I know there are loads of ways to quiet down your bow and everyone has his own opinion on what is best. I go the heavy arrow route. I would like to hear from you guys what is the Decibel reading when you shoot your bow? The arrow weight and arrow speed? I shoot a Hoyt Maxxis at 84# a 713gr arrow at 240ft/s and I measured the noise level at 64dB which i can only describe as a mouse on slippers. Hoyt Maxxis 31 DG 82# 28,5" DL FMJ DG 250 @ 713gr @ 240ft/s
Just have to mention as well. I dont have any thing on my string other than a D-loop. I shoot peepless as well. Hoyt Maxxis 31 DG 82# 28,5" DL FMJ DG 250 @ 713gr @ 240ft/s
I've been going back over my physics and reviewing acoustics just cuz I'm a curious fella. There are several things to consider when thinking of sound: 1- How is sound 'loudness' measured. One of the main units is the dB. It is a number base logarithm. An increase of power by 10x would raise the db by 10. However, the ear 'hears' the sound increase in a fairly straight line, despite the 10 fold increase in the db unit. So a 3 db change in sound does not sound 30x louder. The math on this is fairly complex. An important note is that high pitches (high frequencies) travel further than low frequencies. 2- How is sound perceived: Deer have only slightly better sense of hearing than man. This has been researched by several university's, Univ. of Georgia being one. They pick up sound a little better than we do. Deer have three main avantages in their hearing; first, they hear low frequencies we cannot (think grunts and snorts). Deer can point their ears like a parabolic cup and pin point where a sound is coming from. Finally, deer are prey. They are constantly on alert to new sounds, aware of even the slightest change in their environment. Sorta like the difference you would experience between getting cold cocked and knowing an antagonist is probably going to hit you. 3- A sound will carry different db at different frequencies. So if bow A and bow B have the same db but bow A has most of its sound at the low end of the frequency range compared to bow B, bow A will be quieter further from the shooter than bow B. This means you will also need a frequency analyzer so you can discover (and hopefully eliminate) the higher pitches from the bow, like a bow twang. 4- If you are using an app to measure the db, these are rarely accurate enough to consider the hard number. What it is good for is to compare bows. Furthermore, sound builds meaning the amount of background noise is important to consider, so when I give comparisons I tell how far from the bow the mic is, what the ambient sound level is, and what the sound level recorded at the shot is. In the future I am also going to tell what range the sound is 'weighted' in using a frequency analyzer. So for example, ex. 47 db ambient, 67 db at 1 foot from the arrow rest, sound weighted between 200-400 hz. so if the guy next to me lets me analyze his bow and I get 47 db ambient, 65 db at 1 foot from the arrow rest, sound weighted between 5000-7000 hz I would conclude my bow is probably quieter than his to the deer because his bow makes a quieter sound at a higher frequency that travels much more efficiently. Curious to see what you think. Incidentally, 64 db is the sound level between running a vacuum or traffic and normal conversation.
Hi Zedd thanks for the info I did a Vibration and Noise class at varsity in my final year of studying Mechanical Engineering. It is a bit more complex but everyting is just as complex as you want it to be. I used a soundmeter on a table about half a meter (less than 2foot) from the bow. Hoyt Maxxis 31 DG 84# 28,5" DL FMJ DG 250 @ 713gr @ 240ft/s
The soundmeter captures the max level during the spike of te shot. Im not sure how big an impact the arrow hitting the target has on the reading though Hoyt Maxxis 31 DG 84# 28,5" DL FMJ DG 250 @ 713gr @ 240ft/s
I usually get two spikes, louder from the bow and much less when it hits the target. Do you have the ability to test where in the frequency range your bow sound is originating? Also, what is the background noise (initial ambient) as that will affect comparing noise levels. I am using a simple android app for sound and frequency, not accurate but for comparison purposes sufficient (of course I have to use the same phone and app). Didn't mean to sound condescending. Measuring sound is difficult and fraught with error. Hopefully the brief explanation will help others, and it was good for me to review what I was getting.
I didnt take offence at all. In the end all i want to do is compare aswell. Some guys here in RSA told me they measure 87dB for fast bows. The background noise at home is about 40-42dB. Its in the city so cant find a completely silent area. Hoyt Maxxis 31 DG 84# 28,5" DL FMJ DG 250 @ 713gr @ 240ft/s
Ive used a deciple meter the same they use for compition subwoofer cars there exact reads and if theres any background noise or anything you can block it out or zero it out like a scale for an exact read. My creed xs is quieter than a mouse fart lol How do you like those dangerous game limbs philip i have a maxxis i dont touch cause the limbs are splintered from shooting to much but i was thinking of getting those limbs just to mess with it i havent touched it since 2010 lol its a dust collector.
I love it Solocamin1 im still working up to 90 but at this stage it is generating enough energy to legaly hunt a bull Giraffe and cape Buffalo. You wont regret getting the heavy limbs. They can go down to about 72#. And then you can come hunt some of africas biggest with heavy arrows. Hoyt Maxxis 31 DG 84# 28,5" DL FMJ DG 250 @ 713gr @ 240ft/s
Cool yeah i was looking at the 90 or 80 pound limbs just for speed and to mess with im not hunting any african or dangerous game.
wow-64 db! My PSE Surge (set up as in the signature, still without a stabilizer) with a background level of 44 dB is getting 71 db consistently. I am really curious to see if a stabilizer quiets it. Any idea where at in the frequency range you are getting you noise?
87 db is pretty noisy, don't you think? are they using arrows at the light end for the weight they are pulling?
He is shooting his arrows at 299ft/s. On small african antilope all the experienced guys say a slower silent bow is much better against stringjump than a superfast noizy one. A jittery impala or warthog will dodge an arrow at 20y if the bow is noizy. Hoyt Maxxis 31 DG 84# 28,5" DL FMJ DG 250 @ 713gr @ 240ft/s
Not to take away from the thread, but it doesn't really matter how quiet or loud your bow is... The arrow will ever reach the deer before the sound... at least until bows can chuck an arrow close to 1300fps.
I, respectfully, beg to differ to a point (is that a split infinitive?). Deer hear only a little better than we do except at the very low frequencies where we do not hear at all. If the sound is low and dissipating a deer only on regular alert will have less likely chance of spring jump than a louder bow. The point of course being a deer on alert paying close attention to his surroundings may be likely jump at a frog fart. For sure an 87 dB sound will cause all deer to jump, where as a sound no louder than ambient will have a much less likely chance. Somewhere in between is a sound level line we want to try to stay below. In addition, I would think we do not want to have higher frequencies as they travel much further than low, all things considered.
Quiet enough that I shoot over my bed, with my wife sleeping 20 yards down the Hallway! Them deer don't stand a chance, with a quiet bow, that shoots 272 fps lol
My current set-up is my Mathews Creed and it has got to be the quietest bow I have ever owned without adding any extra dampeners, etc..
