String puzzle

[matt61]

I have a 52" Bighorn T/D recurve that shoots beautifully with the eighteen strand flemish tri colour dacron string it had on it when I got it from the US.But if I put on the fifteen strand flemish string that I made it shoots crap.The bow is 55# at 28.5" and I shoot 2016 aluminiums and my draw length is 26" and I use a glove, its got me stumped, help

[ACSMAKER]

Matt, if you change anything in the moving parts of a bow you have to retune. Period. It's not the strings fault! ....O.L.

[GrahameA]

Matt

What do you mean by

But if I put on the fifteen strand flemish string that I made it shoots crap.

The act of reducing the number of strand will speed up the return slightly so your arrows will undergo greater accelaration, etc.

What is the new string made from? A change to a more "high performance" material will have effects. And has the new string been "shot in"?

[longbow steve]

Hi Matt, 2016's are rated for a 59# longbow, they are fine out of my 53-55# cut to 27" so would be on the low end of the scale for a recurve of 55# imo. As Grahame has said you have sped the bow up somewhat so need to tune accordingly either by reducing point weight or shorten your arrows if an option.
I assume you have got the nock to string fit correct and serving is of similar material? Steve

[perry]

Matt I twisted up a 14 strand TS1 plus string as a spare for my 43# RER Arroyo static recurve 14 strand Dynaflyte string . Come time too shoot in the new string the bow shot like a absolute pig - it was untunable , I messed about with the brace height , with the nocking point with differant finger pressure on the string , stiffer arrows , lighter arrows alloy arrows , carbon arrows , timber arrows that all shot beautifully in bare shaft tests with the old string , differant lengths .You name it , I tried it .

I put the Dynaflight string back on and the bow was sweet as again . I figured perhaps the 2 materials had vastly differant qualities and maybe TS1plus was stretchier so I ended up twisting up another TS1 plus string - this time an 18 strand string and it shoots beautifully probably as it is now shooting more like the Dynaflight which has a thicker strand.

Apparantly TS1 is a thinner strand than Dynaflyte so its lighter perhaps signalling needing a stiffer arrow , could be the same with your string .

Try twisting up another string with more strands . There could well be something in the differant serving material as Steve has suggested as well .

regards Perry

[matt61]

Thanks for the tips fellas.The new string was dacron,I shot thousands of arrows with it, it went in the bin.I only draw 47# at my draw length with the Bighorn a legacy of breaking my left arm twice so far in my life and am unable to fully straighten it,I am right handed and shoot three under.The nock fit on the string,I use Bjorn nocks and I serve the string with thinest serving I can get so that the nocks only very lightly grip the string and with cats whiskers on the string, this makes the bow super quiet.But there was a different motive behind my initial question as I have two other 52" T/D recurves, they are both Cascade Golden Hawk Magnums, one is 54# the other is 57#.All three bows have bearhair rests also have a peice of wire under the side plate directly above the deepest part of the grip to lessen wrist torque effect, all the strings are Dacron.But the the Bighorn shoots so much sweeter, the only difference is the eighteen strand string that I can see.THe 54# Cascade was new in Febuary which is the bow I want to get shooting like the Bighorn does.I think an eighteen strand dacron string is the go.It was good to hear that you Perry had a similar problem so I'm not imagining it.What is a TSI string I've only ever used Dacron.Hope that answers your queries fellas.

[Stickbow Hunter]

Matt,

I think it is a problem with your bow and arra combination. At 47# and your short draw you are really robbing the bow of a lot of performance by using an 18 strand string and silencers.

As a suggestion, try a 12 strand string and play with some other arras.

Jeff

[Coach]

18 strands is a lot , 16 is the most I use for even a 80# bow . I would have made a 14 strand for that poundage . Maybe the bow is at fault ???? Perhaps the string is making up for the faults in the bow Just an idea .

