Bow String Guide
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About Bowstrings
There are a lot of different Bowstrings, how do you select a Bowstring for your Bow
Standard Bowstrings
We stock a big range of Standard Bowstrings to suit most bows. Standard Bowstrings are made of durable materials such as B50 Dacron or Dacrogen with a just a little stretch which provides reliable shooting whilst being kind to the bow and the archer. These strings are suitable for Recurve Bows at the entry level as well as club beginners and up to competition shooting at Target, Field, and Traditional archery.
Compound Bows usually use more advanced materials with less stretch for their Bowstring and for their Cables- Call us for details if you need Strings for a Compound Bow.
To select a Standard String for your bow:
First look at the draw weight of the bow.
Second choose the number of strands in the string to suit the draw weight of the bow.
For Standard B50 Dacron (or Dacrogen) Strings you should generally use the following:
- 10 strand B50 Dacron( or 8 strands Dacrogen) for bows upto 30lbs
- 12 strands B50 Dacron( or 10 strands Dacrogen)for bows upto 40lbs
- 14 strands B50 Dacron( or 12 strands Dacrogen)for bows of heavier weight
More strands makes the bowstring heavier as well as stronger, plus the thickness of the string changes. The fit of the arrow nock is affected by this. A 10 strand B50 string may need a smaller nock or the string fattening at the nock point for entry level arrows to fit well. A 10 strand B50 string can be the answer to shooting far enough with a light bow. The most commonly used number of strands is 12 strand B50 string , which provides a balance between size, weight, strength, and nock fit. Bigger 14 strand B50 strings are mostly used on heavier bows as well as where the extra weight of the bowstring acts as a slight damper to make shooting more consistent. With 14 strands there may be a loss of distance the bow will shoot an arrow. Also you may need a nock with a bigger string groove in it.
Finally choose the String Length to suit the Bow Length of your bow.
Many bows have a Bow Length written on the Bottom Limb. Something for example like 68". If this is the case then you can simply you can select a string for a 68" Bow. Alternatively you can measure the length of the actual Bow String. This will generally be in the region of 4.5 inches less than the bow length. For help if you are not sure , give us a call.
Advanced Bowstrings
Advanced Bowstrings are generally looking to get more arrow speed for a given bow draw weight and arrow type. This is done by using Bowstring Materials with little or no stretch. These are constantly evolving as makers look for better performance from modern thread materials. Faster arrows go flatter and with less time in the air are less affected by side winds. Flatter trajectory also means any archer error is minimised too, whether in aiming or in making the shot. We carry stock of Advanced Strings in the most used Advanced materials in the most used bow sizes. Different materials have different thickness of strand so the number of strands to suit a bow weight vary. See the individual string descriptions for details. Podium Strings, and Reign Strings are good examples of Advanced Bowstrings and are made by shooters who have achieved good results competing in the UK
To select an Advanced String for your bow: Choose from our stock selections ; Material Type, Number of Strands ,and Length as for Standard Bow Strings.
If the Advanced Strings dont suit your needs or you have a particular size, colour, number of strands, type of serving or other reason to want an individual string then you can look at having us make a Custom Bowstring for you
Custom and Candy Stripe Bowstrings
Strings Custom Made for you. These can be in Dacron or Advanced Materials. One Colour or Striped. We can make a string to suit your bow. Having a custom string or strings made allows you to pick from a choice of: Materials for String and Servings, Colours, Strands, Lengths, Positioning of the Centre Serving, & Loop Sizes. If you tell us what you want we can usually make it for you. Candy Stripe Strings are popular with customers
To select a Custom String for your bow: Select the Custom String type or if you dont see one you want then email or phone your request to us-
These strings are usually made up to your specification in a few days
Specialist Bowstrings
Strings in stock for a particular bow such as the Classic Hunter or Horse Bows, and Bearpaw Traditional Bows.
To select a Specialist String for your bow: Go to the particular String to see the options available.
Specialist Strings are optimised for the particular bow for which they are designed
Setting Up Your Bow with its Bow String
Have a look at Eastons Tuning and Maintenance Guide as a starting point
Explains where to place your arrow Nock Point and basics of Tuning the Bracing Height of your Bow for best performance.
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Visit our shops at Waterlooville and Honiton Tel: 023 92254114 Email: quicks@quicksarchery.co.uk