String Follow vs Back Set

[SteveL]

Howdy Guys, been away from the game for awhile, but now have a real hankering for a Hill style bow. So my question is....what would be the differences in terms of draw characteristics and arrow speed, between a set back ASL and a stringfollow ASL.

I searched a bit on the HH thread, but there is so much there to sift through I just couldn't find anything.

Thanks!

[Sam McMichael]

I have shot a few backset bows, but I have never owned one. They shot well and seemed to throw an arrow with good speed. I have a string follow Northern Mist Shelton, and it is really soft in my hand. I am convinced it is a little more forgiving. I have another Shelton on order, so I'll see if it has the same sensation of smoothness.

[nineworlds9]

In my experience the stringfollow bows load up a little later in the draw, but its subtle.  Speed difference is only 3 fps at best as was explained to me by Steve Turay at NM, pretty well imperceptible.  SF bows seem like you can be a little more liberal in your release, as the string doesn't have to travel as far to rest, making the whole system more stable.  It's kind of the complementary effect of running higher brace height.  Pulse in the hand seems a little gentler.  I shot a NM Classic and a Shelton side by side for a month and honestly both are sweet bows, the Classic seemed a little snappier and lively, but I came to prefer the Shelton for sure.  Easier to string push-pull too.

[Jan Westphal]

I have a new to me HHA with a slight set back and a straight selfmade one which is two inch shorter and follows the string a little after it is unstrung. The shorter bow shoots a lot sweeter to me, has less handshock and seems faster too. No scientific hard facts here but many variables that seperate bows from great bows, stringfollow vs back set being just one of them.

[Hermon]

I personally prefer the string follow.  I prefer the draw, the quietness of them.  I also have a little of a shoulder problem and the "later loading" of the string follow is easier on my shoulder when it flares up.

[LongStick64]

I actually prefer the snappier backset, probably because I shoot recurves more than longbows.

[Rob DiStefano]

with a hill style american flatbow, if straight limbs can be considered neutral, then backset limbs will probably add a few fps of speed but may detract from "shot stability", whereas string follow limbs will probably lose a few fps of speed but will add some measure of "shot stability".

i absolutely prefer a string follow american flat longbow for that added stability factor - speed don't kill as well as accuracy does.   :cool:

[Ron Roehrick]

My preference is string follow in the ASL Hill style, I sold all my back set longbows. The difference in speed is a few fps isn't worth the trade off to me.Just one opinion after years of shooting.

[SteveL]

Thanks Gents! for all the input.

After some consideration and also inspiration provided by Rob's build along of a 7 Lakes blank, I just completed an order for a Carolina Night Stringfollow Blank. If I can get my act together I'll post up some pics of the process of getting it into shooting order.

[Biathlonman]

Where was the 7 lakes byild along?  I can't find it.

[David Mitchell]

I have owned both a Hill Big Five string follow and a Northern Mist string follow.  I prefer the slightly back set limb design.  Hills and Northern Mist bows differ a bit in the amount of string follow.  In this photo the Hill is on the right and the NM on the left. You can see the NM has a touch more string follow.