Every archer should know how to silence a recurve bow. Silent shooting is vital for hunting, but it can also help prevent startling your games and alarming your team if you are hunting with others. There are many different ways to make your recurve bow more silent.
Personally, many archers like to use foam earplugs. They're cheap and easy to find, and work great. You can also prefer recurve bows manufactured to shoot more silently. This is why recurve bow manufacturers offer different types of recurve bows with varying levels of quietness.
However, this guide is for you if you want to know the causes that make a bow louder or harsh and learn the efficient ways to silence them.
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Common Causes of A Louder or Noisy Recurve Bow
If your bow makes a harsh sound when firing, then it might be time to embark on accomplishing a plethora of tasks, and a good start will be finding out the causes. However, the causes for a loud recurve are not difficult to pinpoint, and we have found in their research the reasons and situations in which this could happen. Here you go with them.
- Brittle/ Unoiled String: One of the common causes of a loud and harsh recurve bow is the way the strings are wound. As the bow draws back, the energy is transferred from the string to the arrow. If these strings are not oiled, this can cause the noise to become excessive.
- Lighter Arrows: A loud and harsh recurve bow can be caused by the weight of the arrows. Since recurve bows are designed for a particular weight of the arrow, excess energy from light arrows can travel through the bow, and thus the noise will be more prominent.
- Shorter String length: A noisy recurve bow may also be due to shorter string length. Short strings will often detach from the bow, which will result in more pain and aching muscles. Additionally, improperly adjusted drawstrings will create a harsh, high-pitched sound.
- Extra String Length or Loose String: Recurve bows can be prone to loud and harsh sounds due to excessive string length. The best way to silence a recurve bow is to properly tune your recurve bow and ensure that your strings are in good condition.
- Untimely Release: The untimely release is the most common reason for a recurve bow to make noise. The reason for this is that the arrow's weight and speed make it difficult to hold the bowstring back, causing people to release their fingers from the string earlier than intended.
- Loose Components: Recurve bows may be notoriously loud because of loose components resulting from improper setup. Several factors cause this noise, including improper string tension, loose strings, and poor brace height.
- Loose Screws: Tightening the screws on your bow is essential for avoiding unnecessary noise. Tightening the screws will prevent the strings from detaching from the limb and groove, which will lead to other problems.
6 Ways To Silence A Recurve Bow
Knowing the causes of trouble is halfway to the solution. Now, let's accomplish the half-done task by examining and implementing the efficient methods of ensuring that your recurve bow will not be harsher or louder and never scare away the deer, elk, rabbit and other games.
1. Maintaining The String
If you're tired of hearing your bow ring after every shot, you might want to take a look at how you can silence it. One of the most overlooked parts of your recurve bow is the string. It has to be firmly fastened to prevent noise. If the string is too loose, it will create vibrations, which will increase the noise when you snap your arrow. Taking the time to tighten the sight is an effective way to silence your bow. The string will clog up the groove if the sight is too loose and cause a noisy rattling sound.
See Also: How To Properly String A Recurve Bow
2. Fine Tune Your Bow
An imbalanced recurve bow will snap forward when shot, but you shouldn't have to worry about this. Fine-tuning your bows can silence your longbow or recurve bow can improve the feel and accuracy of your shots. To make your bow quieter, add string silencers and brush buttons. These accessories help dampen the after-shot vibration and silence the string fast. However, recurves have smaller strings than longbows and require fewer string silencers.
The brace height determines the behaviors of your bow. To silence your recurve bow, you can start with the brace height adjustment. The proper brace height will dictate how your arrow will behave and how much it will pivot in mid-air.
Not to forget, fine-tuning your bow includes dealing with loose components, accessories, and peripherals like screws.
3. Use A String Silencer
When bow-hunting, it is often helpful to use a string silencer, which can help you shoot slower arrows. This tool can help you perfect your technique and make your shots more accurate.
Some people use beaver balls and brooms. They are made of beaver fur, so they are heavier and will not create as much noise. Using them can also make it easier to separate the string, which is an excellent option when you're practicing.
However, you need to remove the string from your bow before installing a string silencer. If you don't want to remove the whole string from your bow, you can slide it over the silencer to reduce the vibration.
4. Dealing With Vibration of the Limbs
If you've been experiencing noise and vibration in your recurve bow, you're not alone. If you notice that your recurve is making too much noise, you may find the most likely culprit is the vibrating limbs.
The first step in dealing with the vibration of your recurve bow is to ensure that your limbs are balanced. The best recurve bow noise reduction method in this situation is to use a stabilizer. A stabilizer, or limbsaver, is a small rubber device that will absorb the vibration in the recurve bow limbs.
You should also consider installing limb dampeners. This is a simple solution, but it can make a big difference. By adding these devices to your recurve bow, you can contribute to reducing recurve bow noise and eliminating vibration in your bow limbs.
5. Replacing the Lighter Arrows
Changing arrows is the most obvious solution to a noisy recurve. While some recurve limbs are noisier than others, a few simple changes can drastically improve your bow's quietness. First, make sure that you're shooting heavier arrows. This will reduce stress on your bow and the limbs, resulting in a quieter shot.
6. Timely/ Mature Release
It's very common for recurve shooters to experience shooting noise while they're shooting, which can be distracting. Whether you are practicing at the range or hunting in the wild, your chances of getting detected by animals are increased as sound travels much farther than arrow speed. One way to reduce the noise of your bow is to release the arrow timely and not hold onto it after your shot. This can be done by pulling back on your fingers while simultaneously pushing the bowstring away from the archer with his hand.
Wrap Up
Knowing the right steps to take when silencing a recurve bow is important. Our team hopes that this article will prove helpful in showing you how to silence a recurve bow as it has pointed out all the potential causes that make a bow noisier and suggested efficient methods to silence it. But if you still have questions unanswered and do not dare take the initiative on your own, please do not hesitate to consult professional help.
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