Well that was close (bowstring broke) round 2

[gcr0003]

How heavy is your arrow, and do you notice a lot of hand shock? I think I remember you having some heavy inserts but if the energy can't transfer to the arrow it'll go somewhere and potentially damage limbs or string.

2 broken strings would seem to suggest to me that the string isn't the issue.

480 grains

 

[Nutterbuster]

480 grains

shoot smooth?

 

[gcr0003]

shoot smooth?

Yea I’ve had no issues with vibration in the hand or anything. The arrows seem to be shooting pretty fast in comparison to when I added a 200-300 grain point trying to tune them. The old first string I was shooting was with a lighter arrow and no string silencers and it vibrated significantly more.

who thinks I need more weight for these arrows? These are already 300 spine at 30.25” arrow and they won’t shoot well with anything over 200 grain up front (insert + field point)

 

[gcr0003]

shoot smooth?

Ok the Hunter XTs I was shooting last night should be right at around 500 grains.

30.25" @ 9.3 gpi = 281.325
insert - 100 grain
field tip - 100 grain
vanes/fletching - 18-20 grain?
between 480-500 grain TAW

 

[GCTerpfan]

I'm not saying it's not possible but, I can't imagine that arrow weight, bow tune or any of the 'details' like that would cause the string to break that quickly unless you shoot hundreds of shots everyday. Growing up I shot whatever arrows I could find, regardless of spine weight, etc. with bow strings that were older than me and never had any issues. Something is wearing on the string at those locations. I know you think it's not likely but, I would put my money on a mouse. They can be sneaky little devils and leave almost no sign they're around. I forgot about the Alone episode, wasn't his string chewed in about the same spot? Maybe the little critters are attracted to the string ends poking through? Leave a granola bar on your shelf for a couple of days and see what happens.

Are you still able to contact the person you bought it from? Ask them if they had any problems with strings breaking.

 

[GCTerpfan]

Also, I think I remember who you bought your string from. Message him and get his thoughts. He's been doing it a long time and can probably offer some insight.

 

[gcr0003]

I'm not saying it's not possible but, I can't imagine that arrow weight, bow tune or any of the 'details' like that would cause the string to break that quickly unless you shoot hundreds of shots everyday. Growing up I shot whatever arrows I could find, regardless of spine weight, etc. with bow strings that were older than me and never had any issues. Something is wearing on the string at those locations. I know you think it's not likely but, I would put my money on a mouse. They can be sneaky little devils and leave almost no sign they're around. I forgot about the Alone episode, wasn't his string chewed in about the same spot? Maybe the little critters are attracted to the string ends poking through? Leave a granola bar on your shelf for a couple of days and see what happens.

Are you still able to contact the person you bought it from? Ask them if they had any problems with strings breaking.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1405740735492620288

This is the only short video I could find of it searching google haha! I woulda been pissed more too if I was needing that bow to survive.
I think mice are attracted to the fuzzy tag ends.. Who knows. It isn't impossible that's for sure. The shelf I keep my bow on is like a coat hanger shelf on our bedroom wall. There is nothing surrounding it that would allow the mouse to get up there. That's why I think if he did it it would have to be while it was in the car.

I can reach out to the guy who made the string but I don't want to offend him because it's really hard for me to think there was something wrong with the product but rather something happened to compromise the string.

 

[gcr0003]

Also, I think I remember who you bought your string from. Message him and get his thoughts. He's been doing it a long time and can probably offer some insight.

Yea you're probably thinking of the same guy. I found out about him when the old first string broke. I sent him a message with a link to the thread. I really wouldn't hesitate to buy from him again. I will likely be purchasing replacements from him. It's hard for me to think that it broke without being compromised somehow.

 

[gcr0003]

I'm not saying it's not possible but, I can't imagine that arrow weight, bow tune or any of the 'details' like that would cause the string to break that quickly unless you shoot hundreds of shots everyday. Growing up I shot whatever arrows I could find, regardless of spine weight, etc. with bow strings that were older than me and never had any issues. Something is wearing on the string at those locations. I know you think it's not likely but, I would put my money on a mouse. They can be sneaky little devils and leave almost no sign they're around. I forgot about the Alone episode, wasn't his string chewed in about the same spot? Maybe the little critters are attracted to the string ends poking through? Leave a granola bar on your shelf for a couple of days and see what happens.

Are you still able to contact the person you bought it from? Ask them if they had any problems with strings breaking.

Also, how many shots are these type of bow strings good for? I probably have shot thousands of times with this string over the past year with plenty of 50 arrow days, but nothing ever indicated that that the string was worn somehow. Even if I only shot 50 - 50 shot days over the last year thats still 2500 shots.

 

[GCTerpfan]

I can reach out to the guy who made the string but I don't want to offend him because it's really hard for me to think there was something wrong with the product but rather something happened to compromise the string.

Wasn't clear in my first post. I was wondering if you could still contact the guy you bought the bow from to see if the bow has a history of breaking strings.

I wouldn't hesitate to reach out to the string maker either just for his thoughts on what could cause it. He can probably add some insight and will probably see this post eventually and chime in anyway.

