Fast flight strings on older Bear Bows

[thewal2]

Guys I have a Bear Black Panther 45/50# bow...Can you use fast flight strings on these or will it hurt the bow?

Just trying to order string and arrows so this questions is important...I want to hunt the first, second, and third so I need to order soon.

I have been shooting at a range with a friends bow for several weeks every other day, but I need to set up my own stuff since he will be hunting with me.

Tim

[SCATTERSHOT]

DON'T DO IT!!!!!


Those old bows weren't made for it, and it will tear them up. Use Dacron.

[trapperDave]

dacron only!

[osiristheclown]

Fat Flight will saw the tips off before you figure out what arrow it likes. Dacron worked fine on that bow when it was new and will work fine now.

[longrifle]

Tim, I have a 70's 55# Grizzly that I put a D-97 string on in the spring, wrapped the loops with yarn and have been shooting the heck out of it since, no problems I even had 3 dry fires with it still no problems. And I personally know of 2 other older grizzly owners who have done the same thing one guy has been shooting that bow for about 15 years now ,no problems. I know it is a risk some say it depends on what you want out of the bow. I'm just telling you my own personal views. That bow has now become my favorite, and I own several custom bows in the 700-$1000 dollar range. I bought it  basically brand new for $75

[Bjorn]

If it is a bow that you love, and can't replace-don't do it. Otherwise, have at it!
You will get lots of contradictory advice here-it is mostly a religious issue.

[heydeerman]

Never tried it but I believe a heavily padded loop will work.

[Jack Whitmire Jr]

No reason to use FF or other non strech strings, 4-8 feet per second is a joke for the noise it  makes an any bow. On a older bow not designed for them it will damage it beoynd repair.


Jack

[d. ward]

No stretch in FF like there is in B-50 and the bow was not designed with FF in mind.FF's not only can saw the tips off it also likes to break older bows at the fadeouts because the FF does not stretch.Now with that said I saw a Bear Super Kodiak that had been shot for 2 years with a FF string with no problems.I just would not do it myself..bowdoc

[BobCo 1965]

I don't know. I probably woundn't. But I also do know of people who do and have not had problems.

[bigislandmark]

Aloha,

I wouldn't do it for the above reasons. Also make sure you have enough grains per inch if you plan to shoot carbons! I learned a hard lesson and lost a classic Kodiak Magnum---cracked a limb. Still hurts thinking about it.

Mark

[beachbowhunter]

Apex Predator just did a refinishing job on an old Bear including new tips. I asked him the same question and his response made sense. He reminded me that the laminations and glue lines were all old and that is likely where a failure would occur.

[Bjorn]

Beachbo you know the rules: you aren't allowed to tease without a pic!  

[vermonster13]

Bjorn do a search of Apex's recent posts and there is a thread full of pics of that bow.

[Shaun]

The experts say no. I say what Bjorn said, follow your own path. If its a hundred dollar bow, what are you risking? If its an irreplaceable collectors item, don't do it.

[George D. Stout]

The question seems to really be, "why would you need to use fastflight material."  Why take the chance for a few feet per second speed.  The man wants to order a string so I say order dacron, and enjoy the bow for the rest of your life.  This trying to get the extra 'enth of performance out of everything gets a little silly, especially when talking of old bows and the possibility of destroying them.

[buckhuck]

Hey guys, I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I am having trouble understanding the physics behind this issue of using a FF string on an older bow.  

How will FF "saw" the tips off?  If the glue lines and laminations are old and that close to failure why would a FF string be the cause of failure?  

What is the difference in design on modern recurves that allow for a FF string?

I shoot a #45 1970's Bear K-mag myself.  I've only been shooting about a year and not knowing any better bought a FF string last Jan.  I have been shooting it this entire time and haven't had any issues with it except it did stretch a bit when I first started shooting it (which I expected).  

I guess my main concern is - like Tim - I don't want to mess up my bow

[osiristheclown]

buckhuck,

 Did it stretch, or is it eating into the tip overlays? The older bows used tip overlays that were made of, I think, paper phenolic material. New bows use a much harder material, not sure what but it's far more abrasion resistant. As some have stated, you can wrap the loops of a FF at the tips to keep it from chewing up the tips. I find the older bows seem to be smoother with dacron though.

[buckhuck]

As far as I can tell it hasn't eaten my tips, they look like they did when I got the bow.  Do they look worn to you?  The string didn't stretch much, I only had to twist it a little to correct the brace height.  The tips are really hard but do not look like wood when I look at them real close.  

I plan on stringin it up with some D-50 next week once I get a string made.  I had ordered it before I even saw this post and I really wanted to just try something different.  Now that I have seen what others have recommended I'll just leave the D-50 on for safety's sake.  I am curious to see what the noise difference is.


   
   

[McK]

Well, like most others, if its your only bow and or one you value highly go with dacron for the peace of mind.
  However, I have many older Bear bows that I use ff type strings on.  The one I shoot the most, a 1961 Polar has a 450+ string on it.  Have shot this bow at least 10,000 shots, and probably over twice that with no problems over a 6 yr period.  Why? Well, it is about 6fps faster, the equivilent to shooting 4lb heavier bow, same string for 6 yrs never have to adjust bh, on this bow(not always the case with some others)it is just as quiet and "dead in the hand", did I mention its lasted 6yr.s.
   This is just my experience for what its worth, and I have many other bows if this one ever breaks, you may not.
McK