Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: joe vt on October 17, 2011, 02:37:00 PM
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I'm curious........who uses dacron strings on bows made to handle non stretch material.
I have a couple of recurves that I go back and forth on......non stretch and then dacron. Man, I love the quietness of dacron. I also feel the difference in the draw when using dacron; it feels to me smoother.
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Joe
Shooting a dacron on my new double carbon 560...smooth and QUIET....
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Had to do that on a noisy bow a few years ago it was a last resort and worked. Normally it is the other way around-ff on dacron bows for me.
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I'm not a fan of dacron,they make a bow feel springy.A low stretch modern string just feels more solid,to me.A dacron string can increase handshock on some bows.I don't have any problem getting my bows quiet.I made a 8 strand D97 for my friend on his Bear T/D and it was quiet without any silencers,old mag riser with new Bear limbs.I make my own strings so I can play around with different strings materials.I find some bows quieter with 450+ and some with 8125 and some with D97.The only bows I'll shoot dacron on are a couple of older vintage recurves.
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I shoot b-50 on all my bows
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I use dacron on all my bows. Quieter and no worries about damaging bows.
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Not me--I only have one non-FF bow that I'll even shoot, and it's because of sentimental value.
A word of warning--Harrison longbows void the warranty if you use a dacron (or flemish) string on them. No idea why--wasn't able to get an answer after several tries--but it's worth noting.
Chad
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All of my bows are FF. That being said, I use dacron exclusively.
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X2 what Kat said.
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I had a new set of limbs made for my Schafer this spring. I paid the extra $35 for the FF tips, but I'm still shooting B-50.
What some people call springy, feels normal to me.
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B-50 on everyhing...... its quiet, it works great, and with 8 spools I have enough for about 5 lifetimes................
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I love FF expecially the skinny strings,I use it also on my old Bear TDs with the cheap green tips and no issues till now,very quiet too,I don't see any difference in noise between the 2 material.
With FF I have a stiffer arrow,heavier too,flying faster;plus the FF takes more punishment in the mountains.
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B-50 or B-55 on everything, on FF bows I use the original string as back up. I still find Dacron quieter.
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I'm in. Hap
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Depends on the bow,I have some skinny strings that work great,bows that are hard to quiten I use b50
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Only have one bow for FF, but use B-50 or B-55. Just like it better.
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I have some limited use of skinny strings on a couple of longbows that made them even quieter and to my eye seem to be faster. But what I have experienced with these skinny strings is constant stretching. It takes weeks for the creep to be gone.
On some 3 pc recurves with heavier risers that I cant get quiet enough with non stretch strings, B50 has always done the job.
I also can feel a increase in hand shock with dacron; but it doesnt bother me.
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all my bows are of modern manufacture and i would NEVER go back to polyester again. why would anyone wanna deal with dacron's crazy stretch and creep? because hmpe is NOISY? nope, hmpe is not a noisy string fiber at all, particularly with low strand counts - something you could never do with dacron. 8 strands of any "standard" modern string fiber and yer good to go up to and past 70# holding weight. and noise? "hand shock"??? nope, ain't any more than dacron.
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Rob, I have to tell you that, I have utterly no problem with "crazy stretch and creep" on the dacron strings I make--none whatsoever. After making the string and putting it on the bow I manually stretch the string by pressing on the limb tips--and I can feel it stretch--and then leave it strung for a while. After that I do not have any problems and basically never have to readjust after I get the string settled in in this fashion. What's wrong with me??? :confused: What am I doing wrong if I'm supposed to be getting lots of crazy stuff going on? Maybe I'm just an ace string maker, huh? :D :D :D ;)
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david, what's yer bow's weight and how many strands in yer dacron string?
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I had the same results with the Dacron material David. But using only selfbows where I have to unstring the bow after using, I have to press down on the tips and stretch out the string each time I string up my bows. Takes something like two seconds.
But I've since gone to using a 50/50 blend of FF and Dacron so I don't have to do anything after stringing anymore.
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I use 12 Strands for up to 55 and 14 strands for up to 65 and so on . Been shooting b50 (http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/deanfamilyalbum/7ed465cd.jpg) (http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/deanfamilyalbum/453eaea2.jpg)
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Rob, most of the time I make 12 strand strings--sometimes 14--for all my bows that are 47-55# bows.
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Art, I also unstring my bows after each use and do not need to restretch the string when I string them up again. Dacron works great for me--I must be doing something wrong! :saywhat:
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You aren't doing anything wrong. You're just using a lot of dacron. It gets around the stretch problem, but adds weight and robs performance.
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Originally posted by David Mitchell:
Rob, most of the time I make 12 strand strings--sometimes 14--for all my bows that are 47-55# bows.
8 strands of df'97 (or comparable hmpe fiber diameter, there are many choose from and all are good), pad the loops to 12 or 14 strands = uber low stretch/creep, no noise or "shock", all the benefits of dacron without its hassles. the resulting hi mod polyethylene bowstring will have a technical tensile strength in excess of 800#, whereas a comparable 14 strand b50 dacron (polyester) string *might* approach 700# on paper but technically be less than 650# at best.
worth a try.
