NOT the Ultimate Guide to Recurve Archery Equipment 2

Bowstring

Bowstring is a very important piece of equipment. It affects consistency, bow feedback to the archer, and arrow speed etc. Working on the bowstring can be the easiest way to tune the bow, to a limited extend, and make the arrow spine matching the draw weight without altering the limbs or changing to another set of arrows. Bowstrings are consumable. Regular maintenance by waxing is required for most bowstrings. There are many references available online e.g. How to wax a bowstring and there is no point for me to repeat it here. It is time to consider changing to a new bowstring if you find the string frayed or the color is fading. You should act immediately if you see any strand broken. I would not consider it too frequent for leisure archers to change the bowstring annually. For archers having high training volume, it is reasonable to change strings every few months or even in a shorter period of time.

Length. Bowstring length has to be precise. Adding or reducing twists in the string do work in fine adjusting the brace height only. Any attempt to make too few or too many twists in the bowstring will make it unstable and cannot be considered the correct method to tune the equipment. Some say it shall be within 20-30 turns. While some suggest a calculation of 1 turn per 3 inches of string length (not bow length!) Anything abnormal will be only making another mistake trying to cover up the previous one.

The archer himself is the only person to know what length of bowstring is needed. Historically it is suggested that the bow AMO length minus 3.5 inch shall be the correct bowstring length e.g. for a 68 inches bow the bowstring shall be of 64.5 inches long. Thanks to different brands messing around with the standard, the -3.5in can hardly be the golden rule nowadays. One custom bowstring brand is suggesting minus 3 inches of the bow AMO length. Despite the discrepancy, these serve as good starting point if you have totally no idea what length your handle plus limbs need.

While operating the archery shop, we always have customers coming to the shop and ask for a bowstring suitable for a 66 inches or 68es inch bow. There is nothing we can do to help. Different models of handle & limbs have a slight difference in length. There are no standard for the design of limb pocket angles and brace height requirements for limbs too. These lead to differences in bowstring length required. In order to buy a suitable bowstring, the archer shall measure precisely the current bowstring length (check the number of twists). It is also good to ask the coach if the string needs to be longer or shorter than the current one. The material and number of strands wanted has to be decided as well.

Material. Club bows are usually using Dacron strings of 12 strands. Although it is not specified, the bowstring lengths vary a lot from brand to brand, potentially resulting in out of range brace height when mismatched. You may get below 7 inches or near 10 inches brace height if getting the mismatched one. Because Dacron strings are so cheap, it is better to replace than repair in case of damage, even as minor as say a breaking center serving.

When it comes to buying a new bow, usually a new string is needed too. Ready-made strings are usually made of Fast Flight+ or 8125G. There are a wide range of materials used in custom made (recurve) strings e.g. X99, X, 652, Mercury, Angel Dyneema, Angel Myjesty. If the string material is more stretchable (or soft), it is usually providing a better control feeling on shooting and has better tolerance toward archers mistakes. It is also producing a better sound and less vibrations. However it is usually providing a slower arrow speed and is more likely to creep (lengthen). If the string material is less stretchable (or stiff), it is usually providing a more solid feel and comes with a faster arrow speed. However, better skill is required to control it due to its lower tolerance. It usually comes with more vibration and noise after release. If you are new to experience different string materials, I would suggest trying either FF+ or 8125G first which are both considerably soft materials. You can explore and try the rest afterwards but be warned it may significantly affect the tuning.

Jake Kaminski made a very good video explaining the difference of soft and stiff string materials. One point to note is that from what I experience, Mercury is not quite the same as descripted in the video for its thickness. I have also made a comment under the video for the difference I experienced.

Number of Strands. Ready-made FF+ or 8125G strings are usually of 16 strands. Thicker strings are needed when shooting a heavier bow. Consider 18 to 22 strands for bows 40lb or above. A 22 strand Mercury will be of similar thickness as a 18 strand 8125G. Official recommendation is 30 strand for Mercury. I did try to make one but it is so thick that it is virtually impossible to nock an arrow on it, making that string totally useless.

