Anybody run a skinny string on a Kodiak Mag?

[mahantango]

Joe2Crow, I'm curious - what type string and how many strands did you pad it to?

[Joe2Crow]

mahantango, I'm not sure of the specifics of the string.  I had it made by a reputable string maker  on this site. I just gave him the length and poundage of the bow. In fairness, I don't know why it happened. Maybe I had a cracked nock that caused a dry-fire. But, I no longer use skinny strings on vintage bows.

[Sixby]

Split the limbs on a greeny Grizzly . I would not do it without reworking the tips and better overlays. I left it strung overnight and during the night it split the glass on both sides all the way to where the string was slack.

God bless, Steve

[ron w]

Don't do it........maybe on a new one but not on an old one!!

[LBR]

Lots of variables besides reinforced tips.   String groove angle, draw length, arrow weight, what shape the bow is in (may or may not be able to see some things), etc.

I won't do it myself.

[tzolk]

My buddy is running a 9 strand Ultra Cam string from Rick B with padded loops on his Grayling 45# K Mag. No issues at all.

[LBR]

I've heard of several folks getting away with it, and several that haven't.

Reminds me of several years ago when PENN-66 and B-75 string materials were on the market.  One guy (who hasn't made strings in years as far as I know) was pushing them hard, and lots of people loved the materials...and lots of people damaged or destroyed their bows when the string broke with no warning.  Wasn't long before both materials were taken off the market.

Something to consider...when "'Ol So-and-So' says it will be just fine"...is 'Ol So-and-So' going to replace your bow if it breaks?

Don't get me wrong here.  I love the high performance materials.  I will rarely shoot a bow that won't accept them--I use them on my selfbows--but all the bows I shoot on any kind of regular basis are built to accept high performance strings.

Some people may get away with it the rest of their lives.  Some won't.  I've known of people who speed all the time and never get a ticket.  Doesn't mean I can get away with it.

[ron w]

Why gamble on ruining a great bow........just because somebody else is getting away with it.

[David M. Mathis]

I use 8125G on my 1970's Kmag with B50 padded in the loops. I guess no bows have broken using B50 in the tips.

[Steven E Milbocker]

I run a skinny endless on my 70 Kmag. Thousands of shots and no issues.Performance both in speed (non issue for me)and feel is significant. Kmags are plentiful and not a high dollar bow.Well worth the risk I feel. If there really is a risk.

[zepnut]

I'll stick with B-50 on mine.

[last arrow]

I think the point is that you need to be aware of what you are effectively doing when you use a skinny string on a bow.  Say you start with a 50lb bow using a 500 grain arrow with a 14 strand dacron string.  You are at a nice 10 gpp arrow that is considered safe by virtually everyone.  My 14 strand endless loop dacron strings, with silencers, weigh about 160 grns.  You change to a skinny sting, and low and behold, you need to drop 50 grains of point weight to tune the bow and get good arrow flight.  Great you are now getting really fast arrow flight and great trajectory.  

You are still at 9 gpp for the bow so you are still safe right?  Maybe not. My 8 strand, padded, D97 endless loop strings with silencers weigh about 90 grns.  So this effectively removes about 130 grains of weight from the arrow/string combination.  If you removed that 130 grains from your arrow and stayed with the original string you would be at less than 8 ggp.  Not considered safe by most.  So I don't think the 9 gpp with the skinny string is safe either.

Yes, I lot of people have broken bows using modern strings, but I don't think the sole reason is the string material.  It is because they have not given consideration to the entire system that goes into the mechanics of the bow arrow shot with the effective change in arrow weight being one of the primary culprits.

For the record, In my 40 plus years of shooting recurve bows I have broken one expensive custom bow, designed for fast flight due to an accidental dry fire.  Incidentally, it had always been shot with a 14 strand dacron string.  So I believe when bad things happen a bow can break with any type of string.  

I now shoot all my bows with skinny modern strings with the rule that my arrow/string combination will weigh over 12 gpp of bow draw weight.  When following that rule, the best shooting bow I own (or ever owned) is a 45lb, 1966 Kodiak bought off the auction site for $140 (comparing very well with high dollar custom bows I own).  I am shooting it with a 560 grain axis shaft with 250 grain head, and 8 strand endless loop d97 padded to 16 strands in the loops.

I am with Steve in that, with the availability and cost of older bows, I think it is worth the risk to shoot skinny strings on the old bows for the  improved shooting characteristics alone.