Howard Hill longbow questions

[Ground Hunter]

Ok - cool!  David my take is this, and I've talked to Craig.  I tried D97 on my Hill's and they are all 70 inchers.  The advantage was a maximum of about 2fps gain.  Some difference in feel.  "Handshock" - I really can't say, I don't have it with B50.  I have a lot of bows.  Some are high vels. like the ASC-CX and Widows.  I use D97 on them.  The older style Hill bows, I run B50.  I don't need to juice up a Hill for power, I'll just take the ACS.  Then again, if I want power out of a Hill, I have a 70#er that will zip a heavy arrow with the best of them.  If I had only one bow (God forbid) and it was a Hill bow and I needed all the power I could get, I'd run D97 during a hunt and put the B50 back on for the off season. What's funny is that with the highly efficient bows I have, I find myself shooting the 70# Hill bow about 3 times as much as the others.  They take some work to shoot - but that's what I like about it.  I think that making a commitment to a Hill bow is like buying a black powder rifle - you have to "enjoy" the limitations.  H

I have a half breed model that was from a Craig Ekin blank, it is tillered so that it functions very well at my shorter draw.  I was told by Craig that the fast flight may shorten the life of the bow.  i put a padded fast flight on it, there may be a little less vibration and maybe a couple of feet per second more, but not enough to tell by shooting it.  I put the dacron back on it, since it is more than fast enough and does not really have any real hand shock for anyway.  On a shorter Hill it did make a little more of a difference.

[David Mitchell]

OK, since we've opened the string issue up I would like some opinions about something that I experienced recently.  I decided to make another dacron string to replace the one that came on my Hill Wesley Special.  When I put it on the bow, there was considerably more recoil (hand shock) in the bow than I had ever experienced--normally a very pleasant bow.  When I went back to the old string it was sweet and gentle again.  I called Craig and asked if by any chance the original was Fastflite--he said not unless I ordered it that way.  He wasn't sure why I had that happen either, so I am open to ideas.....anybody want to take a stab at it  :confused:  ........Dave

[Dick in Seattle]

Hmmm....    I'm assuming you kept the brace height the same.   Same number of strands?   Twisted substantially tighter?   Maybe a different brand of string?   Those are the only things that come to mind that would be likely to make a difference.

[Shooty1]

The best string type really just depends on the specific bow.

I almost always get a better feel out of my own dacrons. I tie them with three skeins and get them much tighter in the loops and ends than commercial strings. I try to avoid having to put excessive turns in the completed strings, ten to fifteen is my average.

[Ric O'Shay]

David -
What weight arrows were/are you shooting with the Hill? The dacron will not transfer as much energy from the limbs to the arrow as a FF or D-97 will, so the excess energy will naturally stay with the bow resulting in a different feel when shot.

Those long slender deep cored Hill limbs will store up "tons" of energy. It has to go somewhere when shot. If not transferred to the arrow.........
   

[Benny Nganabbarru]

I shoot Dacron on my Hill(s), and have enjoyed good performance through goats and pigs.

[Buckhorn47]

Hello, Clint
I am a Hill bow shooter and have always used dacron B-50 - one bow, a Big Five does not have a tip overlay and A Wesley Special I have, does. As far as the dacron goes, I will not get an overlay on a next HH, if that occurs, and am quite satisfied with the overall performance with dacron.

[David Mitchell]

Ric, I shoot the same arrows (cedars usually about 525 grns.) but I'm talking about two different strings that are BOTH dacron but feel very different.  Same bow, same arrows, same string material--never had such a different feel from what is basically the identical set-up....Dave

[Ground Hunter]

David, after I make a string, I leave the bow strung overnight to let it fully settle in.  Then retwist to brace of 6.5 on my 70inchers.  H

[frank bullitt]

David Mithchell, just read this post, and like
Dick asks. String overly twisted?

I've shot alot of Hill Bows, High performance or Dacron, too much twists will kill the integrity!

I prefer High performance materails for Heavy, hunting, arrows! Close shooting, quicker stabalizing arrow, and quieter, with no string silencers.

A string with too much twist, will stretch a whole lot more than a properly made one. Plus wasted material, to make.

If this is the case, try shortening up an inch or so on the next one.

Hills are great! Good shootin,

Steve

[David Mitchell]

Nope...not too much twist and I do leave the bow strung overnight to allow for stretch. I am not a novice at this string making thing as I have done it for years.  this particular time it puzzled me. Just sort of mystery to me.  Thanks for the suggestions, guys.....Dave

[James Wrenn]

Dave I have had the same thing happen.After the string got shot in good it seemed to settle down.Maybe the nock fit was wrong or something on the new one that plucked the string more but I sure could not see any difference looking at them.  Same material,serving ect but one was well shot and the other just twisted up.I stretch my strings well before putting them on and leave glass bows strung a day or two so it really won't much difference in the twist.  :confused:

[frank bullitt]

Dave, I understand, but leaving braced overnight, is not the same as shooting. There's a whole lot of shock on the string, when shot, then braced!

If not sure, make another string, and see. Your original has how many shots thru it?

I'm sure you make a good string, but as James states, give it a chance, or shot, in this case!