Clicker too quiet indoors.

fbirder

Member
Yesterday I shot my second indoor competition - my first was in January, in a large hall, two months after I started archery and before I started using a clicker. Yesterday was in a much smaller hall , so the noise level was possibly higher. My big problem was that I couldn't hear my clicker at all. Not surprisingly, this didn't really help my score.

I've got just under two weeks until my next competition with one indoor practice session to try and come up with a solution.

My current clicker is a W&W Carbon which, from my searching on AIUK, is supposed to be one of the louder clickers. Is there anything I can do to increase the noise? Would a metal clicker be noisier? Can I tie bells on it? Or should I start thinking about a hearing aid?

Any advice appreciated.

Frank
 

Bald Eagle

New member
Hi Frank, they say don't try to bend a carbon clicker blade, but you can, carefully, and this will "click" significantly louder than a straight one!
 

Mad Wally

New member
You could try to taper the washer underneath the clicker to increase the pressure resulting in a louder click. I wouldn't recommend trying to bend it.
 

Microphonic

New member
Im not sure listening for the click is the best way. Can't you feel it through the riser / arrow? Don't Koreans practise with sound cancelling earphones so they can't hear it?

Having said that, a magnetic clicker will be louder.
 

Aleatorian

Member
I have the same clicker, from the start of using it i've not once watched it during the draw and am more likely to feel it before i've registered hearing it.
Every other clicker I know of is quite a bit quieter than the carbon one, the magnetic ones tend to rattle more on higher poundage bows.
 

carl7

New member
Time for the high tech boys to come up with a tiny LED or something that perhaps sits near the sight aperture and goes on (or off) when the draw length is reached.

Carl
 

Aleatorian

Member
Which would never be legal as no electronic device is allowed on a bow.

And especially now in the UK since no electronic device is allowed past the shooting line.
 

Robaloba

New member
I have half an old clicker blade that sits on top of the full clicker blade, the half that sits on top is bent in a way that pushes down onto the full clicker when tightened up, this gives a very definite click and it stopped mine from rattling and buzzing, which was my initial aim.
The extra 'twangage' might give a little more audible noise.
 

Microphonic

New member
If you're just listening for the click wouldn't you shoot when the clicker of the archer next to you goes off? I think it's better to try and feel it, possibly see it out of the corner of your eye.
 

buzz lite beer

Well-known member
W&W carbon clicker is probably the loudest clicker available, hearing aid required :p only other option is to ensure good metal tip to metal clicker plate/extender contact. On many bows it's almost impossible to feel the clicker going off, especially if you practice a minimum bow contact hand position.
 

fbirder

Member
I have half an old clicker blade that sits on top of the full clicker blade, the half that sits on top is bent in a way that pushes down onto the full clicker when tightened up, this gives a very definite click and it stopped mine from rattling and buzzing, which was my initial aim.
The extra 'twangage' might give a little more audible noise.
Genius! I know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

I guess it must be possible to learn to 'feel' the click. Trying to do so in a competition wasn't really working. But it is something I'll be pursuing.

Outside I have no problem distinguishing my clicker from my neighbours. Indoors it all just gets lost in a noisy mush.

I'm very tempted to take a leaf out of Walter White's book and cook up some mercury fulminate and paint some on my clicker between shots. It's not electronic, so it should be legal, if a little noisy.
 

buzz lite beer

Well-known member
One thing you need to be aware of when using stiff or stiffened clicker is the amount of tension may compress the pressure button so that just after the clicker is activated the arrow will be "jettisoned" away from the bow by the stored tension within the spring.
 

carl7

New member
One thing you need to be aware of when using stiff or stiffened clicker is the amount of tension may compress the pressure button so that just after the clicker is activated the arrow will be "jettisoned" away from the bow by the stored tension within the spring.
That's very true. Lucky I didn't hit the room wall!
 

sreynolds

New member
A random thought: tape a small bit of paper so that it hangs somewhat loosely over the striker plate. Should make a noticeable slap sound when the clicker hits it.
Or, as others have said, probably best just to learn to feel the clicker rather than relying on the sound.
 

Nightimer

New member
My friend had hearing problems so clickers were always a problem,so he modified his clicker to become a "toucher"
All he did was to cut a piece of old ice cream container into a thin strip the same width as the blade and several inches long.
Attach to the blade and warm the plastic until you can bend it around the riser and over your hand and cut any excess.
What you end up with at full draw is the clicker over the arrow as normal and the piece of plastic just above your bow hand.
Release the arrow,you get no click just a touch on the back of your hand,it doesn't take long to get used to the feeling.
It will take a bit of bending to get things perfect.
It worked for my friend as he was shooting to MB standard before he retired from shooting.
 

jerryRTD

Well-known member
The problem with bending blade clickers is that the closer the blade gets to the plate ( or what ever it strikes against ) the less power it has. Not the best thing if you want the blade to hit hard and make a reasonable noise.
So get rid of the blade clicker and get a magnetic clicker. With a magnetic clicker the maximum amount of force is generated just as the magnet contacts the striker, so it always give off a good amount of noise. As the minimum amout of force is generated when the magnet and striker are far apart there is virtually no button compression due to clicker tension.
Some archers say that as there is a pivot with a magnetic clicker and the end is round instead of sharp so the blade clicker is more consistant and they are probablely right. But the inconsistancy is may be a 25 thou. , if you are drawing consistantly enough to notice that, then why do you need a clicker in the first place????
 

fbirder

Member
And especially now in the UK since no electronic device is allowed past the shooting line.
I must have missed this. Does that mean that, if my hearing continues to deteriorate, a hearing aid would not be allowed (unless it was a big, horn-shaped, ear-trumpet)?
 

dvd8n

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
If you're just listening for the click wouldn't you shoot when the clicker of the archer next to you goes off? I think it's better to try and feel it, possibly see it out of the corner of your eye.
Heard a story recently about someone lighting a ciggy at a competition with a clicky lighter and half a dozen people on the shooting line releasing. Probably apocryphal but still funny :rolleyes:
 
Top