While more powerful and popular than ever, modern crossbows can be noisy. Good gunsmiths can improve this.

by Norman E. Johnson

With the increasing crossbow popularity, hunting and sport shooting advances have been made to enhance its performance. More recently, noise levels have been reduced by dampening string vibration but not all manufacturers offer such accessories, particularly for their older models. With the crossbow having many features of a firearm the gunsmith will become increasingly more involved in the service and repair of the modern crossbow. Learning more about them is a definite plus for us.

As currently designed, high performance crossbows are very noisy to shoot. Such noise can reach the ears of a deer with sufficient time for the animal to react to bolt or arrow flight, often resulting in poor hits or misses. Much of the noise is created by the bowstring overtravel, beyond straight, as the string propels the arrow. This overtravel can be as much as an inch or more, producing a loud reverberation on rebound.

Read more in our March 2014 issue. Back issues are available.

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