What is the correct bowstring length for a Howard Hill "Wesley Special" 55lb@28inch 6-3/4" brace height?
Also what string material(s) are recommended?
What's the length of the bow?
I usually go 3 inches shorter than the bow for a longbow... use a flemish, and you can twist it a hair longer, or a lot shorter depending on how it comes out.
Salineville huh? I got a coon hound from over there a few years ago... Tiny little town, but looks to be some good hunting around there.
Dacron on a Hill anything else is sacrilege.
B-50 or B-500 is dacron. Longbow strings are normal 3" under AMO. Hills are 4" under. Call 3-Rivers and ask them to be sure or Craig either one.
Stone Knife,
Once I shot a hill style bow with a linen, fast flight and dacron string I realized that fast flight is closer to linen in how a bow shoots than dacron. To me, Dacron on a hill is more of a sacrilege than fast flight. :)
Fast flight with tip overlays on a Hill bow makes the whole experience better (little or no string slap, quiet, durable and fast). I like to brace mine to around 7-7.25".
Fast flight is not sacrilege. It works great and allows for less strands, hand shock is gone, better speed, quieter. But I guess it isn't traditional enough. (insert eye roll here)
sorry, to answer the question go with a string that is 3" shorter than the bow. I'll leave the material up to you. Good luck, and awesome bow choice.
Have had best luck with 4" under a.m.o. length {nock to nock} Dacron only for me.
Well, for what it's worth. I have shot and made strings for Hill and other straight limbed longbows for over 20 years.
I prefer F.F. or modern made materials over Dacron.
And as for length, 3" shorter, unless you like a high brace, no arm slap, or the dacron has so much twist, that it stretches to 3" shorter, when braced.
Good shootin, Steve
Actual length sometimes varies regardless of what the AMO length says. I usually measure my strings with a tape measure on the braced bow. Measure from the outside of one loop to the outside of the other - comes out perfect everytime! Usually ends up about 3" less than AMO. I shoot all of my Hill bows with padded loop D97 strings because they are quieter, have better cast, and handshock is all but eliminated! My old beat-up wrists from years of working on cars can't handle B50 anymore - hurts too much! Howards original bows used linen strings which have even less stretch than FF materials, so I consider the traditional question about FF strings to be a matter of personal taste and not tradition. Just my $.02 worth.
Ken
Yeah Spanky, and Howards original bows were all Bamboo and no glass!
Those poor fellas probably sawed-off tips all the time with that low stretch linen. :biglaugh:
Your probably right Frank, but you know if FF works ok on selfbows then a Hill is a no brainer in my book! I've got probably a couple thousand shots at least on my Tembo, including two :rolleyes: busted nock dry fires, and it's still good as new! I'll stick with D97 based on my own experiences - it just works better! :thumbsup:
Tembo, now your talking! That model is my favorite. An older gentleman who got me started shooting longbows, had one built when Schulz was his bowyer.
When folks say a longbow is more forgiving, that bow testifies for the fact!