I know y’all have Preferred string materials for varying reasons. Don’t Necessarily discuss that.

I have used both to some extent snd had no issues.

My reasoning for the post to discuss when hunting with bows in the 40/43 pound range, Do y’all feel a high performance string adds enough energy to make a big difference in penetration or getting a pass through?

Yesterday I took off a B-55 and put on a fast flight that came on a used bow. The bow went from 165ish to 175ish FPS through the Chronograph.

I am not concerned with speed just using it for a reference of performance.

I understand there may be other reasons for the gain in speed rather than just string material but

my 500 spine bare shaft arrow tuned to the B-55 is now weak with the fastflight.

I like to shoot a decent weight arrow at least 10GPP . which we know helps in Penetration. Ashby’s recommendation is 650GR even for low poundage bows but the heavier weight also really drags down the trajectory of the light weight bows imo. My max hunting shot distance is 20 yards on a good day. I am much happier with 15 and under.

Maybe a high performance string would add enough to get away with a higher arrow weight and reasonable trajectory? I am set up with more B-55 than I’ll ever use but since I have decide to drop in to the low 40’s on my hunt bow this year due to health reasons.

I am wondering if I should buy a couple fastflight strings if it would indeed provide an significant advantage.

It was never a big concerned when shooting my higher poundage bows.

Just thinking out loud and curious what y’all think.

I think you already answered your own question about performance when you picked up 10ish fps with the same bow and arrow combo with a different string.

It's really not a mystery. The low stretch is lighter, and it also, because it is low stretch, releases the arrow quicker from the bow. And it has a faster/quicker power stroke than the heavier, stretchier Dacron Polyester. Not sure why you would not want that extra oomph. And yes, it does change spine requirement, sometimes significantly, but that just means you're getting that better performance. To me it's a no-brainer.

I don't know about Doc Ashby, but my arrows always create two holes, and many times pass throughs as well because the fly perfectly....which in my opinion trumps other aspects like speed and weight.

Low stretch strings for me.

Y’all make a prefect argument.

Guess I just wanted to hear it from someone else. Looks like I need to sell about 15 rolls of B-55 “LOL”

I say shoot whichever one you like, but i am curious what your strand count was with the b55?

Think this one was a 14, I have built some 12 and 16

I shoot dacron and around 60lbs, but got tired of building back into my bows after a hospital stay. I just bought 2 55lb bows. I don't want to give up penetration so I'm shooting 10 stands of d97. Put my 55's right up with my 60's. Anything that speeds your bow up will give you more penetration with a well tuned arrow.

FYI- Bassman is looking for some B55 in the Swap and Trade post.

I use all low-stretch Flemish string and all my bows are on the vintage list.

I am always building self bows, and use B55 mostly to cut cost on string material.With 9 strands of B55 It serves the purpose well. I have a good supply now. Have to take the add off swap, and trade, but my go to bows all have low stretch strings on them unless they have tiny tips which are only two. A Hoyt Gold Medalist, and a Browning Nomad.

What was the strand count of the low stretch string?

Use which ever you prefer but that speed difference it WA indeed 10fps. is not typical of strings of similar physical weight no matter the material.

With low stretch strings speed is only one advantage, for me it's how the bow preforms/feels. There is no comparison the low stretch is so much better in how the bow shoots.

What clydebow said x2 and yeah unload the B55 , again not rocket science, low stretch means exactly that which means more performance, pretty easy if ya ask me

I tie a 10 strand low stretch string, which is still better in over all performance than a 9 strand B55 no matter how you cut the cake. You won't see flight shooters, and Olympic shooters with Dacron strings on their bows when they have the choice of linen, or low stretch strings.It is not that B55 isn't good it is just that low stretch is better over all.

The OP specifically asked if using a lower stretch material would increase the performance of his bow enough to compensate for a decrease in draw weight. The answer to that question is not likely.

The only way he is going to know for sure is to shoot the bow and see how much performance difference he gets himself.

You also don't see Olympic archers shooting off the shelf, instinctively, using 5" feathers, string silencers, or EFOC arrows. Flight shooters don't do most of those things either.

That's why he needs to try them himself.

String material absolutely can increase performance and when you're talking low to mid 40s, a 10 fps gain is certainly a very good thing.

I recently received a string made by a friend that was fast flight plus w halo serving. I replaced the D97 string with the new string and had to move up one spine group. I have not yet chronoed the bow, but can tell that the new string has upped the performance of my bow. I still don't expect to blow through a deers shoulder w my rig, but I'm sure the extra bit of performance won't hurt me when i center a rib.