Not measurable differences. Ready-made factory 8125G strings appear stiffer than self custom made ones. They wear out and become fuzzy more easily too, i.e. shorter life span. One potential explanation is factory pre-stretch the string to the limit. However, self-made strings can easily be pre-stretch up to 200 to 300lb, yet not appearing to be as stiff as ready-made ones. The exact reason remains unknown.

Another point must be put into consideration is color. String materials of different colors differ in thickness. The variations are big enough to make a significant difference in performance. Fluorescent color ones are usually the thicker ones. The same applies to serving materials. Another concern about the color is in relation to aiming. Some archers have preference on dark or bright color for a better image for string picture.

Myths. There are some beliefs or hearsay about strings. For examples:

Sight

Models. Sights could be made of plastic or metal on club bows. The sight bar is usually not long as there is no urgent need for the sight to extend towards the target. Some simple models may be fixed on the bow handle and are not to be detached after use, except the sight box may be removed for better storage. These primitive models are for entry level bows anshall not be considered when archers plan to buy their own gear.

Sights look pretty much the same in appearance. The major difference between models might be the vertical sight bar location, whether it is near the handle or at the far end of sight extension towards the target. The former design is uncommon nowadays. You can hardly find high performance level archers using it. My experience is that with the sight bar closer to the handle, the sight usually gives more vibrations after release and it takes longer for it to calm down. Having the sight bar near the handle also contradicts the concept to move weights away from the handle for more stabilized aiming. With these reasons, I am suggesting to stick to models with the sight bar in the far end.

A second difference between different models, which is less obvious by its appearance, is the system employed for adjustment. A more traditional style is that you need to loose a screw (or two) and adjust by moving the sight box. Find adjustment is usually controlled by a turning knob located at the bottom side of the sight box. The other style sight is having the adjustment knob on top (and at the bottom) of the sight bar. The sight box may or may not be detachable from the sight bar. There is a wide price range for the first style of sight while the second one mentioned usually comes more expensive. If you are getting used to the first type of sight in club bows or borrowed equipment, you may need to spend some time adapting to the second style if buying one.

Unlike compound sights which have options in the vertical sight bar lengths, recurve sights usually come at one standard length. However there are multiple screw holes for moving the sight bar up or down to cope with the archer's own set-up. You may need to adjust it in order to have the sight covers 18m to 70m or even 90m.

Easily Loose, Not Firm, Screw Hardly Be Fix. These are the worst problems a sight can have and are common in entry level or poorly made models. One common problem is the sight box not being firmly locked in place and keeps dropping while shooting. Without knowing the drop, arrows will go higher and higher leading to potential dangers to have arrows fly over the target or even the buffer area.

Examples of other parts which can get loose easily include the knob holding the sight bar, the screws fixing the sight mount on the handle, and the sight pin etc. Some models come with countersunk screws which are always loose. One can try to fix it with threadlocking screw glue but it is better to change it to a socket head cap screw. There is not much one can do if the knob or the sight pin keeps loosing. As a last resort one can try to add on some dampers on the sight to absorb the vibrations. When attempting to do so beware of the weight adding to the sight and the bow.

Sight Pin

There is a vast amount of choice in sight pins available in the market. It can be square or round in shape. The pin can be a colored dot of various sizes, optic fiber, empty with nothing or changeable. It can come with a lens with no magnifying power which intends to provide a clearer image for better focus. It is quite a personal preference on the sight pin option. However some sight pins could be preferred over the others for some archers depending on their shooting style and problems facing.

Beginners go for shorter shooting distances with sight not extended away from the handle, the size of aperture shall not be a big concern. However if the sight is extended towards the target and the aperture is small, it tends to make the archer over-aim. It becomes more challenging to get the sight pin stable in the center of the target hence shift archers focus to aiming.

An empty aperture with no dot in the middle to keep archers stay focused on their body instead of focusing on aiming and on the target. It is especially good for archers with over-aiming issue or having symptoms of target panic.