Fast Flight Sucks.......or maybe not? ;)

[tomsm44]

I got a new bow this last spring.  It's a Flatwoods Custom R/D longbow and is my first bow that isn't an OLD bow as well as my first longbow.  From everything I'd heard about longbows, I was expecting it to be super quiet, but I was a little letdown.  It wasn't extremely loud, but I have two higher weight recurves that are quieter.  I tried several types of silencers, different arrow weights, and adjusted the brace height all over the place, but at its quietest, it still had a noticeable twang to it.  I decided to go ahead and hunt with it because it shoots wonderfully and is still way quieter than any compound I've ever heard.  Unfortunately, it cost me my first trad deer.........twice.........on the same day.  I had two does jump the string on the first Saturday of the season after hunting the last two years without a shot.  I put it up and got my old super quiet Ben Pearson recurve out, but haven't gotten a shot since that first weekend.  A couple weeks later, I was talking with the gentleman that got me into trad originally, trying to see if there was anything else I could try, and it hit me.  I asked him, " you think it may be a fast flight string?"  With all my bows being older, I've always used Dacron just to be safe, but I've always heard fast flight was louder.  He agreed that being a new custom, it probably came with a fast flight string.  I finally ordered a new Dacron Flemish Twist string last week and it came in yesterday.  I put some yarn silencers on it last night and shot it this morning.  After the first shot, I had to go look at the target to make sure I actually shot it.  It is unbelievably quiet now, with just the slightest dull thud at release.  Much better than the twang it had before and quieter than any other bow I have.  It's everything I dreamed it would be from the start.  And there is virtually no noticeable decrease in speed.  I'm sure you could see a difference with a chronograph, but it can't be more than a few fps.  Plus, the new black/red/silver string with red serving and matching silencers looks awesome with the dark red Jatoba riser.

[Biathlonman]

I feel the same way about B50/55, can't stand the stuff!  I've gotten to the point if a bow won't take a "fast flight" string, I won't own it.  A good string in "fast flight" would have probably done the same thing for you.

[PaulDeadringer29]

That may be your experience but I doubt it's the majority. A well made FF string is not just about speed....they will be just as quiet and less vibration than B50 in my experience.

I love my D97 strings! To each his own, I guess!

Glad you got it where you like it!

Bisch

[reddogge]

It's all about what the bow likes.

[nineworlds9]

Lol.  YMMV.  I despise B50 with a passion.  All my selfbows get FF material and they are quiet as breath.  

Again, YMMV, there are such a number of different FF materials available, to me it would be worth it to try a few different ones and ensure the maker of the string really new what he was doing.  For example, I don't much care for D10 or Astroflight, but I don't mind D97, FF Plus and I love me some Rhino, Fury or BCY X even.  

This also does not even begin to account for such things as release, heck a bad release can add a dB or two I'm sure.

FF material to me anyway has a higher pitch to it than B50, but to me is as quiet or quieter volume wise.  Higher pitch does not equate to higher volume.  

Figuring these things out for oneself as far as what you like and what works is half the fun.  Dogma, well that's just a party pooper.  Still hate B50 though, blech!!  LOL    :D

[BigJim]

some things wrong if you cant get the LB quiet and had to go to a Dacron to do it.
BigJim

[Mr. fingers]

I feel your pain as far as shot opportunities I've had one in the past two yrs. and same as you the deer was. Completely  turned away as the arrow got to him. Yes he jumped the string my bow is super quiet  even with a quiver on. Like you i wanted to blame my equipment I was thinking I need to lighten up my arrows so they will be faster but that's a catch 22 my bow will become louder with lighter arrows. I even had thought if I had my compound that buck would be in my freezer. But the real reason for my miss was yes he jumped the string but it wasn't my equipment. It was my judgement that deer was on double Red Alert!!! He got tense when he cought a little of my wind or just sensed me there the a squirrel was making a ton of racked behind me so much noise to me it sounded like two bucks fighting which is what I thought it was. So when he stepped out to my lane he was walking that stupid high step and stomp while looking intensely around I should have recognized this but my excitement of the shot opportunity got the best of me. Sometimes we just need to relearn things we used to know  Ya know!

[Paul Cousineau]

Bigjim X2

[tomsm44]

I edited the title.  Didn't mean to touch a nerve with it.  I intended the title as kinda tongue in cheek and I never actually downed fast flight outright in the body of my post.  I was just saying that was the one thing I hadn't changed and once I changed it, problem solved.  I hadn't considered a low quality string causing the issue, but whether it was due to material or construction quality, the string itself was the problem.  And also, as I said, it wasn't excessively loud, just louder than I wanted.  My other three hunting bows are 1960s era and I've used Dacron strings from the same maker since I started, so quality has always been consistent for me.  Guess that's why the quality issue never occurred to me.  I would have thought a custom maker would send high quality strings with their bow to get the best out of them, but if you guys are saying fast flight strings are as quiet if not quieter than Dacron, that may not always be the case with smaller custom shops.  Just curious though, why does fast flight have such a reputation for being loud if it isn't?  I've been hearing it since I got into trad three or four years ago, and the first one I tried was indeed louder.