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I can't really tell it robs performance--not to my eye. I might get just a tad slower arrow through a chrono but I don't care about that as I get more than enough performance to get the job done. Trad bows and dacron strings have been getting the job done for decades--before that strings were made of even less durable and functional stuff but still got the job done. When is enough enough is a question each must answer for himself. And yes, I do use more modern strings on some of my bows--normally the ones that come with it, but when they need to be replaced I usually make a nice dacron string--a good bit less expensive. :)
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Originally posted by joe vt:
I have some limited use of skinny strings on a couple of longbows that made them even quieter and to my eye seem to be faster. But what I have experienced with these skinny strings is constant stretching. It takes weeks for the creep to be gone...
Joe, contact Josh Sowerby aka Oliverstacy, and ask about the 450+ skinny strings. They blew me away- very quiet, fast, very low creep (none noted after the first two days of being strung) and a nice "soft" feel at the shot. You may be surprised.
I have no bias against B-50. Thought the info about 450+ might be of help to those who have had similar experiences as Joe using other FF materials.
Joshua
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david, it's not at all about any hmpe performance benefits (speed) if any - it's about consistency from shot to shot, no matter what the atmospheric conditions or how long the bow's been strung or plucked.
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I do. B-50 is quieter on those I have that will accept Fast Flight.
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Originally posted by longbowray:
I shoot b-50 on all my bows
I do too.
(1) I still have lots of B50 left from almost 20 years ago.
(2) I'm Skeerd to try the less stretch stuff just in case one of my bows don't like it & say good bye.
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I build all my own bows to be FF safe . Thats just in case I sell one or build one for someone else and they put a FF string on it . I shoot dacron on all my bows and from my (not too scientific) experiments with a friends (not real expensive) chronograph 8^). FF only gains you 3-5 FPS on most bows (that includes some well known customs , not just my own bows )
3-5 fps is NOT going to make a difference in a real world hunting situation. I'll take a quiet shot over 3-5 additional fps every time.
Once you initially break a dacron string in and get it stretched the "creep " that people talk about is minimal . And golly gosh ,how hard is it to put a couple of twists in it to bring it back up to the correct brace height anyway ?
:dunno:
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Originally posted by Rick Perry:
I build all my own bows to be FF safe . Thats just in case I sell one or build one for someone else and they put a FF string on it . I shoot dacron on all my bows and from my (not too scientific) experiments with a friends (not real expensive) chronograph 8^). FF only gains you 3-5 FPS on most bows (that includes some well known customs , not just my own bows )
3-5 fps is NOT going to make a difference in a real world hunting situation. I'll take a quiet shot over 3-5 additional fps every time.
Once you initially break a dacron string in and get it stretched the "creep " that people talk about is minimal . And golly gosh ,how hard is it to put a couple of twists in it to bring it back up to the correct brace height anyway ?
:dunno:
Couldn't agree more.
My Sky Hawk for one I know is FF capable but I've always used B50 & my 2 Zona's too.
I stretch mine by using 100Lb weight on the finished string for a day.
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All my new dacron strings stretch for a day or two at the most. And when I say stretch I mean only maybe 3/8". I have never had an issue of dacron strings stretching crazy.....even if my bow is unstrung for weeks it takes mins for the dacron to get back to its proper length/brace.
I have no problem with using non stretch strings as along as they are quiet to my liking.....if not I enjoy the denefits of dacron :)
josh; 450+ uh.....maybe I will give a skinny string of this material a try.
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Recently went to B55. Have used it and B50 on all my bows. Just works well and "feels" better to me.
Bows I buy that come with FF get a new handmade B55 string immediately.
My buddy chases the chrono with different materials and strand counts. Spends hours and hours chasing the best performance. When I let him play with one of my bows, he can get my bow shooting 5-7 fps faster than I can. Hey, that's his bag and he enjoys it.
I just twist up a 12 or 14 strand B55 and start shooting. I have yet to send an arrow through a chrono.
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I have to mention.....as with most bows shooting characteristics; each is subjective to the user.
What I consider noisy, maybe quiet enough to someone else.
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yep and when you are the one shooting the bow it is difficult to judge what is quiet . I have had times when I thought my bow was noisy and someone watching me shoot would comment on how quiet it was .
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Try shooting from inside or under a metal carport. Even "very quiet" can be heard.....at least it can to me.
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Originally posted by Art B:
Try shooting from inside or under a metal carport. Even "very quiet" can be heard.....at least it can to me.
I used to shoot in a large barn, and if it was quiet in there, it was perfect outside.
The guy that has made all my strings since 1998, pre-stretches the B50 as he's building the string.
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heheheheh - even if we think our bows shoot "quiet", most critters will pick up the higher frequency sounds that we humans can't hear. :D
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In my experience dacron has always been louder than FF. I wouldn't even consider dacron
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That's what I've found. My indoor range is little more than a concrete box, so changes in sound and pitch are very apparent.
I can see where a recurve might pick up some noise if you went to FF and don't have anything padding either the loop or the limb. FF is harder than B50 and might net you some additional noise from the string hitting the limb.
I shoot longbows, and every single one of them is quieter with FF than with dacron. Start reducing strands and they get even quieter. That's not even an option with dacron.
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I only shoot recurves and have owned quite a few. I've had a couple that were too loud for my tastes and i tried dacron on them and they were much louder in every case than they were with FF
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I shoot all recurves and several years ago,I put a B50 string on the first FF bow that I bought,assuming it would be quieter.Later,I bought a used bow that had a FF string.It was so quiet and vibration free,I tried one on the other bow.The FF string made it quieter and it had less vibration.I haven't put the FF on a bow yet that it hasn't reduced noise and improved handling and there have been quite a few.I know all bows are different but that's been my experience with quite a few.