The OP needs to shoot the strings himself to see what results he actually gets. And to see if the other attributes if modern string materials are acceptable to him.

The occasions that I have seen in which changing string materials between 2 equally well constructed strings and gaining 10fps. can be counted on one hand.

Appreciate the responses

I am glad y’all understood the point of the post.

Obviously there’s a little difference of opinion, which is great and why we ask things.

I have shot both types of strings , however I have personally only built B-55 strings and I have never shot an animal with either.

I can say the fast flight strings do appear to have more zip on the range , bareshaft tuning and according to chronograph.

But ( there is always a but )

I am not sure if the strings I have shot B-55 vs fast flight are equally made. Since I didn’t make the fast flights I don’t know specific details on them either.

It seems pretty obvious that there is a gain of some measure with a FF string but is it enough to make a meaningful difference? I don’t know.

I am guessing too many other factors would be more of a determining factor in a real world hunting situation.

One thing is for sure, I’ll be trying to build my own FF strings and B-55 to see if I can have a more informative opinion in the future.

Until then I appreciate y’all s thoughts, advice and help .

Most bow builders or in the case of ilf, limb makers, that have been around for a while have recommendations for what they feel performs best on their bows to get you started. However, it never hurts for the individual to experiment a little. I prefer low stretch but not to the extreme on the skinny side.

This is opening a can of worms but I feel its worth saying. Like I said when i dropped lower in weight i left the ff on the new bows even tho I don't like the sound of low stretch to hopefully get the penetration i'm used to. With 40-43lbs you need to make it as efficient as possible. I'd stick with low stretch.

fdp the answer to that question is most likely . I am shooting low poundage bows right now, and I have a lot of them, and I chrony them. At no time did B50, or B55 ever perform as good as, or better than low stretch string.No matter what poundage you are shooting.That is my findings, and like you I have been at this for a while and ,still use both types of string.Nothing wrong with B55 ,but over all it will not perform with low stretch string, less vibration, more quiet, and faster. That is me findings ,and only another opinion. In the end it will be his choice,and it will work not matter his string choice.

Have you made a 12 strand B55 to check it for speed? I would be curious to see if there were a difference in the 12vs14 strands, and how much of a difference.

I run 12 strands of B55 on all my bows 55lbs and under. I do not pad the loops, either.

I use low stretch on all of my bows. I've done my own testing and the facts for me are....low stretch strings require another spine stiffer than what I would use for Dacron Polyester. Now whether that works the same for someone else is totally up to them to figure out. I'm convinced, through experimentation, that low stretch will add quite a few fps to your present bow speed if you're using Dacron. How much depends on some personal dynamics I suppose but it is significant for me.

The beauty of experimenting is you will find out, as fdp says, what works best for you. Not me, or any other John Doe. I wouldn't bother using Dacron on any of my bows unless it was the only thing available. It's that big a deal to me. I'm shooting about 43# at my draw on my hunting bow, and the difference from Dacron to low stretch is the difference between a 1916 aluminum and a 2016 aluminum @ 28" length. I draw 27".

I started my testing about ten years or more ago. Honestly I can't remember anymore. I was skeptical when I started to but I got a skinny, padded loop string from Rick Barbee and that was the ruination of me. ;)

That's right blame Rick.lol

I just recalled that when a buddy replaced his dacron string w ff this past winter he realized a gain of 12 fps and moved up 2 spine groups.

I don't shoot dacron on anything these days. Ive found that it is pretty common to pick up 10 fps when changing from dacron to low stretch. But what amazes me is that I'm actually realizing gains between d97 and fast flight plus. The halo serving i believe has factored in as it is pretty slick and lets me get off the string cleaner. Strings are not a high dollar item and its definitely worth trying different materials to decide what works best for you.

A Quiet bow and then good arrow flight is my only priority. I start with B50 and B55 and if that does it I am done. I only shoot 40# to 50#. I don’t need to know arrow weight or speed. Not knocking folks that do; just not my me. :)

It's all good. Use what you want. My brother likes the feel of a B55 string. My friend had me repair his favorite bow that had a busted limb tip. I fixed it, and tied him two B55 10 strand strings ,and the bow draws 55 lbs. Still killing deer every year.

