I picked up a used Browning Cobra recurve online. It's AMO 50" long, 47#@28" but it could use a better string. Anybody know if this bow is compatible with fast flight strings or any other material besides B-50?
B-55 is a little better, but still safe. Some people get away with HMPE materials on old bows, some don't. Some people hunt from stands without a harness and never fall...some don't.
The over-all condition of the bow, your draw length, arrow weight, string construction...these are some of the variables to consider. Unless you want to risk it, I'd go with B-55.
I had a Browning Cobra, 50" 49 pounds. Pretty little bow and comfortable to shoot, but it was a bit of banger. I made a 15 strand three skein flemish B 50 with minimal twists and it settled down some. I would have been very tempted to put a Chad string on it, if such a thing would have been available at the time. The thing about Chad's strings is all they need when they come is to put the provided string nock on and they are good to go. I often wonder what the next step that would give that stability of a BCY with some of the spring for safety of the B55. I have a friend that has been shooting an ancient Ward's Pearson recurve, found in a garbage bin, that I completely reworked and reduced that has no bow tip nock reinforcements. If I would have known that he was going to put a padded modern string on it, I would have added them when I overhauled that piece of junk. He claims it is the best shooting recurve that he has ever shot and the BCY just makes it that much better. All of these years and a number of deer taken and the bow is still going strong with no damage. His draw length is 27", maybe that makes a difference.
My Cobra has a B-55 Dacron string on it. F.F. has a better feel, and I use it on all my newer bows, but I just won't risk it on the older ones.
I bought one new in 1973 and I believe it had twolaminations of fibreglass on the tips,one white,one black ,if it's got those I wouldn't hesitate at all to use a padded fast flight string.
Quote from: LBR on July 20, 2018, 03:30:52 PM
B-55 is a little better, but still safe. Some people get away with HMPE materials on old bows, some don't. Some people hunt from stands without a harness and never fall...some don't.
The over-all condition of the bow, your draw length, arrow weight, string construction...these are some of the variables to consider. Unless you want to risk it, I'd go with B-55.
DITTO on what Chad said !!!
I use B-50 on mine (a Cobra II). Endless loop. On all my old Brownings, in fact.
You'll never know till you try . . . and it fails or not. But if it does then it's over. :dunno:
Just pad the loops and you should be A-OK........