is fast flight really needed ?

According to most if a Hill style longbow has the glass wedge in the tips it fast flite compatible.  Some say the recurves from the 60s with the fiberglass overlays are not.  Those fiber glass overlays have more stuff than that single wedge in a Hill style bow. One of my friends is shooting at times a cheapy he got off of edunk. It has no overlays, it came with no string, so he ordered a string.  He has been shooting that bow off and on for 6 years, the string he bought was a fast flite and it is not even padded, they told him it would last longer, but no mention was made as to what bow they were making the string for.  I could see no wear on the bow from it.

[LBR]

As noted before, there are lots more variables to consider besides the tip over lays (or lack thereof).  I've seen two bows with the tips literally sawn off by a FF string.  Old bows, no tip reinforcement, no padding in the loops.

Some folks may get away with it, other's won't.  Some people hunt from elevated stands without a safety belt and don't fall.  Some don't.  Neither is worth the risk IMO.

[two4hooking]

No one has mentioned noise either.  I have found I don't need silencers on my longbows with fat Dacron strings and what low pitch sound there is does not tend to be noticed by animals as much as a higher pitched sound.

Also if you heat your strings before stringing up the bow I find little / no future creep.

I'll stick with my old ways....

I think on the above bow, it has rather wide tips and does not get drawn far, besides only being shot occasionally is why it has not been damaged so far. He also likes to melt bee wax and dip the loops. I told him to do that with the B 50s I made for him, so I wouldn't have to make so many, maybe that extra lubrication helps the bow.  He was one of the people that had a longbow with bad nock wear from a crusty string.  I did tell him to get an endless B50 for that shorty recurve if he wants to keep shooting.

[LBR]

Noise is a relative thing, very dependent on lots of variables besides the string.  I have, over they years, had lots of people comment on how quiet my bow was (with a "FF" string on it) and I've had lots of customers tell me their bow was quieter with a "FF" string I made than the dacron string they had been using.  For whatever it's worth, IIRC lower pitches travel further.  My feathers generally make more noise than my bow.

Since all modern string materials (including polyester/dacron) are a type of plastic fiber, heating them can easily result in damage.  String material manufacturers even caution against over-burnishing, due to generating too much heat.

Before I went to having Chad make my strings, my method of stretching B50s was to hang them on a stout hook bolted to a beam in my basement, then I ran a rope loop through the other end, put it on my boot and put all of my weight on the new string.  It only take a minute or so of dangling like that to get to max stretch.  I have my wife hold a loaded bow alongside for comparison.  This eliminates the needs to loaded and unload the new string on a bow so often.  When I shot heavy bows putting an intentionally short new string on a bow just to let them stretch out was not the best thing for my torn hip muscle. It takes a lot of extra umph to get a string that is two inches short and unstretched on a 68" or 70" longbow.

[two4hooking]

Animals hear higher pitches better than people and they are more directional.

Heating them enough to melt beezwax causes no issues.  Bob Swinehart heated his.  

I have also been told by a well respected bowyer that lower stretch materials can mask poor design and tiller thereby making them feel "better"..... so there is that.

If I do not die of old age before that time, I will be shooting B50s on that bow from said bowyer.  I just shot 300 or so this afternoon and I am still on my feet.  It took a bit of doing this spring to get back, but the ice on my low back does feel good.

[Sant-Ravenhill]

Learned alot in this thread. Thanks!

[LBR]

Animals hear noise better than people period.  Lower pitches carry further.

String (except for white/natural) goes through a "heat treating" process when it's colored...the color is a baked-on coating, because plastic doesn't accept dye. This is a controlled treatment.

Bowyers are people with opinions.  Jack Harrison would void the warranty if you used dacron. Many of the more unusual claims I've seen/heard about strings were from bowyers, and one contradicts the other.  Archers who shoot accurately for a living use the better materials.

If materials other than dacron can "mask" a poor design or tiller, just think what they could do for a good design and tiller!

If someone likes to shoot squirrel hide strings, that's up to them.  Nothing wrong with that.  I like selfbows myself (I put the better string materials on them though).  It doesn't change the fact that HMPE and HMPE/Vectran blends have real and verifiable benefits over polyester (dacron).