 

[gcr0003]

Wasn't clear in my first post. I was wondering if you could still contact the guy you bought the bow from to see if the bow has a history of breaking strings.

I wouldn't hesitate to reach out to the string maker either just for his thoughts on what could cause it. He can probably add some insight and will probably see this post eventually and chime in anyway.

He is a righty and of the 300 bows he has in his house this was one of only two lefty bows he had. I don't think he shot it much at all. He had like 3 or 4 righty versions of this same bow in various weights and he said they were his favorites aside from the bows he made himself.

 

[GCTerpfan]

Also, how many shots are these type of bow strings good for? I probably have shot thousands of times with this string over the past year with plenty of 50 arrow days, but nothing ever indicated that that the string was worn somehow. Even if I only shot 50 - 50 shot days over the last year thats still 2500 shots.

There is probably a better answer then this but, I have only ever replaced strings when they were visibly worn or they were so old I could no longer remember how old they were.

 

[gcr0003]

There is probably a better answer then this but, I have only ever replaced strings when they were visibly worn or they were so old I could no longer remember how old they were.

Makes sense, I think that is what I have read and heard as well. All the evidence suggests that the string was compromised. I only wish I would have noticed it after that first funky shot. I was so hyper focused on the arrow flight that I was paying much attention the string or bow. It might have provided better detail on why it broke. I am not totally mad about it though. The last string was suppose to be Auburn Tigers Orange and Blue but I didn't specify correctly when i bought it and it turned out gross florida gators blue! haha

 

[Allegheny Tom]

I'm not saying it's not possible but, I can't imagine that arrow weight, bow tune or any of the 'details' like that would cause the string to break that quickly unless you shoot hundreds of shots everyday. Growing up I shot whatever arrows I could find, regardless of spine weight, etc. with bow strings that were older than me and never had any issues. Something is wearing on the string at those locations. I know you think it's not likely but, I would put my money on a mouse. They can be sneaky little devils and leave almost no sign they're around. I forgot about the Alone episode, wasn't his string chewed in about the same spot? Maybe the little critters are attracted to the string ends poking through? Leave a granola bar on your shelf for a couple of days and see what happens.

Are you still able to contact the person you bought it from? Ask them if they had any problems with strings breaking.

All mice must die! Take no prisoners.
Evil little bastards.

 

[swampsnyper]

Now it’s a possibility but unless the mice targeted the same location as there is a lot of wear in that area on both spots near the loops. It’s a possibility also that bow didn’t come with a Flemish back in the day but a endless string that’s why there are no string grooves so by adding string grooves it will lessen the chance of a break again. I’m starting to feel that by the constant slap of the string onto the limb cause it excessive wear so by adding the grooves I feel will be a big help regardless of who made or makes the string that’s why you see recurves with string grooves in the limbs

This seems like the best observation yet.

 

[GCTerpfan]

This seems like the best observation yet.

I'm curious about this. How does a string groove help reduce string wear?

 

[gcr0003]

Now it’s a possibility but unless the mice targeted the same location as there is a lot of wear in that area on both spots near the loops. It’s a possibility also that bow didn’t come with a Flemish back in the day but a endless string that’s why there are no string grooves so by adding string grooves it will lessen the chance of a break again. I’m starting to feel that by the constant slap of the string onto the limb cause it excessive wear so by adding the grooves I feel will be a big help regardless of who made or makes the string that’s why you see recurves with string grooves in the limbs

This bow does have string grooves, but maybe it doesn't like the flemish ends like you say. The flemish ends are the same size or even a little thicker than the grooves since the ends of a flemish string are naturally thicker.

Maybe the string groove silences would help dampen it, and reduce wear?

 

[gcr0003]

I'm curious about this. How does a string groove help reduce string wear?

Think about a string hitting a flat limb. The string is curved which means just a small a mount of material would be constantly hitting the limb.

With a string groove the the radius of the string is hitting the groove which is concave. This means that a surface area of the string is consistantly hitting a bigger area and dispersing the stress of the string slap.

makes sense to me at least

 

[swampsnyper]

I'm curious about this. How does a string groove help reduce string wear?

I don’t know about the string grove reducing string wear but the idea of it not being made for a Flemish string may have some merit. Having served ends would protect it more. And being both ends are worn and the last string broke at the top in the same spot tells me something is wearing that string down where it slaps the limbs.
I’ve shot strings covered in mud all year and they were fuzzed out bad. They can take some abuse. It’s something with the contact of those limbs causing wear.

 

[GCTerpfan]

Think about a string hitting a flat limb. The string is curved which means just a small a mount of material would be constantly hitting the limb.

With a string groove the the radius of the string is hitting the groove which is concave. This means that a surface area of the string is consistantly hitting a bigger area and dispersing the stress of the string slap.

makes sense to me at least

View attachment 49754

I can buy that I guess. I have heard different bowyers talk about stability offered by string grooves, just never heard anyone mention reducing wear, especially to the point of causing repeated string failures in a years time.