New FastFlight string issue--advise

[Kevin007]

Hi all,
After shooting my recurve (2009 Martin X200) for the whole summer, the factory string was worned out. I ordered a new fastflight string to put on. However the braceheight has changed from 8.5 inches to 9.5 inches. This looks like an aweful lot of change (and this is all I do from untwisting the string).I am certain I ordered the correct ones from Cabelas, ordering it by AMO. The AMO on my bow is 60". Is this ok? will it damage the bow in the future or should I stick with a 8-8.5 inch brace height?

Kevin.

Stick with the brace height you are used to, and which the bowyer recommends. The string for your bow (unstretched) should be 4" shorter  (3" for longbows) than the AMO length of the bow, which means it should be 56" long to start, and you may need to twist to shorten it in time as even FF strings have a little stretch to them as they break in. If it changed your brace height that much, chances are that it was the wrong length.

[Jeremy]

The AMO length of a bow is 3" longer than the string that braces the bow properly!  Put another way, the string you need for your bow is 3" shorter than the AMO length!!  String length is should be measured under tension.

Martin is one of the few companies that actually marks their bows correctly.  The manual that should have come with your bow says the string length is 3" shorter than the AMO length and the recommended brace hieght is 7.75-8.5"
Your 60" bow needs a 57" string.  

I'm guessing who ever is making Cabelas "AMO strings" isn't making them by AMO standards.  Not terribly surprising, since many bowyers aren't marking their bows to AMO standards.

This is getting to be a big pet peeve of mine!

[Curveman]

Yeah, my 60" Border recurve takes a 57" string and my longbow a 60" string at 64". Measure the string strung at the correct brace ht.

[Kevin007]

Thanks guys. I think I am going to buy just a regular Dracon string or so on it. I don't want to ruin my bow as it is the only one that I can afford for now (tough economy) and deer season is approaching fast. A brace hieght of 9.5inch is a bit of a stretch. However, with the nock set to the same height from center as the old string, I am shooting just a bit high, which is fine, but like I said, I don't want to ruin my bow.

Kevin...

[LBR]

Yep--what Jeremy said.  Don't count on Cabelas to know what the proper length should be.  I visited the Bass Pro headquarters a few years ago and quizzed them, and they were obviously clueless when it comes to tradtional gear.

Measure the string that fits, and order another string by that length (not AMO).

Chad

[Kevin007]

Chad/Jeremy, I guess you just can't order strings from the Internet and trust that it'll fit right huh? I guess if the BH is only +-.5 inches, I sould be able to twist the string to make something work. But by 1.5 inches? Thats way off for any 60 AMO recurve bow.

Kevin.

[Jeremy]

Kevin,

Shooting that bow braced at 9.5" is asking for trouble imo.  That's an inch over the recommended maximum brace.

You can order strings online and be fine, just not from companies that don't have a clue what they are doing.  If you measure that Cabela's string I'm betting it'll be close to 56" - an inch too short for your bow.

The X-200 is rated for the low-stretch string materials.  Measure the original string (should be close to 57") and then order a good string (not one of those 18 strand horribly overbuilt cables that will turn even a sweet shooter into a joint rattler) from someone who knows what they are doing.  Chad is a great choice.  A few others come to mind, but I don't know who is making them for sale.  I learned to make my own early on  

[LBR]

You can, but going by the AMO length is hit or miss.  The old "rule of thumb" is 3" shorter for a longbow, 4" shorter for a recurve, and that works for a lot of bows--but it isn't AMO.  AMO is as Jason described.  Some string makers don't know that.  Add to the mix that a lot of bowyers don't follow AMO specs when making/marking their bows, and it can be a mess.

The safe bet is to order the string by actual string length--that's how I take my orders.  Even if a bow is built to AMO specs, there's a range where you like the bow tuned and it might be at the high or low end, which can make a lot of difference in the string length.

Yep, adjusting a string .5" isn't a big deal, but you shouldn't have to adjust it 1.5".

Chad

[Jeremy]

You know, I think that's the third time you've called me "Jason" over the years! LOL!  

[LBR]

Dang--sorry about that!

Jeremy
Jeremy
Jeremy

I'll get it right one of these days........

Chad