[two4hooking]

I see you sell bowstrings.  Hmmmm. I don't. I hunt.  

The crack if a twig is hugh pitched and likely to alert an animal, whereas the low hum of a bumble bee may not.

I think it laughable you compare dacron to squirrel hides, but whatever.

I'm communicating my opinion from experiences and the readers can take from it what they want.  Dacron works fine. Use what you want to.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

No it's not needed, nor are laminated bows and carbon/aluminum arrows, factory machined broad heads etc.  it's all a matter of preference and we as traditional archers have a lot of options when it comes to gear.

[md126]

Two4hooking, He sells Dacron strings too ya know...

FF type string have come a long way since it was first introduced. Far superior to B50 at this point in pretty much every way.

[LBR]

Thank you md126!  Cyclic-Rivers, I agree 100%.  

Along with building strings, I'm also a hunter, target shooter, recreational archer, and I help coach a 3-time State Champion NASP archery team (going for our 4th win Monday--just won our North Half Championship for the 4th year in a row).  You could say I'm involved in archery a little bit more than just making strings.  

I've studied strings and string materials for over 20 years, and part of that is talking to thousands of archers, most of which hunt. I've been involved with two string making videos, and attend large events with BCY to help out with folks who have questions about traditional bow strings.  I don't claim to know it all, but I do have more experience than the average archer.  Selling strings has been a huge advantage in advancing my education about them.  

I didn't compare squirrel hide to dacron.  Squirrel hide was used by some Indian tribes as a bow string.  My point was it will work and if you like it that's fine, but there are better options.  

Now, comparing the sound a string makes to a bee...well...lol...birds, squirrels, and raccoons make some high pitched noises that don't seem to bother deer, so does that prove strings with a higher pitch are more desirable for hunters? ***insert sarcasm smile here***

Heck, I have some rivercane arrows with stone heads coming.  I hope to kill a deer with one.  It's a choice.  I don't have to try and argue that they are better than carbon or aluminum and steel to justify my choice--they aren't, but I'm going to use them anyway.  They will do the job if I do my part.  Just like dacron isn't a better string material, but it will work if that's what you want to use.

[forestdweller]

I am not 100% certain on any of the things being talked about but I'd be willing to bet money that a high pitched sound will spook an animal much easier than a low pitched sound. High pitched sounds are generally not heard much out in nature. This is why I believe that low pitched sounds and music is used more in relaxing music. It's because it relaxes you and is not alarming.

A high pitched sound like a teaspoon hitting a wine glass produces a high pitched sound that will alarm people whereas hitting a large drum lightly will produce a low pitched sound and will not alarm anyone.  

As for high pitch not traveling as far as low pitched, sound follows the inverse square law just like light. All sounds volume falls off at the same rate so I can't see this being true if both the high pitched sound and low pitched sound have the same exact volume.

[LBR]

Here's one answer to the low pitch travelling further.  There's are lots more.

 https://www.quora.com/Why-does-bass-travel-further-than-high-pitched-sounds  

There are gobs of high-pitched sounds in nature, from insects to birds to frogs; squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, etc.  All sorts of animals make them.    

Thunder is low pitched and travels for miles, but the initial high-pitched "crack" of the lightening strike doesn't.

I am certain of the facts I presented concerning string materials, and they are easy to verify.

Again, if you like polyester (Dacron ) strings, by all means use then.  You don't have to justify your preferences to anyone.  I'm just presenting facts to help those who are learning make an informed choice.

[two4hooking]

I may just be a dumb redneck hunter, but I do know what I experience with my Hill style longbow sporting Dacron and how it differs from when I shot other things and materials in an animals reaction.

Sorry if it conflicts with your "facts".

Just my experiences personally.

Peace out.

[JR Belk]

I'd love to see you at a shoot. I shoot 60#+ hill style longbows with fast flight strings and I'll guarantee that your bow is louder than mine. There's a massive difference in performance and feel to boot.

[Roy from Pa]

Just sitting here LMAO.....

       

[JRY309]

I shoot low stretch FF type strings for how they feel,the bow feels more solid and not springy.I don't shoot it for any speed increase.Just not a fan of dacron!