[matt61]

I dont think its the bow, at a club flu flu shoot I let quite a few fellas shoot with it and they all said what beautiful smooth shooting bow.I tried shooting 2018,s 2114,s 2115,s but found that 2016,s shot the best out of it.I don,t know what could be wrong with the bows,the only reason I can think of is the fatter string comes of my fingers better. If you watch the Legends of the barebow DVD,Roger Rothaar shoots a triple served string and no glove.I try different things, I shot my PSE recurve 55# with 2213,s fletched with one feather and two vanes and they flew great.

[ACSMAKER]

Matt61, you're right, it's not the bow and yes, fatter strings will give you a cleaner release. I'm with coach and Stickbow Hunter. Many use strings that are WAY too thick. At 47#, there is no need to use more then 8 strands of something like DF-97 or 10-12 of Dacron. To use more is doing nothing more then effectively losing performance to the tune of 3-4# or 2" of draw length. If the string is too skinny, double serve...Besides that, a new/different string has to be treaded as a completely new bow, start tuning from scratch. It's normal and should be expected....O.L.

[matt61]

I did a bit of testing with a chronograph this afternoon, shooting 450gr carbon arrows thru my two Cascade recurves which both have eighteen strand dacron flemish strings on them. The bows are 54# and 57# at 28", I then fitted a sixteen strand
string to both bows and shot the same arrows thru the chrono. The arrow speed was about five feet a second faster, so I will be sticking with the eighteen strand strings as I can shoot a lot more accurately with them, a five feet a second faster miss is not a gain in my book, putting the arrow were I want it to go five feet a second slower is a win.Has anyone else done a similar test and what did you find.
cheers
Matt

[Stickbow Hunter]

Matt,

May I suggest you try a 10 - 12 strand Dayna 97 string and perhaps heavier matched arras and see how they shoot, you may be very surprised. I'm sure you will not only gain performance but bows that shoot much nicer.

Jeff

[kimall]

Mate I would think that the arrows are a bit light for the heavier bow anyway at under 8 grains per pound and this wont help in how the bow feels when shot in noise and vibration.I agree with Jeff and others get away from Dacron if you can and just try something like Dyna 97 or the one I use 8125 if you can get it.I dont use them just for speed but I have yet to have a bow that did not shoot nicer with a thinner non stretch string.
Jeff have you ever tried the 8125 to compare it to the 97 I am thinking of trying the 97 as the 8125 can be a bit hard to get.Also do you get your 97 in Auz or import.
Cheers KIM

[Stickbow Hunter]

Kim,

I have been using the 97 for years and like it very much so I haven't bothered trying anything else so no, I have not tried he 8125. I get my Dyna 97 from John at AMSO128, good service and great prices.

Jeff

[kimall]

Thanks Jeff I will give him a call.
Cheers KIM

[matt61]

Is the Dyna 97 like a fastflight.

[Stickbow Hunter]

Is the Dyna 97 like a fastflight.

Yes it is Matt. It was IMO much better than the old Fast Flight but I think the latest FF is made from similar material.

Jeff

[matt61]

I cant use fastflight strings on my bows,Jeff as it will void the warranty.
Matt

[Stickbow Hunter]

I cant use fastflight strings on my bows,Jeff as it will void the warranty.

Fair enough but I think it unusual a Bowyer stipulating that in this day and age.

I would still try some different arras with 14 - 16 strand dacron strings then. With sixteen strands you said you gained 5fps which is similar to shooting bows 3 - 4 pound heavier so I think you may need to try different spined arras. Also, as has been mentioned, try some heavier arras as well. I really think you will end up with even better shooting bows. However, if you are happy with how they are now you can just stick to that. All the best with whatever you decide.

Jeff

[longbowinfected]

I have found that for me aluminium x7s 1914 and even Jazz 1916 work better than 2014, 2016 etc at draw weights 43# up to 49# for target, field and hunting. You really need to tune your arrows to the bow and do the bare shaft testing and you really need to retest your nocking point height above or below square, especially if you change strings or brace heights etc...like having a new bow. With timbers I find the 10 grain to the pound concept works really well for me.

Kevin