B-50 or Fastflight??

[3Feathers]

What do you Hill shooters use B-50 or fastflight on your bows?Which is more quiet?Which do you prefer and why??

[JamesV]

I use B50 on all my trad-bows Years n  Years with no problems.

[Rob W.]

I am using fastflight this year. So far I can find no faults in fastflight other than the sound. I'm a quiet bow freak so will probably switch back to b50 come Oct.


Rob

[JamesKerr]

If the bow is rated for fast flight I use fast flight plus on it. I tend to get more hand shock in a longbow with a b50 string than one made out of the ff plus.

[Bel007]

Sorry, not a direct answer to your question but close...

I recently switched to B55 for almost all my bows.  I liked B50 but then tried the B55 and I feel it offers a little less stretch and faster arrows.  

The FF strings I have used in the past delivered more performance but had a feel that I just did not care for when I shot the bow.

My Widows are the only bows I shoot with FF.  Everything else gets B50 (now B55 when I make them a new string).

[JRY309]

I use a low stretch hmpe string on all my bows,the only bow I have B50 on is an old Ben Pearson recurve.I don't use it for any speed increase,the bow feels more solid and not springy like with dacron.My Hill's are just as quiet with D97 and has less handshock then B50.Just not a B50 fan.

[stickbowmaniac]

I use excel on all my bows that are compatable.little to know break in time and very quiet.

[Red Tailed Hawk]

10 strand fast flight with padded ends. Really helped to reduce handshock. My Tembo behaves real well with the ff.

[LBR]

"What do you Hill shooters use B-50 or fastflight on your bows?Which is more quiet?Which do you prefer and why??"

I don't shoot a "Hill", but I have a few selfbows that are straight or mildly reflexed.

Quiet is a matter of tuning.  Pitch is differenct from one material to another, but with proper tuning most any can be made very quiet.

HMPE materials (Dynaflight '97, 8125, Fast Flight, etc.) are much more durable, have less stretch/creep (so your shot is more consistent), and can help reduce shock.  I've never seen proof that it will reduce the life of a bow, if the string and bow are made properly.

The only way to know for sure what you will like best is to try a few different ones.

Chad

[Davesea]

Just made a 9 strand three bundle. Each bundle has 2 D97 and one b55.  I notice the the arrow is faster and bow is louder. Trying to assess the hand shock.  Padded loops to 15 strands.

[Pete W]

Mixing the 2 together makes no sense. The dacron stretches more, so it will end up not carying it's share of the load, and the rest of the strands will be doing all the work.

[stagetek]

I use B-50 on all my older Bear bows. Started using D-97 on my Predators, RER and Newer Bear T/D's and I really like it. Nothing to do with speed, just a completely different "feel".

[Red Tailed Hawk]

Originally posted by Pete W:
Mixing the 2 together makes no sense. The dacron stretches more, so it will end up not carying it's share of the load, and the rest of the strands will be doing all the work.

X2

[SEMO_HUNTER]

While I don't have a specific answer for a Hill, I do have some insight on string material for what it's worth. I have an older Bear Kodiak Mag and a Horne's Brush bow that I made new strings for recently and here's what I found. At the advice of a couple friends here on TG I decided to add 6 strands of D10 in with my B-50 for the usual 12 strand bundle and the results were very impressive to say the least. I get quiet, no stretch, and more performance now versus my previous 12 strand B-50 strings that I used to make. Now that I've seen the benefits of going with a 50/50 mix of D10/B50 I doubt that I will ever go back. I also switched from making Flemish Twist strings to endless loop strings and that too has proved to be a very smart move and a step in the right direction.

Hope some of that helped a little.

[ChrisM]

3Feathers I am wondering the same thing.  I have only pulled back B50 a few times on a longbow so I have no real idea what it brings to the table.  I know that I didn't like it on a recurve because it allowed the limbs to vibrate alot.  However a Hill bow with the deep narrow limbs they should not do this as much as that bear did.

[L82HUNT]

Guys do what you want but mixing FF and Dacron is not a good move.  Might as well take all the dacron out cause it aint doing anything but padding the loops.

[LBR]

I also switched from making Flemish Twist strings to endless loop strings and that too has proved to be a very smart move and a step in the right direction.

What difference did you find?  Generally speaking, if the strings are equally well made there will be little if any difference in performance.  The endless will settle in quicker, the flemish is more adjustable and generally quieter.  

 

Guys do what you want but mixing FF and Dacron is not a good move. Might as well take all the dacron out cause it aint doing anything but padding the loops.  

Pretty much.  It also adds weight to the string that will hinder performance a little, and in some cases it will act like a silencer.  If the string isn't make properly, the FF can cut through the dacron.

Mike Treadaway of Black Forrest has mixed dacron and FF in his strings for years.  Mike makes a really nice bow, and they are shooters.  He does it to quieten the string noise.  IMO there are better ways to reduce noise, but it works for him.

Chad

[Davesea]

Just wanted to try the mix since I heard that one of the bow manufacturers does it.  I thought the same thing but thought I would give it a try.