HALO serving material . . .test.

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:20 am

I got my new string from Boo and ready to start testing the new HALO serving material. I'll keep you posted on the number of shots this material can take.

First of all check out this string. I chose brown and green to get me into the hunting mode. Turned out very nice. I did notice the ends are a tad smaller and fit nice and snug around my limb tips.

Here is a picture of the string . . .look closely at the serving. Boo must have used a team of horses to get it that tight.

This is a FFF string with 36 strands.

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:26 am

dang, looks almost like fishing line its so tight!

Im not sure what he used on the string he sent me, but I know its like bambo.. you can twist and rub it all you want and it doent wear any!

Hopefuly he has my 2 Flemish ones ready this weekend to ship.. cant wait to get them

Normous · Post by **Normous** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:33 am

Nice one

Keep the good pics and reports coming.
Thanks
Norm

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:30 pm

I got 50 shots now on this string with the HALO serving. The 36 strand FFF string is a tad slower(POI is about an inch lower at 30 yards) than the 32 strand FFF, however, it's quieter and smoother. As most of you know, everything has trade-offs. We all have to make some personal preferences when trading between speed and comfort. It's good to know we have Boo to make the string the way we want it and don't have to settle for what's on the rack!

Here is a picture of the HALO serving after the 50 shots.

We will see how long the HALO can survive the jaws of the Max! I'd like to see a serving last to 300. I'll update every 50 shots or so.

DrDan · Post by **DrDan** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:34 am

I have no idea how many shots I have taken with a Halo served string from Boo - several hundred and I rub the serving between about every third shot to distribute the wax (I use the chit that came with right stuff package). To my eye I cannot see any significant wear at all yet. Yes I can see where the claws in the trigger touch the string, but I try to rub that area very well and so far there is no sign of any frayed string and the serving is as tight as the day I put it on.

Boo makes some nice stuff. If you take care of his strings, they should last a very long time.

Sorry I don't have exact number of shots but I shoot probably 20 shots every night and been doing that for 4 or five weeks on this string.

PS I get stressed too much if I have to count over ten - it's the West Virginian in me I guess.

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 1:53 pm

DrDan . . . That's good information. Which xbow are you shooting? The Exomax has a tendency to eat servings after about 200 shots(factory servings after 120 shots or less). Boo's servings are lasting well past 200 with the most,for me, to date at 267. I'm thinking the HALO may pass the 300 mark, if I treat it right.

So far I have twisted the string three rotations to adjust brace height after 20 shots, 50 shots and 75 shots for a total of 9 rotations. I also made a 1/2 rotation from the opposite side of the string in order to turn the string slightly during each brace height adjustment. I did not include the 1/2 trun in the total rotations. Confused? Basically, I am making sure the string rolls so that a different surface is making contact with the rail. The sliding of the string across the railing seems to cause the bulk of the damage to the string.

Here is a picture after 100 shots . . .

DrDan · Post by **DrDan** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:36 pm

I'm shooting an Equinox - it seems to me that rubbing in the wax around the center of the serving seems to help lots. You can dang near rub out any marks that the claws put on the serving. I'm in wheelchair so my buddy that I shoot with almost every night insists on retrieving bolts so I just rub the string while he is bringing back bolts. Yes I have had lots of stretch. Almost every other day I have to put a half to a full twist in the string to bring it back to just in front of the back line. This brace height seems to be the sweet spot for both my Equinox and my Phoenix. I'm not into velocity - I go for consistent accuracy and this seems to be the best brace height for my bows.

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:57 pm

DrDan . . .what do you use to cock the Equinox?

DrDan · Post by **DrDan** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:42 pm

I use the crankaroo... I've used it so long and shoot so much that it is pretty dang fast.

Cossack · Post by **Cossack** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:04 pm

Sumner, I traded my Equinox for a Vortex because I was having trouble cocking the former; then I learned how to cock it by watching the Excalibur vidio. I made the string cocker quite a bit shorter so that I have to pull the string up to the second hook wih my dominant hand, some 10 inches of so. Once you have the string cocker on that way, then standing cocks the bow mostly with the legs. A have a crankaroo for when the back really bothers me but I shoot too much to bother with it normally.
No regrets tho, this Vortex has a better trigger and is about 2" shorter overall making it a bit more balanced.

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 7:04 am

I did the same thing with the cocking rope. I shortened it a little to fit my frame. I actually enjoy the workout the Exomax gives me. I'm hoping it will help me stay young. My wife claims my back is "looking good", I credit that to the Exomax since her eyesight is still 20/20.

Seriously, I stop short of calling myself a bodybuilder, but, I workout everyday.

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 10:12 pm

Wow . . .seems like it's been forever since I updated this thing. I went to Lake George, N. Y. for my Brother-n-law's wedding. It was beatuiful and I miss N.Y. . . .

The scenery . . .

the boating . . .well, not our sailboat, but we did do some boating . . .

the water skiing . . .not me, the wife and kids . . .I simply rode in the boat and drank.

The weather was much nicer than here in Hot Atlanta!! It's been 100 degrees everyday since my return . . .I should have stayed on Lake George!! I just didn't want to go outside and do anything, even shoot the Max. It's stinking hot here

!

OK . . .back to the testing. I'm up to 198 shots on the HALO serving and it looks good. Right around 200 hundred shots seems to be the real tester for most servings. If it was hunting season, I would just reserve at 200 shots and keep the bow shooting sweet. However, I'm shooting the HALO until it breaks.

Here is a picture at 170 shots . . .

I'll get another update later this week . . .regardless of the weather.

tuskntine · Post by **tuskntine** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:00 pm

I noticed the string silencer on your bow . What kind is it and where can I get one ? I have seen the one offered by STS .

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:16 pm

tuskntine . . .try reading this thread. If you want to add the dampeners and have some trouble them send me a pm.

http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... t=dampener

I think it works very well. However, the STS system looks good too as well as the system offered for sale by matthias72.

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:09 pm

I'm trying to stay cool and shoot my Exomax . . .still not easy, temps still hovering around 100!

I've gotten 253 shots on the HALO serving.

Here is a picture at 253 shots . . .

It's starting to look a little worn. It's still shooting great! Maybe it has 300 shots in it. We will see.

I told you guys that I bought one of the Mackenzie Shotblockers . . .well, I'm not real impressed. I've already got a couple of centers allowing the bolt to slide almost all the way through. I'm using all nine spots, have shot around 300 bolts into it. That's only 34 shots per bullseye . . .that's not very good. Even if the Exomax did pack them on top of each other!