A friend of mine is was invited to go elk hunting with a guide in September, he just started shooting a bow 2 weeks ago. I am old school and set his bow up but his arrow keeps falling off the Star Hunter rest. I am thinking to set him up with a Whisker Biscuit but I am concerned about the noise during the shot. I have never hunted Elk but I know the noise during the shot from a Whisker Biscuit is too loud for skittish Texas Whitetail. What do you guys think?

Tracy

What arrow? What fletching?

I have been using Easton ACC's and Blazers through a WB on a very quiet Mathews HTR with hardly any sound other than the arrow hitting the target.

New Archery Products makes a 3 point rest that will keep your arrow on and the feathers clear. Quiet, I use it, worked in the bush in Ontario, moose hunting and whitetails here. It is going elk hunting in Sept.

Agree with above posts. I haven't bow hunted in several years but never had an issue with WB as a rest, As a matter of fact, I truly appreciated how well the WB held the shaft of the arrow in the sight plane. Doubt that any issue of noise from the WB would be anywhere as noisy as a shaft dropping off another rest.

He is using 31" 2314 with 5" plastic vanes right helical @ 65lbs on a round wheel cams, martin cougar magnum, teardrop cables and dacron string.

Its a older bow that is in good shape and will get the job done if he does his part.

I have shot a WB for a decade, no problems with noise.

Thanks for that additional info! There can be issues with aluminium arrows making noise against the WB during draw and upon release. If the WB is of a newer style, with the black strong bristles at the 6 o'clock position for support it tends to be quieter.

I'd recommend a light wipe of Armor-All on the shafts and let dry. That may give a little lubrication to help with making the system quieter. No knocking his setup, but it is far from being as quiet as more modern bows. Even that arrow and vane set up will be noisy compared to a carbon shaft with smaller vanes like Blazers.
Make sure the cock vane is not traveling through the black bristles at the 6 o'clock support position.

Yep, it will do the trick but it will be impossible to get it super quiet. But the trade-off on how reliable a WB is makes it well worth it especially to a more novice bowhunter!

Fingers or release? If shooting with a release, and draw length allows go with a release loop on the string. Helps centershot and can quiet the shot. Fingers can open a whole other can of worms regarding arrow not staying on the rest.

Great advice, He is shooting a release with a loop on the string.

We used "Turtle Wax" or something like it back in the day on our aluminum arrows, to lower the friction on the rest. It wasn't for speed, it was to cut down on the noise on the draw.

I was partial to the Flipper rest, and it would "squeak" on the draw on occasion without the wax.

The 5 inch vanes may not like the WB, I'd have him watch for rippling in the edges of the vanes from the rest. If the vanes are older, they tended to heat up from the WB friction and develop a wave on the outer edge.

I like the NAP rest discussed above, I've used the Octane version of the same design with good results, easy to tune, easy to replace brushes, and easy to fix in the backcountry if there is a problem.

Thanks for all the advice, we are going to give the WB a try with Armorall or Turtle Wax on the shaft. Also going rotate the knock vane out of the black on the bottom of the WB

Tracy

Use feathers if you are going to use a biscuit...

Feathers are not necessary, and in my experience perform poorly from a WB.

Making sure cock vane is at 12 noon, and no vane is touching black 6 o'clock support bristles is a must. BE SURE the WB installed is the diameter for aluminium, not carbons! The carbon WB will be too tight on the aluminium shaft and that could be the problem right there!

If he is set on using aluminium shafts, clean 'em up and take off the 5" vanes. Go with Blazer vanes, Bohning X vanes or NAP Quicks. That will help with clearance in the WB and quiet down the arrow in flight too.

I love the whisker with carbon. Elk are much "duller" than whitetail about bow noise IMO. The biscuit is wonderful for holding an srrow while still hunting.

Same here..

Go to carbon arrows and never look back. Another option is fall away rest. Elk can jump the string too, so quiet is better.

Get rid of that WB junk and get a good drop-away set up. Way more accurate and no noise. Just my opinion.

We could not prove that in our testing at the shop. Hardly any difference between them if WB is set up right.

And, good luck when in the backcountry and your bow takes a spill...
WB are tougher and much easier to troubleshoot/repair. Fewer moving parts and timing needs.