Top Gear For Quieting Your Bow

January 04, 2011

Here's a look at some of the top stabilizers and silencers in the marketplace today.

By Brian Fortenbaugh

Apex Gear's Attitude Stabilizer ($27) weighs 4 oz. and measures 4.8" in length. Made of molded rubber with a soft coating, it combines a "wave" design with an "echo" chamber that work together to dampen vibration and noise (Apex Gear, 1-888-8-TRUGLO, www.truglo.com).

Bowjax's Magnum Rizrjax Dampeners ($24.99) attach on either side of a bow's riser, top and bottom. Their six arms vary in length to react at different frequencies, thus shortening the duration of vibration. Molded-rubber balls at the end of each arm "rebound" to further quiet your bow (Bowjax, Inc., 208/762-3692, www.bowjax.com).

Doinker's Chubby Hunter Series Stabilizers employ the Doinker Supreme dampener, made of the company's ITP (Interrupted Transfer Polymer) material built directly into the stabilizer's end cap. The 3.25" CS3 ($26) weighs 5.2 oz.; the 4.75" CS5 ($41), 6.3 oz.; and the 6.625" CS7 ($51), 6.3 oz (Leven Industries, 818/700-2899, www.doinker.com).

Fuse's Carbon Blade Hunter 8.5 Stabilizer ($109.99), constructed of lightweight carbon fiber, has an aerodynamic shape that reportedly creates up to 70% less wind drag than ordinary stabilizers. Add Fuse's vibration-damping technologies and you have a stabilizer that will help you shoot more quietly -- and accurately in harsh weather (Fuse Archery, 801/363-2990, www.fusearchery.com).

Mathews' Monkey Tails ($2), standard on the company's Z7, will work on any bow to eliminate string and cable noise. Four of these little dampers in place will reduce arrow speed by a miniscule 1-2 fps (Mathews Solocam, 608/269-2728, www.mathewsinc.com).

NAP's Blackjack Stabilizer ($29.99) is 5" long and weighs 9 oz. Its ribbed outer sleeve cuts bow noise and recoil by 75%, resulting in tighter groups and fewer animals jumping the string (New Archery Products, 1-800-323-1279, www.newarchery.com).

Norway's StringTamer GII deadens string noise, reduces hand shock, and eliminates the need for string-mounted silencers. The front-mounted model ($64.95) adjusts from 6"-11"; the rear-mounted version ($54.95) works with brace heights from 4½" to 81„8" (Norway Industries, 1-800-778-4755, www.norwayindustries.com).

Octane's 7" Stabilizer ($59.99) has diamond-shaped cutouts on the outside that dissipate any vibration not absorbed by the inner dampening material. A rubber bellows on the end acts like a piston to further squelch vibration and direct movement toward your target (Octane, 541/284-4711, www.fuelthehunt.com).

PSE's Pete Shepley Signature Series Deuce Stabilizer ($58.99), at 8" and 9 oz., reduces vibration and noise courtesy of two internal damping rods suspended in a rubber compound (PSE, Inc., 520/884-9065, www.pse-archery.com).

Trophy Ridge's ShockStop Lite Stabilizer ($19.99), at 5" and 6.3 oz., minimizes vibration and noise while balancing your bow perfectly for steadier aiming. It's constructed of black, shock-absorbing rubber and comes with a braided wrist sling (Trophy Ridge, 1-800-694-9494, www.trophyridge.com).

T.R.U. Ball's Spyder Speed Silencers ($19.99) attach to your bowstring via the company's TBAL speed enhancers. With these affixed, Speed Silencers reduce string noise and can reportedly increase arrow speed 1-15 fps, depending on use and your bow's cam style (T.R.U. Ball, Inc., 434/929-2800, www.truball.com).

APX — The Newest Pattern From Realtree

Gear

APX — The Newest Pattern From Realtree

Jim McGinn, VP of Marketing at Realtree, shows off the latest camouflage pattern from this industry giant. The new APX pattern is an all-purpose pattern that will help you blend into your surroundings whether you're in a treestand hunting whitetails, or bellycrawling your way into range of a mule deer out West. It took years to develop APX, a pattern that met the strict standards of Realtree Founder, Bill Jordan, and it will meet your standards as well.

Gear

Buck Commander Releases New Buk Ops Technology

Gear

Buck Commander Releases New Buk Ops Technology

Ryan Busbice from Buck Commander introduces a brand-new technology they call Buk Ops. This is an optical viewing device that does not use infra-red or thermal technology. It maximizes available light to give the user an enhanced view of their surroundings. It's not a targeting device either, but a tool for scanning fields in low light, or even walking into your stand or blind without a flashlight. This is one-of-a-kind technology that holds many uses for all types of hunters.

