Lets talk strings

[leatherneck]

OK all you experts lets hear some facts. What is the big deal on using smaller strand strings. I'm not talking speed but I've heard a smaller string will affect arrow flight. Could someone elaborate. Does this mean that a right handed shooter shooting a say 18 strand string will go left or right on arrow impact if they drop to a say 10 strand? Thats what I'm curious about, arrow impact. Thanks in advance.

Mike

[Molson]

Well I'll tell ya what I confirmed tonight.  The biggest impression I got when trying the skinny string was the bow seemed much more forgiving of my errors. Tonight I had an opportunity to crono one of my longbows and compare an 8 strand Xcel skinny string (1/2 diameter of 450+) against a 12 strand standard B50 string. Obviously the skinny string was faster but the big revealing observation was the skinny string was much more consistent when I screwed up.  The skinny string varied by 1-3 fps when I felt I had jerked the release.  The dacron consistenly varied by 5-8 fps.  All the shots were taken as I would if I were shooting at game and the bow was set up that way.  The crono confirmed what I felt was the most obvious benefit to the skinny strings.

[Matty]

I'm with molson,  6 strands over 12 got me avg of 3 fps and a tad more consisency... How that happens I have no Idea.
SHootin A 50b ACS

[Bjorn]

You'll have to try the arrow flight and see for yourself-I don't think the point of impact is going to change.
What is your current string material?
Are you talking about dropping down to 10 strands of D97?

[bgram]

Changing from a larger diameter to a small diameter string, will in most applications change your setup.  Depending on where you are at on a spine setup with your particular bow, it may throw it off a bit, which would cause a the arrow to act differently, so yes, you might see right to left variations due to a possibly now weak arrow striking the shelf or side plate.  If the bow is cut past center it will tend to be more forgiving, so I'd guess the left to right may not be as bad.  Up and down may be affected due to it being sped up a bit, giving a flatter trajectory than before, but it will vary.

[katman]

For me bareshafts showed weaker with the skinny string, which I suspected as bgram has mentioned it depends where you are at with your setup. Since I tune slightly weak bareshaft the skinny string amplified the weakness. Did not notice a change in left to right impact with fletched shafts, but if so it could be handled with brace height change. But most important to me is the reduction in noise with small diameter strings. I thought my bows where quiet but after dropping to a skinny string it brought quiet to a whole new level.

[leatherneck]

The reason I ask is my new Morrison Shawnee recurve is getting finished and Bob is now putting 10 strand strings on it.(not sure the material). My current Morrison(the two bows are identical except for woods) I shoot a D97 14 strand string. I talked to Bob this morning and he said the biggest thing I will see is it will make my bow quieter. Not sure if it can get any quieter, but we'll see.

[JC]

Absolutely quieter, on every bow I've put one on. I'm shooting a 10 strand or an 8 strand on a 59@27 Morrison Shawnee Dakota foam/carbon and a 6 strand on a 56@27 ILF Dakota foam/carbon. If you are finicky about tuning you will notice a definate difference with the skinnier strings: they are faster therefore more energy to the arrow therefore arrows showing perfect with most 14 strand strings will now show weak with a 10 strand (and especially noticable when you get down in the 8-6 range). Your mileage may vary...but I'm sold on them, mainly cause like katman, it brought quiet to a whole new level.

[Jeff Strubberg]

I was shocked at the difference in noise level on my longbows.  I didn't go crazy going small, but a 10 strand string on my 55# longbow is quite an improvement over my 14 strand ones.

[leatherneck]

Thanks all for the info. I should get my bow in a couple weeks and I'll report back my findings from the 14 strand to the 10 strand.