I shoot a Black Widow with a Black Widow string. Lately I have had soms fine discussions about custom strings and I was wondering if anyone had an opinion as to whether custom strings really aided a bows performance or simply enhanced appearance. Thanks for the time and input. Cotton
String material will effect performance, but making the string itself is not rocket science, anyone can do it with practice. So, as far as a custom string goes, it's all in the string material not who made it.
A well made string is a well made string. That being said, with the materials avilable today the correct material can enhance your bows performance.
I get John Dill to make my bowstrings to fit the nocks I like to use. Thats another advantage for custom bowstrings.
Golden Hawk.. makes my strings, great strings and he will serve them for what ever nock your shooting.
All my Bows where one of leroys srtings
Material makes a difference, but how a string is made will definately affect performance, durability, fit, feel, stretch, creep, etc.
With that said, a "custom" string may or may not be made better than a "factory" string.
Chad
The widow strings are of high quality.Dynaflight and 15 strand I believe.You may be able to find something that may perform better and or giver your bow a better feel or quieter shot.Possibly a string with less strands or a different material or maybe an endless instead of a flemish,padded loops etc.you would have to experiment to find out.A wellmade string is worth the cost IMO.
If you get a bow with an overbuilt 20 strand string and switch to a smaller string you can see a lot of difference.If it is a good string to start with I would not worry about it.I make my own just so I can match the string to the bow I am shooting and get a good fit on my nocks.I hate fat strings. :)
I have rarely been happy with strings that accompany a new bow. The exception being my ACS's and the strings produced by Rod Jenkins and Chad Weaver. Chad is still making strings for ACS as well as others; you can find him at recurves.com. His strings are even better than mine.
Thanks so much for all your consideration and advice. You guys are super! Cotton
IMO- Widow ships a ROPE on their bows not a string. LOL!!!
I have owned several widows and found a less overbuilt string to be MUCH faster and more enjoyable to shoot. I used a 10 or 12 strand 8125 on all my widows with a tiny bit of wool yarn served around the string at the limb contact point and one set of BW spider silencers. My strings were as quiet or quieter than the Factory "ROPE" HA HA!!
Get one of Chad's strings and make up your own mind, but I bet you list your NEW factory Widow string on the classifieds here after you shoot one of his strings.
Lots depends on what you expect from a bowstring and how much effort and dollars you wanna expend to find, and fine tune, the right string for your bow and you.
Some bows just perform differently with different string and fiber types. This can translate to factors of speed, noise, stability, feel, durability, etc.
Your shooting style and form are other factors - I've spun many strings for fellers that oughta spend more time working on form than worrying about another 3 fps outta their bows.
Rob...I agree..I am looking for forgiveness, not speed. I'll give Chad a try.Thanks again! Cotton