Fdp I lost 4 fps using the same strand count with my first BW bow that came with low stretch. I'm trying it on my new bows but I hate the ff "thunk" so hopefully I'll be able to give it a fair chance.

Not all low-stretch behaves the same. D97 was loud and twangy for me. Didn’t care for it.

On a 48# Redwing Hunter, I had to increase arrow spine from 500 to 400 going from 12 strand Rhino to 24 strand Rampage. Same type material, but Rampage is much thinner.

Ask Rick Barbee what he thinks of D97. He and George S convinced me to go low stretch on my ‘70-ish Wings and Howatts.

That should have said i lost 4fps when i removed the ff string and went to dacron.

I like the feel and make Flemish twist B-55 for all of my bows. I Can’t get used to the piano wire feel of fast flight - that said, they perform faster.

Unless I missed this in the post - have you tried an endless loop B-55? I thought endless loop was supposed to have a slight speed edge over Flemish twist. I’m not sure how an endless loop B-55 would compare to a Flemish fast flight.

How do you get a piano feel with serving around it?

I don’t want to stray too far from the OP here: I’m not trying to argue for Dacron or anything, just saying what I use personally, because I prefer the feel over the added FPS of fast flight. I should have said that to me, subjectively, the thinner, tighter fast flight with no give and an instrument like “plunk” on release feels like I’m pulling on a piano wire or guitar string compared to “softer” Dacron (I’m specifically talking about D97 compared to B-55). I know that the “softness” and “give” equates to less speed, I just like the feel of B-55. I could pad fast flight with extra strands or thicker serving, maybe I’ll experiment again In the future but haven’t wanted to spend the time and $ for a bunch of different fast flight types.

I don’t want to stray too far from the OP here: I’m not trying to argue for Dacron or anything, just saying what I use personally, because I prefer the feel over the added FPS of fast flight. I should have said that to me, subjectively, the thinner, tighter fast flight with no give and an instrument like “plunk” on release feels like I’m pulling on a piano wire or guitar string compared to “softer” Dacron (I’m specifically talking about D97 compared to B-55). I know that the “softness” and “give” equates to less speed, I just like the feel of B-55. I could pad fast flight with extra strands or thicker serving, maybe I’ll experiment again In the future but haven’t wanted to spend the time and $ for a bunch of different fast flight types.

Save that B55 to pad your loops!

In my testing a well tied flemish twist string is the same as a continous loop string in fps, and much easier to tie for me.

Bassman your gold medalist was made for non stretch strings. We didn't have ff back then but oly style archers used kevlar strings after in came out in the 70's. Problem with kevlar was breakage. It was only good for 200 to 400 shots then it broke.

Why are people changing arrows when they pick up a few feet per second, just build out the strike plate a bit to accomplish the same thing.

Bob

Thanks Bassman, good to know.

GLF I Pm'd Viper on that very subject, and he claimed that bow with tiny tips was designed for B50. I ask that very question on here a while back,and Rick Barbee said he had tied quite a few low stretch strings for the Hoyt Medalist. Maybe some day I will tie a padded loop low stretch string for it. Normally I put micarta tip over lays on for low stretch string, but I don,t want to alter this bow. PM 952.

Boker, when I need to I crease the diameter of a string for nock fit, I just build up the area with plumbers Teflon thread tape. I learned that from Rick Barber. I only keep 1 size of serving.

Aromakr, I wondered exactly the same thing.

Should have been Rick Barbee. Sorry Rick.

Bassman i owned an archery shop with 24 indoor lanes and held NAA sanctioned shoots. When hoyt/ easton brought out the gold medalist i was a hoyt easton dealer as well. Olympic archers all shot kevlar at that time. I don't know what they were designed for specifically but they were designed knowing kevlar would be used on them. I never once saw a tip break off or split, even on the occasion string break. No bow was designed for non stretch specifically because ff wasn't even thought of and kevlar was only used by oly archers. Its ur bow but those are the facts. If you really want to shoot low stretch get ahold of Darrell Pace and ask him. I would imagine ff would be as safe as kevlar was.

Regarding the question “why not build out the strike plate instead of going to a stiffer arrow?”

Simple answer, it was an experiment. And I had a quiver full of 400 spine arrows on hand.

Glf, thanks for the info. I was ignorant of those facts.Right now with a 10 strand B55 string shooting that bow at 35lbs. with a 350 gr arrow I am getting 150 fps plus through my chrony. I use it for winter indoor shooting at 20yds,and set it up fixed crawl. Nice shooting bow.

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