Which string material offers the softest shot?

[eagle24]

I've seen the term "soft shot" used by bowyers and stringmakers.  I assume that would be the same as "least handshock"???  Which string material causes the least amount of handshock between DF97, TS-1, & FFP?  I thought I knew which material I liked best, but recently tried a different material on one of my bows and it definitely makes (that) bow have less handshock.

[Tedd]

TS1 works best on my bow

[JRY309]

I prefer D97 for my choice for my bows.I haven't tried any of the others but I'm sure they have good quailites.I like D97,I can make a 12 strand work on all my bows for the same nock fit.My bows range from 50# to 83#,I could use less on the lighter bows but then I need to add under the serving.I think D97 shoots harder then the old type FF and is quieter.I like the feel of it I think it makes the bow feel more solid.

[Golden Hawk]

Personally I like 8 strands of 450+ with the loops padded to 12.

[sswv]

There are a BUNCH of fine string makers out there but the Mike Treadway hybrid type strings are VERY, VERY hard to beat. They are EXACTLY what you'd expect from a string. A combination of FF and B-50 along with padded loops makes for an outstanding, quiet and great performing string. As far as handshock, I don't feel it.

[AMB]

sswv,

Fast flight and B-50 Dacron in the same string is not going to be good.  How ever many strands of ff that is in that string is doing all of the work.  Stretch and no stretch, in the same string, isn't a good combination.

AMB

[JC]

I'm a fan of TS1 from Chad Renfro @ primetimestrings.com.

[sswv]

I know SEVERAL people out there shooting them and everyone likes them. Mike Treadway is a VERY skilled craftsman and his combination works great on everything we've tried them on. Don't say it won't work until you're tried it for yourself. you heard the old saying "never say never"?

[vermonster13]

The Dacron is only used to pad the loops I believe.

[Steelhead]

I like TS-1 for a quieter shot and pleasant shooting characteristics.Too me it doesnt have as high of pitch sound as some other strings i have shot on the same bows.The material feels softer to the touch than some other materials.Changing to this material has made more than 1 bow of mine shoot with an overall better feel and yes I feel the shot feels softer and sounds quieter.This may not apply to every bow but certainly works on some of them very well.

[Orion]

Haven't tried all of the materials you mentioned, but for me D-97 is definitely quieter than 450 plus, and I don't notice any difference in performance.

[LBR]

Depends on who you ask, how the string was made, how many strands,what the bow likes,  etc. etc. etc.

Mike (Treadaway) has mixed FF and dacron in the same string for years--think he mixes Dynaflight and dacron now.  He likes it, but even though he's used it for years it still scares me--the stronger material is carrying the load.

I like Dynaflight '97 myself, but 450+ and 8125 also work well.

Chad

[Bill Carlsen]

I like the TS-1.

[eagle24]

Well there probably is not a ton of difference in the "low stretch" materials.  I make all my strings and will continue to do so.  I have about 8 rolls of DF97 and have been making 10-12 strand DF97 strings with dacron padded loops.  Prior to the DF97 I had some of the old FF string material.  When I made the switch to DF I liked the DF better.  What got me curious was the other day I made a DF97 string for my new Turkey Creek longbow.  The string that came on the bow is TS-1.  I definitely feel more handshock from the DF97 string and prefer the TS-1 string much better on that particular bow.  Now, I'm wondering if I would like TS-1 better on my other bows.

[Shawn Leonard]

I prefer D-97, it seems the quietest on my bows but 450+ will do the trick also. I like a 12 Strand D-97 as it make for as nice nock fit without using a thick serving! Shawn

[LBR]

Eagle, might be a tuning issue--when you switch materials, you may have to re-tune rather than go back to the exact same brace as worked with the other material.  The string may not be shot in yet either.

The reason I say that is because string elasticity is the #1 contributor to hand shock (where the string is concerned anyway), and Dynaflight '97 has very little elasticity.

On the other hand, some bows just seem to "like" certain string materials, while with others it doesn't seem to make much if any difference.

Chad