I`ve never used a bow stringer in my life and have never hurt a bow yet,buuuut I would suggest you get one. They are cheap,easy to use and will keep you from damaging your bow. I`ve always used a tab and recommend them,however I have friends that shoot gloves and shoot as good as I do and they would`nt shoot anything else. Start around 7 1/2" on that brace height.See how it shoots; if it hits your wrist,twist it to shorten it some,if you cant get good arrow flight,shorten it a little,if it`s noisy,yea you guessed it,shorten it a little. Shorten in 1/4" differences to your brace height at a time. I think you got a great starter outfit there. Wait a bit and I`m sure there will be other suggestions that will be different than mine,so try them all and see what happens,it wont hurt a thing. Good luck; Bob