[Gordon Jabben]

I like B-50. That being said, for no apparent reason other than maybe the loop size or the serving type, some of my strings are quieter than others.

[Warden609]

I shoot both out of my silvertips. No complaints on either material, but I shoot very well made custom strings.

[Sam McMichael]

I have bows that shoot quietly with Dacron and others that do just fine with ff. I can't truthfully say I prefer one over the other, though, as long as it performs satisfactorily.

[M60gunner]

My new Fury string from Alan at 10 Ring is very quite on my Wes Wallace LB. I have had a couple guys with good hearing tell me so. Years ago I had issues with my Bear TD and the FF string that came with it. Noisey is a nice word. I changed string material and noise went away.
I have B55 on one bow and that is my 72 Bear SK made by Alan. I have not shot it yet in the heat of summer to see if B55 stretches like B50. With B50 even endless strings strech in summer heat.

[tomsm44]

Nineworlds9,

I didn't see your response earlier.  The higher pitch sound is what I was getting.  Seeing the way you explain it, it may just be that I was perceiving it as louder when it was actually just different.  When I was talking to my friend about what I could try, his first response was actually that he didn't really think it was that loud.  Maybe I was just so used to my other bows that the higher pitched sound seemed much worse to my ears than it actually was.  If it was just in my head, then at least it got a sexy visual upgrade out of the whole ordeal.  And like Mr. Fingers says, it's still my fault.  Both deer were very calm, but the first shot was at 6 yards.  That close, she would probably jump the string no matter how quiet it was, and I should know that from my compound days even if it was my first trad shot.  And if my bow was indeed loud and it wasn't in my head, I had the option of carrying a different bow and chose not to.  Lots of good insight here, and I may give a good high quality fast flight string a try again in the future.  Thanks guys.

 

[Orion]

If you missed at 6 yards, the problem was more than the deer jumping the string.  Likely shooter error. An awful lot of missed shots are blamed on the critter jumping the string, when, in fact, most folks just shoot high.

[Friend]

Personal satisfaction is the key.

[tomsm44]

Orion, I definitely wouldn't rule that out.  I know I didn't shoot high enough to miss completely because there was a limb at about her spine that I was shooting under.  Would've had to hit it if I shot that high, but it could very well been a combination of me shooting high and her jumping the string.  The second shot was only an hour later at about 11-12 yards.  I felt calm, but having just missed one, nerves very well may have been a BIG factor in that one.

[Steelhead]

Some bows will shoot quieter with b-50 or b-55.I have had bows that did

Most bows will shoot quieter with a well made FF string however when their set up right

I would try a skinny string made with one of the more modern materials on your bow like BCY-X or Fury or D-10 like that's that used by Silent but Deadly Bowstrings.I always use wool puffs on those strings.

[LBR]

String material is usually not the main factor in whether a string is quiet or not.  How it's built, tuning, nock fit, release, etc. all make a difference.

If you used the same arrows, that could be part of the problem.  Often you will need different arrows with a different string (due to a difference in string travel, not a dramatic difference in performance).  If you used the same brace height, that too could be a problem.  Normally you will have to make adjustment with different materials.  Nock fit can make a big difference.  The list goes on.

Original FF was, to me, kinda' twangy.  It's been so long since I used it, and I've learned so much since I used it, I don't know if it was me or the material.  Probably as much or more me than anything.

The big benefits to "high performance" materials isn't a big speed gain.  Unless you are going from one extreme to the other, the performance difference is usually small.  The benefits worth noting are consistency, durability, lack of stretch/creep, and reduced shock.

Over the years it's absolutely floored me to find out how uneducated some bowyers are about strings and string materials.  I don't mean that as a slam, it's just a fact.  Some of the craziest comments about strings I've ever heard were from bowyers that got top dollar.  "The string caused the limb to twist".  "Flemish strings are less accurate and can be dangerous".  "Warranty is void if you use a Flemish or Dacron string" (yes, warranty void over using Dacron).  Bowyers are human too, and some don't do their homework with strings, some rely on information sources that are less than accurate but somehow managed to garner a following on the www.

On top of that, you generally get a "one size fits all" type string with a bow, custom or not.  It's not easy to keep a custom string made specifically for each bow.  A string that will work for an 80# bow may not be best for a 30#, and vice-versa.  Proper nock fit for a X-nock is going to be much different than for a Bohnning Classic.

I don't see going "skinny" as a cure for anything. In two decades of making, studying, and tinkering with strings, I can't make a "skinny" string do anything that I can't make a moderate size string do...at least not anything positive.

Chad