and limbs of your bow.
What Does a String Stopper Do?
A string stopper reduces the noise by transferring the energy from the string to the bow. This happens once the string slams into the bumper portion of the stopper.
The above string stopper uses a propriety vibration dampener as its stopper. A string stopper is basically an accessory made to absorb the impact and shock from your bowstring.
It absorbs the shock from the string and effectively routes it into your bow.
String stoppers are also fairly easy to install, although they do take a little bit more work than installing a limb dampener.
To install a string stopper, all you have to do is screw it into the front or rear stabilizer hole. Not only does a string stopper reduce bow noise, but it also helps prevent your wrists from getting slapped when you shoot.
4. String Silencers
String silencers began most likely long ago from hunters. The most original string silencers were animal fur. Tanned beaver hide is among one of the most popular forms of string silencers today.
Not only does it make your bow quieter, but it also acts as a natural water repellent and also gives your bow a cool, unique look. You can’t get any more natural than animal fur.
Another popular option not too long ago was rubber whiskers. Many bow owners still use rubber whiskers today.
These whiskers are said to be a more old-school way of quieting your bow, but it works nonetheless. These little rubber whiskers actually have quite a few benefits. They don’t get tangled, are very lightweight, and are waterproof.
There are many newer models that are available on the market today. These string silencers are a more modern approach to string silencing.
It still uses the same concept but looks a lot more aggressive and modern than the older style of whiskers.
Whether you decide to go the traditional route with the whiskers, or the more modern approach with the string silencers, you won’t be disappointed.
Both are very inexpensive and are proven to significantly reduce the noise of your bow’s strings. Installation is also very easy.
Simply slip the silencer over your bowstring, and you’re all done. Many users have reported a drastic noise decrease with only applying two silencers. One on the bottom and one on the top of the string.
5. The Weight of Your Bow and Arrows Matter
In most instances, the heavier a bow, the quieter it will be. A heavier framed bow is denser and will absorb vibrations and shock, thus reducing the noise.
I know I preach about lightweight pieces all throughout this, but the frame is the body of your bow. You want to have a nice solid frame that has a good weight in order to absorb a lot of the vibrations and impact.
Another thing to look at is the weight of your arrows. Shooting a heavy arrow is one way to significantly reduce the sound of a bow.
A heavier arrow is harder to fire and absorbs more of the vibration due to its weight. It may have a louder impact sound, but the initial firing will be quieter than an arrow that is lightweight.
Not only is a heavier arrow quieter, but it also has increased energy at impact.
Bow Maintenance
Maintaining your bow is also very important to reducing noise. Moleskin is a very popular product to cover your hunting bow with.
Moleskin serves as a type of protection and buffers for your bow. It also helps eliminate any metal-to-metal contact noise.
Wrap your bow in moleskin to help preserve your bow’s integrity while helping reduce noise at the same time.
Another thing to look at is your bow’s quiver. Quivers can actually be quite loud. The main thing you want to do it make sure that it’s attached tightly to your bow.
If it’s loose, that means there will be rattling. Where there’s rattling, there’s noise. You can use moleskin to fill in gaps or help eliminate loose areas of your quiver.
The last thing to check is the screws. Check all the screws on your bow to make sure they are all tight. If you aren’t familiar with the trend yet, tighter is better.
Making sure everything is tight will prevent rattling and create an overall more sturdy bow. A sturdier bow will absorb a lot more vibration and noise than a bow that is loose or not optimized.
What Are the Benefits of a Quiet Bow?
How important is it to have a quiet bow? It highly depends on your goals. If your main goal is to just have a quieter bow for convenience, then that really doesn’t benefit anything, does it?
If you’re an avid hunter, then this is a totally different story. The importance of a quiet bow increases the farther you are shooting.
The farther away an animal is, the better chance they have of reacting if they are able to hear your bow from 60 yards away.
Having a quiet bow makes it easier to shoot your prey from a long distance. It will be much harder for them to hear your arrow release from your bow, which means you will catch them off guard.
If most of your shooting is done close range, then having a quiet bow won’t affect you as much. This is simply due to the animal being unable to react quickly enough because you are already so close.
Tune Your Bow
This should be a part of your bow’s maintenance. Have you ever seen someone play the guitar that was out of tune? It sounds and performs differently than it’s supposed to.
The same happens with a bow. A bow that is out of tune will not work as intended and will also make excess noise.
The way your bow is tuned can affect the overall amount of noise it will make based on the type of bow you are using.
When a two-cam bow comes out of tune, the two cams are now going to travel at different speeds, which means they will stop at different times.
This sudden shift can cause an audible difference since your bow is no longer in uniform. Both cams will stop at two different times, which can cause either a prolonged sound or two separate sounds altogether.
Tuning your bow regularly shouldn’t just be done to reduce noise. It should be done regularly to help you get the most out of your bow performance year-round.
Final Thoughts
Having a quiet bow for hunting is optimal. You don’t want to scare away your prey as soon as your bow is fired. The quieter your bow is, the harder it will be for your prey to react.
All of these accessories and modifications I listed not only help to quiet your bow but also help improve accuracy and performance on top of that.
Use a good lightweight bow with a good stabilizer. Make sure to also use limb dampeners, a string stopper, and string silencers since they all work together nicely to reduce the vibrations and sound of your bow.
It may not be possible to completely silence your bow, but you can get it pretty close.
