Ben Pearson Palomino 68" 1962-163 CAT 970

[JD in Atlanta]

Hello, I am new to the forum, but have been into archery for the past 15 years. I just acquired a 68" Ben Pearson Palomino w/Sights. It did not come with a string, so I will need to purchase a new one. I noticed the Palomino looks like it has reinforced limb tips? Can this vintage bow use a D97 FF material? Has anyone tried it?

Thanks!

[zepnut]

You will hear that some people use FF on older bows and some don't. To me it's just not worth the risk.

[Blackhawk]

I know some guys (me included) who use padded loop FF type strings on older bows without a problem. But that would be up to you since the jury is still out as to whether it will harm your bow.

The speed increase may be only a few feet per second but I find the bow actually feels better in the hand to shoot with the fast flite string.  Actually I am using a D97 string on a '59 Kodiak Special and a '64 Tigercat right now and have no issues...all positive.

I know you will get conflicting opinions on this topic, but just ask the naysayers to provide evidence a padded looped ff string caused problems.  There are plenty who have used it and not had problems.  

For you, just how upset would you be if it ruined the bow?

[JD in Atlanta]

Thanks for the quick response Blackhawk! I was leaning towards the "Padded looped FF" since my palomino looks like it has reinforced tips, so that should work with no issues. I made a mistake and used a D97 FF, NON-PADDED string on my Ben Pearson Colt 7070....It was a very sad day that day! The string cut through the fiber glass lamination and split both limbs about two inches from the tips. Now its just hang on the wall as relic. I still get choked up thinking about it...it was a super nice shooter!! This is a warning to those whose try to use high performance strings on vintage bows with no extra protection. I will post pictures as proof to show what a D97 ff does to a vintage bow with no padding or reinforced tips.

later