Silvertips.....FF v/s Non FF

[A.S.]

I know there are plenty of Silvertip guru's out there. Just wondering what the general opinion is concerning the difference in the two. I hear about 8 fps, but what about vibration, noise, etc???

There's a used one in the classifieds that is REALLY calling my name!!

[SilverTip]

I have both and can't really tell much difference. the fast flight string does not make any more noise than the dacron and the speed is difference is very little. I order the fast fast option for durabilty only, most of the time I use dacron strings.

           Billy

[SERGIO VENNERI]

FASTFLITE,FASTFLITE,FASTFLITE!! In that order.

[Lost]

I'm no silvertip guru but I've had several of each. I wouldn't let the fact that a bow wasn't ff keep me from buying it. But if I were ordering a new bow I'd opt for the ff.
To me tips have good power and whether or not you have the ff option they'll really fling an arrow.
Because Dave prefers the dymondwood riser for ff, most of the jaw-dropping pretty tips with the exotic wood risers are non-ff.

[Steve O]

I tried both in identical bows.  I picked FF--it "felt" better to ME.

[pathdoc]

I asked Dave to build me a bloodwood FF riser with tulipwood limbs 2 year ago, and I got a call from Beth a few weeks later.  She said Dave liked to use dymondwood for his FF risers, and I said, "OK, I'll do away with the FF then and just go dacron."  The cost of the exotic riser was the same as the FF option, the they canceled each other out.  10 months later, my bow arrived, absolutely beautiful red bloodwood with a tulipwood stripe, and smooth.  And guess what?  It's a bloodwood riser with FF limbs!  Heck of a nice guy, that Dave Windauer.  Sure am glad his dad got my teeth straightened out as a kid, too.  Now I just have to eat lunch at his brother's restaurant in C.Falls and I've got it covered.  I'm already saving for the T/D 3-piece LB, but also want a Bear's Paw 3-piece T/D LB.  Like a kid in a candy store, just can't get enough.

[pathdoc]

Oh, yeah, forgot to add...I walked into Dave's shop and said, "I want a bloodwood riser with juniper limbs," and he told me that he would rather not work with juniper for limb veneers as he had experienced some problems with them in the past.  Even though I was quite partial to the look of juniper, he showed me a few pieces of tulipwood he had, and I agreed that it would work as a substitute.  It is kind of like this- this guy builds bows for a living and makes a heck of a product...when he says, "I don't think that's a good idea," I listen.  Give Dave a call and tell him what you are looking for in a bow and ask for his opinion.  He'll tell you, and you'll be pleased with the results.

[A.S.]

Thanks for all the help guys!!

[LBR]

Take this FWIW......

I can't tell you about ST bows, but I can tell you a little about strings/string materials.

Dacron stretches.....and stretches.....and stretches.  Heat, draw length, draw weight, number of strands in the string, etc. all effect how much, but it will stretch regardless.  If you unstring your bow, when you re-string dacron has to settle back in much more than most of the FF type materials.

Dacron isn't nearly as tough or durable either--a nick that may not even fray a Dynaflight or 8125 string can take out a dacron string.

For my part, unless it's a collectable or has sentimental value, I don't care to own a bow that won't accept FF type materials.

Chad

[countrygirl]

My Hubby and our friend Rick Johnson both have Silvertips that are FF and non-FF and all they use is 450 and they are all fast and quiet.

[BlackDog]

Pathdoc, would like to see some pics of that bloodwood bow if you have one or two.

[GameGetter]

Dave and Beth are great poeple!
It is iteresting to hear that Dave has had problems with Juniper as I have as well!

[pathdoc]

[pathdoc]

 
 
Just exactly how I'd imagined it.  Now the bloodwood needs to draw blood.

[pathdoc]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I don't prefer a checkered grip.  I like the smoothness of the plain wood grip- I've been carrying compound bows in the woods for years, and the feel of the checkered grip reminds me too much of the plastic feel of a compound.

[pathdoc]

I'm going stump shooting in the Big Hole next week with my Silvertip "Big Medicine" and will post pics.

[Shawn Leonard]

I have shot both and owned a dacron one, I will tell ya something funny. I have huge forearms and have a problem with string slap on some bows, well the Schafer with the FF I had no problem at all, but the non-ff I owned I had a big problem. I asked the guy who owned the FF one if I could slap my dacron string on it and shoot it(both were 60"ers) well guess what, now shootingthat bow I again had string hitting my forearm. Dacron gives much more at the shot and throws the string forward more thus my problem. I saw very little performance difference and they both shot the same arrow perfect, the FF was 51#s at 27"s and mine was 54#s at 28"s, sothe same weight. I was worried about shooting FF off of mine, so unfortunately I traded it! Shawn

[A.S.]

Well after all this, the bow that I was looking at sold while I was at work today! Oh well, now I can concentrate on picking the woods and ordering a new one from Dave and Beth.

[J-dog]

I have the FF now and had one w/dacron, I cant tell no difference in them noise wise and probably not much in speed wise either?

You just gotta love a schafer sivertip! They shoot good.

J

[Tim]

I've got three in the house...all lefties and all tds!  

The two I have are ff bows and my son's is a dacron.  I had the same problem as Shawn with the dacron bows hitting my arm, too the point it would sting through an armguard. With my ff bows I don't even need an armguard...even with a heavy jacket.

My son's bow is a dacron bow and it's about 4 years old so warranty isn't an issue.  We do have the bow set up with a ff string, 16 strands and dacron in the loops so the string has some beef in the tips.  He's only shooting 50 lbs but I still have him shooting a 510 grain arrow so there's not much stress on the bow.  The bow also has a dymondwood riser.  My son also prefers the feel of the ff string.  To be honest there's only about a 3 fps difference between the string he's shooting and the 14 strand endless loop dacron string he was shooting, so we didn't choose ff for performance  It was more for overall feel. We both feel the bow just has a little less vibration and a better overall manners.

Both bows are still great shooters and Beth and Dave are great people to deal with.....Hope Dave doesn't mind me putting Beth first....she's an awful lot prettier than him!!!