String silencers

[Don Armstrong]

I have several bows I've made and need some string silencers for them. I want to buy a complete hide and cut strips for silencers. I bought silencers from e-bay in the past, before realizing I can buy a complete hide for little more than a couple of sets. Which type of fur makes the most effective silencers. I have used beaver, I think, and they worked well but would like to find the best for silencing a string. Thanks for any input, Don

[Robertfishes]

I've always used wool or rubber spider legs. But I've heard good things about muskrat and otter

[Dano]

I've used Coyote, and Bobcat with good results.

[Pennsyltuckey pete]

I use wool puff balls.  Cheap and very quiet.  I make them out of camouflage yarn that I bought at AC Moore.  I have been known to pull a few fibers from them to check wind direction too.  I like multi purpose!  

[Pat B]

Art Butner turned me on to strips wool fleece. I have used beaver, skunk, muskrat and a few others but I love the wool fleece the best.

[Don Armstrong]

Where do you get the wool puffs or wool fleece. Thanks, Don

[Robertfishes]

go to the sponsor list above your first post and click on Bow Hush the "Hush Puppy" string silencers are top notch

[Pennsyltuckey pete]

You can use wool yarn from any fabric store to make wool puff balls.

[Don Armstrong]

Thanks guys, I will look for some wool fabric to make my own. I have heard good things on the Bow Hush but right now have about 12 bows to put silencers on, so I need a frugle sorce of silencers. Don

[Pat B]

Tandy's sells wool fleeces as would a saddle shop.

[flungonin]

Check out a used clothing store. Salvation Army or Disabled Vets Store. Shirts, jackets for a good price and lots of material. Bought a leather jacket last year and cut it up for arm guards and three fingered gloves for girl scouts to shoot archery with.

[PV]

Bought 3 skeins of ACRYLIC yarn (1 black ,2 multi-colored and doesn't absorb water like cotton or wool) 25 years ago for dubbing for fly tying.
Been using it for silencers on countless # of strings. Still have all 3 colors. Total cost back then less than $10

[Roconman]

Pat, I took your advice and made some silencers out of some wool fleese scraps I had. Man,they look good and work good,super quite.Thanks for the tip,I really like them......Dan

[Pat B]

If the fleece is too thick you can reduce the diameter with a pair of sharp scissors. The fleece doesn't seem to matte like other wild furs when they get wet.
Tandy's used to sell fleece scraps for dying leather and rubbing in mink oil. I've had a scrap for over 30 year that I began using with mink oil and now Montana Pitch Blend. It stays inside the container.

[ballen28115]

My sister the knitting expert sent me some 3 strand wool camo yarn and a couple of little jigs they sell to make yarn pom poms in different sizes.  I make the larger sized pom pom from the camo yarn and it'll really quiet down a noisy recurve.

[mater]

Ive tried muskrat,coon and coyote hides. all work ok, but I use yarn cause its easier.
           mater

[Scout Two Feathers]

Rabbit fur???

[josef2424]

I use musk ox budles sold on 3rivers. They shed water very well.

[Roy Steele]

WOOL is #1 good fourm is better.I shoot nothing on the string and off the wood.And have done so when I started building selfbows.
 But long bows and recurves I had to have silencers and self padding of so kind.Strange

[snag]

I found out the best string silencer is shooting your bow with the proper alignment and back tension. Out of 15 guys at a shooting clinic all of us had considerably quieter bows when we got done learning how to improve our shooting. I now think that most add silencers to overcome the noise related to our less than good form. I guess it is easier putting a bandaid on than fixing the problem. I am not condemning or berating anyone...I am just stating an observation that I hope will lead to a better fix. If you can quiet the bow by fixing excessive string oscillation and vibration to the bow you are going to quiet the bow down. Then when you do add a string silencer you will have a much quieter bow then just adding a silencer.