Easily Silence Your Mobile Hunting Gear

This is my favorite time to start hammering the fall checklist. Turkey season is winding down, outdoor fun is getting rained out too frequently, and when it isn’t raining it’s not too hot out. These next couple months are great for tackling gear tweaks and projects. Making sure your gear is dialed in and noise-free now could make all the difference this fall.

I take a lot of notes in my phone throughout the season about how I can make my gear more efficient, and most importantly, more quiet. Eliminating as much noise as possible is one of the most essential aspects of mobile hunting. Let's look at some proven hacks to silencing gear.

Stealth Strips

It’s often said, the best ideas are simple ones. I found a product years ago called Stealth Strips from Stealth Outdoors. Essentially it's fabric tape with a powerful adhesive. It may sound simple, but it's a gamechanger when you're covering stand platforms, cables, climbing sticks, bow hangers, or any rigid surface. The ultra-durable micro suede fabric with strong adhesive doesn't wear off with heavy use and is water-resistant.

Sold in multiple lengths and sizes, they can be cut and customized to fit virtually any surface. Stealth Strips also come in kits to fit specific brands of climbing sticks and stand features for perfect coverage. The durability is impressive, but most importantly they significantly reduce any high-pitch noises that deer easily pick up. I generously use these on climbing sticks, strap buckles, stand cables, pack buckles, the shelf on my bow riser and any other contact points that don't change the functionality of my gear.

Baseball Bat and Bicycle Grip Tape

For a more heavy-duty approach to noise reduction, rolling on baseball bat grip tape sold by the roll is very handy. Deadening moving joints such as carabiners, buckles and platform contact points can require more than just fabric. These points seem to cause the worst headaches for a mobile approach because they're abused the most with tearing down and setting up, packing and repacking. When using thicker, sound deadening material, I use rubber grip tape in one of two forms —  bicycle grip tape or baseball bat grip tape.

Both do a good job, but I prefer the baseball bat grip tape if I had to choose one. It forms to curved frames a little easier and holds its adhesive well. Yes, these materials are the most sound-deadening I use, but I don't blanket everything with it. The rubber grip tape can add some weight, so be mindful of how much you use if weight factors into your approach. It also gets worn more easily and loses its adhesive quicker than other fabric tape or Stealth Strips.

Hockey Tape

Hockey tape is the most versatile and durable material I've found for the money. It offers excellent adhesive and forms well to virtually any frame. It's not the end-all for eliminating noise, but it’s ideal for broad coverage. It's textured, lightweight, and helps dampen those high pitch "tings" and "clangs" from metal on metal contact. Hockey tape also provides some texture to the surface that improves grip for what otherwise would be just a smooth, slick metal surface. It is easily found in most sporting goods stores and, of course, online. I love using hockey tape to add a barrier to eliminate metal to metal contact. After awhile, the tape works into itself, making it very durable and long-lasting. Don't be afraid to get carried away with this stuff. Hockey tape is lightweight, versatile, and a fun way to make these tweaks.

These modifications are small insurance policies to help protect you from yourself out there. Be careful though, they’re not a magic bullet. This realization comes from more painful mishaps than I care to count over the years. When the stakes get high and your nerves start to take over, mistakes can happen, and the attention to the little details matter most. Don't let a metal climbing stick buckle or exposed, bare treestand seat keep you from having the season of your dreams. Use these low-cost strategies to cut your gear’s noise down now and be deadly quiet when the season gets here.

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