[barnett.isaac87]

I am needing some advice on how to find the correct string for a recurve my father handed down to me. He had shoulder surgery a couple years ago and has not regained enough strength to draw either his compound or recurve since, and decided his vertical bows were behind him so he handed both down to me. I am using this as an excuse to start diving into some trad bow hunting and want to start off with fresh everything.

The bow is a Ben Pearson Cougar 7050
The notations on the side of the bow are as follows:

17528.458
AMO. 62”
45#. 28”
U.S.A

This is the same string that was on the bow when i was using it to bow-fish carp and alligator gar 20 years ago, so i know it definitely needs replacing before i set the bow up for whitetail hunting. I wanted to get it replaced before i do any tuning or setup changes.

Any help you could throw my way would be greatly appreciated.


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[c_m_shooter]

You want a B-55 bowstring. It will be sold either as AMO 62" or a custom builder will ask you for the actual string length of 58".

 

[IkemanTx]

You rock, thank you!

(Had to make a new account because tapatalk used my email address as my username)

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[Juspassin]

AMO guidelines would say 59", not 58.

 

[stevelong]

if you string it up with the old string, if it braces at ? 8" or so 'tween string nd deep part of grip, measure the taut string on the strung bow.
Twist the string up or down if needed .....& restring.....get the braace right then measure. THAT's the length actual string length you need to specify when ordering.

 

[IkemanTx]

AMO guidelines would say 59", not 58.

Hmm,
I bought my string from 3 Rivers and they said AMO -4” for recurve as well. They said that if it was a Longbow it would be AMO -3”.

I ordered a 58” traditional B55 flemish twist, but at only $17 i can grab something different if it doesn’t set up correctly.


Also, I guess no one ever said Trad was any cheaper than compounds…
I am $450 into this already after buying all the accessories like quiver, field tips, 4 arrow testing kit, tabs, and silencers. Thank goodness i didn’t have to buy the bow as well!


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[c_m_shooter]

Hmm,
I bought my string from 3 Rivers and they said AMO -4” for recurve as well. They said that if it was a Longbow it would be AMO -3”.

I ordered a 58” traditional B55 flemish twist, but at only $17 i can grab something different if it doesn’t set up correctly.


Also, I guess no one ever said Trad was any cheaper than compounds…
I am $450 into this already after buying all the accessories like quiver, field tips, 4 arrow testing kit, tabs, and silencers. Thank goodness i didn’t have to buy the bow as well!


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The cheapest part of archery is the bow. Wait until you start traveling to shoots every weekend and have to keep up with memberships of 3 or 4 organizations.

 

[Juspassin]

A M O C O N V E N T I O N A L
B O W S T R I N G L E N G T H S T A N D A R D
Bow string Iength is three inches less than bow length designation (example: 72” bow Iength
requires 69” string Iength) when loaded as per Bow String Tension Chart and stretched by placing
string loops over ¼“ diameter steel pins. Measurement is taken from outside of pin to outside of pin.
Tolerance is ± ¼“ after 20 seconds under tension load of chart.
The bow string will be labeled with only the bow Iength designation and the bow weigh category.
Example: AMO 66”, 35-45 Ibs

No idea where the 4 inch thing is coming from.

 

[HVR]

I thought that it's always been 3 inches for longbows and 4 inches shorter than AMO for recurves.

 

[IkemanTx]

A M O C O N V E N T I O N A L
B O W S T R I N G L E N G T H S T A N D A R D
Bow string Iength is three inches less than bow length designation (example: 72” bow Iength
requires 69” string Iength) when loaded as per Bow String Tension Chart and stretched by placing
string loops over ¼“ diameter steel pins. Measurement is taken from outside of pin to outside of pin.
Tolerance is ± ¼“ after 20 seconds under tension load of chart.
The bow string will be labeled with only the bow Iength designation and the bow weigh category.
Example: AMO 66”, 35-45 Ibs

No idea where the 4 inch thing is coming from.

Awesome, thank you for that info.
I will order a 59” string as well and check both when they come in.

This is my first real foray into Trad so i am kind of running blind to start with.


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[IkemanTx]

The cheapest part of archery is the bow. Wait until you start traveling to shoots every weekend and have to keep up with memberships of 3 or 4 organizations.

Luckily I stay too busy with work, family, church, and preseason scouting to add memberships or going to shoots.

I am 100% public and enjoy learning and hunting new ground more than anything, so i usually put 300 miles on the boots between season close and green-up to cover said new ground. I am excited to have a bow in my hand for that for once. The local pigs better watch out once I’m done!


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[Brad Lehmann]

AMO guidelines would say 59", not 58.

and the string would likely be too long and need excess twisting

 

[Maynard Ferguson]

With my first (and main) ILF recurve, I ordered strings that were 3" shorter, despite the string maker's recommendation to order a 4" shorter string. I measured the strings once I received them and they were exactly 3" shorter than my 70" Bow.

Brace height was so low I'm not exactly sure how many twists it took to get it in the right range. A 4" shorter string, as the string maker recommended, worked a lot better.

If we carefully read the AMO standard posted above, we can clearly see that the string measurement is taken under tension, while being stretched between steel pins for 20 seconds.

A 4" shorter string will be 3" shorter under load (while the bow is strung). I didn't understand that until I saw it with my own eyes and equipment.

Best wishes,
MF

 

[Carboniac]

At one time longbows used a different ama convention the recurves - now most use the same.


Its all so stupid - why why can we just switch to labeling bows by actual string length.

 

[boy&hisdogs]

Good choice on the B-55 flemish twist, that's what I would have recommended. The rule of thumb for string length is -4 inches on a recurve and -3 on a longbow. I don't know about all bows but it still holds true for the handful of modern trad bows I have restrung.

Since you got both, try them both and see what works. You'll want whichever one gets you in the neighborhood of 8" brace height, then you'd just twist or untwist it and experiment to see what brace height the bow likes best.