For Hill shooters, What's Your String Preference?

[TSP]

Just wondering what the string preferences are for those who shoot Howard Hill bows.  B-50 dacron, D97, 450+, TS-1, other?  # strands?  I've got a 66" 57#@28" Wesley Special coming and intend to try a few different string materials and brace heights to see what works best.  Always good to know what others have found for results.

[BamBooBender]

always had good results with FF string. Plus I personally like about a 6.5" brace height on HH( or just about any straight ended longbow) bows.

[Nate Steen .]

I now prefer the TS-1 over dacron.  It lasts longer, is quiet if made into a heavy string, imparts more energy into the arrow, and hits my wrist less forceful.

[Stone Knife]

B50 is all i use on my Hills.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

I don't know...I just happily use the ones Craig sent me! Does anyone know what type they are?

[42WLA]

I use only B-50 on my 20 year old HH Big Five. I have been told even now Craig does NOT recommend anything else.

[TSP]

This isn't a new bow, but I emailed Craig about FF string and although he doesn't 'recommend' it he basically says its up to the owner to decide...it might or might not shorten the bow life.  So, I guess that means its owner's choice/risk.

What about # of strands for the respective materials?

[aromakr]

You know its amasing, there was an article in TBM a year or so ago about this very subject, the author's conclusion was that D97 was much quieter than B50 on a HH. So I decided to try it, I got a spool of D97 and made my usual three lay flemish string and started testing. To my suprise the D97 was by far the loudest bow string I've ever shot. I tried all different brace heights, nothing made it quiet. I guess the old saying, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" really applies.
Bob

[Nate Steen .]

I'll agree that some setups and release styles, etc. can make a bow and string combination more noisy.  I tried fastflight on my bows years ago and wondered why anyone would use it, it was so noisy.  However,  last year I tried it again, knowing that FF was about 1/3 smaller diameter, and make my string with 1/3 more strands so it would be the same diameter as my B50 strings.  The resulting 24 strand strings are very quiet, I never silencers, and very durable.  Also there is less stretch in the string as it comes to a stop, resulting in more power to the arrow.

[SCATTERSHOT]

I have bows similar to yours, a 66" Wesley Special, 50#@28", and a 64" Big 5, 55#@28". I like a 14 strand Dacron string braced at 6 3/8" for both bows. I used to brace mine higher, up to 7", but I found they will shoot well at the lower brace if the arrows are spined correctly.

Good luck!

[TSP]

Thanks for the replies.  I had planned to try a 14 strand B-50 but started wondering if a 16 or even 18 strand might be quieter and still retain decent cast.  Although I have D97 on my Liberty Contender I have to admit being leery of the low strand (under 12) D97 and 450+ for the Hill...seems like an awful lot of stress on limb tips not specifically designed for FF...even if the loops are padded.

[Orion]

I use a 14 strand D-97 string with padded loops on my 68-inch, 60 pound Black Bear (A Wesley Special with carbon on the back).  Also use it on a 66-inch, 55# Big Five.  For me the D-97 is as quiet as dacron, but it does have a slightly different pitch.  Whether Dacron or D-97, I use Wooly Whispers to silence the string.  Without silencers, the D-97 is noisier than Dacron.  Low stretch strings provide a little more zip and reduce hand shock.  Compared to dacron, the D-97 for me gives the bow a little crisper feel.

If you use dacron, 16 strands is great plenty.  Won't stretch quite as much as 14.  18 strands begins to look like a rope.  It's more than you need.

[Archer 1]

I use nothing but B-50 on my 60# Big five, and all my other longbows. Does the job, is quiet, and better for my bow tips.

[bowmofo]

B-50 for all my Hills.Mike

[TSP]

Well, I received the Wesley in the mail yesterday (thanks again, Jim).  She's a real beauty...like-new condition, 5 lams of bamboo under clear glass back and belly, antler limb tips, Cocobola riser, dished grip, kind of a taupe (light brown) leather grip and rest/sideplate, matte finish.  It came with a 10 strand 450+ string on it, plus extra strings and a neat little stringkeeper.  Very nice package.  

First impression after tweaking the nock point and running through a 20 minute shooting session was that this bow is much faster than I thought it would be and it took surprisingly little time to hit consistently with it.  Even with some rather low-quality 55-60# cedar practice arrows (sound, but not the straightest or straight-grainiest) the bow shot accurately and consistently at the 12 to 20 yard distances I shot.  At 57# its a bit heavier than what I normally like, but after a few shots the weight didn't seem bad at all.  One of the advantages of the longer longbows.

I draw 28", use a Hill-style grip, a deep-hook string hold and cant the bow moderately.  the arrows showed a slightly stiff spine (arrows slightly left; I'm RH), which surprised me since I thought 60-65# would be a better fit for that poundage, not 50-55#.  I might play with the point weight and/or arrow length a little...can always increase shaft length by an inch if needed.  

The 450+ string was a bit small for the arrow nocks...a little piece of masking tape wrapped temporarily around the serving fixed that...and had only 6 or 8 strands of catwhisker silencers on it.  It was still very quiet.  

The low-stretch 450+ string clearly adds performance compared to what B-50 dacron would provide (which I have on my Abbot longbow), but I still wonder about the stress on those limbtips.  Shoots nice and quick, though, even with 560-570 grain arrows.  Got my GN quiver and a set of fur silencers on now, the latter just for a little extra dressy.  Mighty purty.

I'll make a 16 strand B-50 soon and try it.  Want to see what string tickles my fancy, plus need to decide if the quiver will stay on or be replaced by my back quiver instead.

Neat bow, lots of fun to shoot, totally classy look.  Thanks to all for your advice and tips.

[Frank V]

I use B-50 on mine too. Frank