Gear

Easton's Sonic 6.0 a Versatile Arrow Shaft

Gear

Easton's Sonic 6.0 a Versatile Arrow Shaft

Bowhunter TV Host, Curt Wells, talks to Easton Marketing Director, Gary Cornum, about the Sonic 6.0, a highly versatile arrow shaft that gives the bowhunter multiple options. Wells explains how he's able to convert his Sonic 6.0 arrows to different weights based on the species of big game he's hunting.

Gear

Easton Introduces the Match Grade Pro Series Arrow

Gear

Easton Introduces the Match Grade Pro Series Arrow

Gary Cornum, Marketing Director at Easton, explains to Bowhunter TV Host, Curt Wells, the virtues of Easton's newly released Match Grade Pro Series Arrows. From front to back, Easton has built their latest technologies into these arrows, which are only available from Easton dealers. Everything from high-end inserts and vanes combine with a five-point straightness standard to make the Pro Series arrows the best a bowhunter can buy. It's no longer necessary to build-your-own to achieve the highest quality arrow you demand.

Gear

Primos Double Bull Delivers New Raised Hunting Ground Blind

Gear

Primos Double Bull Delivers New Raised Hunting Ground Blind

On the surface, it would seem almost impossible to keep improving the Double Bull ground blinds manufactured by Primos. But as Raised Hunting founder and television show host David Holder explained to OSG's Lynn Burkhead, this year's new Raised Hunting Double Bull blind raises the standard of ground blind excellence even higher, whether you're chasing elk, mule deer or pronghorn antelope out west in Montana or big record book whitetails living in the Midwestern whitetail paradise of Iowa.

Gear

Primos Delivers Steady Shooting With Edge Tripod System

Gear

Primos Delivers Steady Shooting With Edge Tripod System

For big game hunters on the move out West, or a whitetail hunter looking to spot and stalk into range with a rifle or crossbow, keeping the scope's crosshairs steady can be a challenge. But not anymore according to Primos Hunting's Jason Harris, who recently showed OSG's Lynn Burkhead all of the versatility of the new Primos Edge Tripod, a carbon-fiber, magnetic head support system that provides a quick, rock solid shooting platform when a pressure packed hunt's moment of truth arrives.

Gear

The QAD Ultrarest Gets Better

Gear

The QAD Ultrarest Gets Better

Kevin Fry, Vice President at Quality Archery Design, lays out the improvements made to the newest Ultrarest Integrate MX arrow rest. The new MX2 is stronger, lighter, more compact, and includes a refined capture bar. The machined launcher is now fitted with a damper system to reduce noise and it can be color matched to your other accessories. The MX2 still features the “precision click micro adjust” to help you fine tune your setup.

Gear

A QAD Ultrarest For Everyone

Gear

A QAD Ultrarest For Everyone

No matter your budget or standard, QAD has an arrow rest for you. Kevin Fry, VP at QAD, goes through their line of arrow rests that range from the high-end $300 MX2 to their economy model that retails for just $75. Every model of arrow rest is made entirely in the U.S.A. and comes with a lifetime warranty.

Gear

Primos Legacy Grows With Icon Call Series

Gear

Primos Legacy Grows With Icon Call Series

Primos Game Calls is one of America's most iconic call makers, and according to Eric Hughes, that's the whole idea behind a brand new call lineup. In an ongoing introduction through a variety of game call styles, including deer calls, elk calls, predator calls, and of course, turkey calls. With that call-making DNA, Hughes spent some time telling OSG's Lynn Burkhead about the new Icon call line-up being unveiled by Will Primos and his Mississippi call making company and how it will take call making to the next level.

Gear

Going Light With Dryshod Boots

Gear

Going Light With Dryshod Boots

Steven Fuller, Marketing Director at Dryshod boots, goes through their line, from hunting boots to chore boots to knock-around shoes, they have it all, and the focus is on ultralight construction. The hunting line of knee-high boots have neoprene that is treated to be extra waterproof, and the outsole material is noticeably lighter than most boots of this type, making them good for hiking and packing when weight is a concern.

Gear

Tactical Bowhunting from T.R.U. Ball and Axcel

Gear

Tactical Bowhunting from T.R.U. Ball and Axcel

T.R.U. Ball/Axcel has taken some of its most popular release aids and bow sights and created the new-for-2024 Tactical Bowhunting Series, a collection of products optimized for the field where stealth and performance under pressure are keys to success.

Gear

Trophyline Venatic Specter

Gear

Trophyline Venatic Specter

Trophyline is following up on the success of its Venatic tree saddle with a new-for-2024 model featuring First Lite Specter camouflage, available this summer.