# String stretch hold draw weight?



## ar1220 (May 18, 2014)

If its stretched 2 in it needs to be replaced.and the draw weight should go down a good bit if its stretched 2 in


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## 454casull (Jan 7, 2005)

Draw weight should increase with string stretch.


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## viperassasin (Sep 2, 2015)

Two completely opposite responses. Nice.


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## dwagoner (Sep 27, 2007)

if a string stretches a full 2 inches is toast.... and that will open ATA up so much it would take a bunch of preload out of the limbs so NO it wont increase poundage if on a single cam bow. so hard to know for sure....

if on a dual cam then if cables havent moved a bit its diff, but i just dont see any string stretching a full 2" after its been built... thats way too much...


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

454casull said:


> Draw weight should increase with string stretch.


you've been drinking haven't you...lol



weight decreases as the threads stretch.

how long is the string? If it's something like 100"+ I can see a stretch that much with some materials...probably not safe to shoot after that.


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## Purka (Sep 8, 2004)

If it is a compound bow a longer string will put the poundage up.


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

no it won't. Doesn't matter if it's a recurve or compound...if the ATA grows, the weight diminishes.

go do this test. measure your draw weight now....take 4 twists out of your buss, 8 twists out of your control cable, 8 twists out of your bow string...measure the DW.


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## viperassasin (Sep 2, 2015)

Hmm didn't think this one was going to get this heated but what I'm gathering from all the responses so far that if the string stretches there will be a change in draw weight it will not be the exact same as the day you changed the poundage. It sounds like the bow shop I went to was trying to sell me a newer bow because myns probably at least 13 to 25 year old golden eagle. She said it had stretched and I asked by an 1" or so and she said because it doesn't have any twists in the string its probably stretched by 6 or 7 inches which didn't sound right. Then after she re-served the center serving and checked poundage it was 65 which is the bows max weight,according to the sticker, that I set it on 3 years ago. Also the draw length came out around 29 inches according to their measurement arrow which the sticker says 30 inch draw length. Thanks for the info and I will let you get back to the conversation about the effect of string stretch on poundage.


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

is it a steel cable bow?


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## viperassasin (Sep 2, 2015)

No it's not


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## jchristian (Mar 8, 2011)

2 cam bows:
Cables stretch, lose draw weight
String stretches, gain draw weight

1 cam bows:
Cable or string stretches, lose draw weight


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## viperassasin (Sep 2, 2015)

jchristian said:


> 2 cam bows:
> Cables stretch, lose draw weight
> String stretches, gain draw weight
> 
> ...


that answer makes sense to me. So what happens if they both stretch too much(we're talking dual cam here) what will happen draw weight and speed wise(if there is an affect speed wise that would not be related to draw#)?


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## jchristian (Mar 8, 2011)

viperassasin said:


> that answer makes sense to me. So what happens if they both stretch too much(we're talking dual cam here) what will happen draw weight and speed wise(if there is an affect speed wise that would not be related to draw#)?


You will lose draw weight but gain draw length. Longer stroke = more fps. General rule of thumb is 10fps per inch of draw. If you lose 5lbs of DW, but gain 2" of draw, it will probably be a wash (except your bow will not be at it's peak, performance wise).


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

viperassasin said:


> that answer makes sense to me. So what happens if they both stretch too much(we're talking dual cam here) what will happen draw weight and speed wise(if there is an affect speed wise that would not be related to draw#)?


Bad information.

ALL bows, when ONLY the bowstring stretches LONGER, you get MORE draw weight, PERIOD. The cams on a bow, are like a WATCH SPRING. With a LONGER bowstring, the cams ROTATE away from the riser. So, you have MORE available rotation for the cams, so when you ROTATE the cams MORE than normal, cuz of a STRETCHED LONGER bowstring, ALL bows...twin cam bows GAIN draw weight, SINGLE cam bows GAIN draw weight, binary cam bows GAIN draw weight, with a LONGER bowstring.

ALL bows, when ONLY the cables stretch, especially the BUSS CABLE, you LOSE draw weight, PERIOD. The BUSS CABLE, is what squeezes the limb tips together. So, if the BUSS CABLE STRETCHES LONGER, then you have LESS squeeze on the LIMB tips, and just like a bow press, when you SQUEEZE the limb tips LESS, you LOSE draw weight.

My Apex 7 is a single cam bow. With the string in SPEC, I just measured a 55 lb draw weight.



I REMOVED 12 twists from the SUPER DUPER LONG single cam bowstring, and the draw weight went HIGHER...cuz, the cam on any bow, is just a WATCH spring. WIND up the watch spring MORE, cuz of a LONGER bowstring, you get MORE rotation, going to full draw, and you get MORE windup on the limb tip, and you get MORE draw weight, with a STRETCHED bowstring, for single cam, for twin cam, for ANY cam style bow.

GAINED draw weight up to 57 lbs.


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

viperassasin said:


> that answer makes sense to me. So what happens if they both stretch too much(we're talking dual cam here) what will happen draw weight and speed wise(if there is an affect speed wise that would not be related to draw#)?


Bowstrings and BUSS cables are NEVER the same tension, cuz we have a pulley system, with a compound bow. When the BOWSTRING is TIGHT (bow is at brace height), then the buss cable is LOOSER. When we get to full draw, the BUSS CABLE is TIGHT (holds the bow together), and then the bowstring is LOOSER.

So, if your bow STRETCHED....while in storage, the BOWSTRING is more likely to STRETCH, so you GAIN draw weight, when you don't shoot a bow much.


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

viperassasin said:


> Will a string that has stretched say more than 2 inches from original length still hold the draw weight the same or should it loose draw weight say going from 65 to 63#?


if your BOWSTRING stretched two inches, you would gain a MASSIVE amount of draw weight.

If your BUSS CABLE STRETCHED two inches...the ATA would be WAY out of whack, the BRACE HEIGHT would be SUPER DUPER LOW, and you would lose MUCH MUCH more than 2 lbs. *2-INCH LONGER ATA than normal,*
you would see at least 10-15 lbs LESS draw weight, and I doubt you would even try to draw it back to full draw.


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## thwackaddict (Sep 1, 2006)

Longer string = more draw length?
Shorter string= shorter draw?

Have some on here confused draw weight with draw length? Or am I messed up too?


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## Huntinsker (Feb 9, 2012)

Wow there is so much bad info on this thread it's not even funny. Do you guys even work on bows? I thought some of you knew more than that. 

It doesn't matter what cam system you have, if your string stretches, you GAIN draw weight. Now if your cables AND string stretch, you'll likely lose weight because the cables do more to control weight than the string does. 

Simply put, if a string gets longer, your draw weight will go up. If a string gets shorter, your draw weight will go down. If you don't believe it, put 6 twists into your string, measure the draw weight and see what happens. Then take them back out and see what happens.


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