Noise is a major issue for bowhunters, and yet relatively few give it the attention it deserves, believing that a deer cannot possibly “jump the string”, when an arrow is shot from one of today’s “fast” bows. I shoot one of the fasted bows on the market the PSE EVO, advertized speed of 345 fps. Now my EVO set up for hunting and shooting my hunting arrows, it shoots at 311 fps. “Jumping the string”, may not be as easy for a whitetail as it had been, say 10 years ago. The fact is the speed of sound at 68 degrees F is 1,126 feet per second, an arrow from even the fastest bow takes more than 3 times longer to reach the animal than the noise from its departure. Deadening this noise is necessary to successfully and consistently harvesting big-game animals; especially such noted “string-jumpers” as whitetails and yes there are other variables, but it still does happen.
To effectively quiet their bow, hunters need to address all of the culprits that make noise. This calls for the employment of string silencers, cable slides, arrow rests and fixing creaky limbs. It is also a great idea to soundproof your bow in case of collision with other objects. The biggest noisemaker in this arena is the arrow to riser noise that is so common when nocking arrows and when an arrow falls off the rest. These can be avoided by lining the entire shelf and surrounding areas with moleskin or commercial archery fleece. Many manufactures have even done this for you, sound proofing everything from rests, sights, quivers, and yes even the bow it’s self.
So that very well may be review for some of you but one thing that is not, it the topic we started with speed. Sure we all know bows are 30 to 40 fps faster than five years ago but the speed of sound hasn’t changed. Just think of what that means. We as bowhunter really need to think before taking a super long shot. The longer the shot the more “time” that sound has to get to that animal. Forget what you may have seen on TV or a Video. Take shots you know you can make. I have an 80 yard pin, I know that there is no way I’ll ever use that pin on an animal or my 60 yard pin for that matter. So why do I have them, I shoot a lot of 3D archery shoots, that is the only use I have for them. Also I believe that shooting at 50 and 60 yards also makes my 25 and 35 yards shots easier. I am not in the business to tell you what to do, just asking everyone to take a look at the facts and do what you think is the right thing. We owe that to the animal and the bowhunters who came before us and the ones who have yet to pick up the stick and string. May your arrows find their mark and good hunting!
