Good thread guys and lots of good thoughts both ways. I too used to use strings with extra strands with the same logic that Fred used in that if I cut a couple strands it would still be "safe"...In 40 or so years I've cut/broke strands on my string exactly ONCE. So I put up with lower performance to offset a mistake that might happen once in a blue moon.
From the performance side, even the strings we use that we think are light, in reality are still WAY over built. So all the "tests" on strings we've read about are comparing over built strings to over built strings and they still quote differences in the 5-7fps range. That is the same as short drawing your bow 1-2". We all know that's insignificant and not noticeable!
Might as well drop 5 pounds of draw weight while we're at it.
Once upon a time I ran the numbers on how far a deer would move at walking speed at 20 yards with a 5-10fps difference in arrow speed, I don't remember the exact numbers but it was in the neighborhood of 4-5". 1" could be the difference between a short track and a lost critter. Since we can't make any bow totally quiet, a critter wired to jump (duck in reality) is going to do so no matter what we do.
No one has ever run an objective test comparing typical B-50 and "adaquate" modern strings but that typically quoted 5-7fps would jump to 10-12 or more in a hurry if they did. As best I can find the recommendation is a 5:1 safety margin. 50# bow needs a 500# test string. That's 10 strands of Dacron. Seems many use 14+. I know from my flight shooting bs that 4 strands of DF-97 is more then adaquate for a 40# bow or less. I use 6 for a 50ish pound bow and both are still overkill. I think we used 10 strands on a bow that was 140+ pounds without failure. Over building the string for durability or lowering noise is false economy just like over muffeling your car and wondering where your power and gas mileage went.
Smaller/lighter strings are noisy???...That's what you hear but no they are not. Take any bow with any string at 10 or so gr/lb and shoot it....Now take some arrows at 8gr/lb and shoot it. Did it get noisier? You bet it did and nothing changed except it's shooting faster because of less gr/lb, not the string. Go from an over built Dacron to an adaquate modern string...Did it get noisier? You bet it did for the SAME reasons shooting less gr/lb made it noisier. That's not the strings fault any more then a spoon makes Rosie fat. Going to a lighter string is exactly the same thing as going to a lighter arrow. Go up in arrow weight so it's shooting the same speed as before and it'll be as quiet or quiter then before with the equivalent of 1-2" draw length more power, better trajectory (with extrenal dimensions the same), and less wind drift. All good things with zero negatives.
I like a quiet bow but using a heavier/fatter string to do it makes no sense. A little something to take the twang out, proper brace height, and more arrow weight will go a lot further toward a quiet bow then over built strings will. Just my take on it....O.L.
Topic: Why do we silence our strings? (Read 2403 times)
