# Best band thickness for 6mm and 9.5mm steel?



## Blaze (Apr 6, 2019)

Good evening

I'm looking for some recommendations of the best


Band thickness
Band (active) taper

For 6mm steel and 9.5mm steel

Probably for brand of band i would stick with Precise and Sumeike. TBG is hopeless, and GZK yellow is good but is a very heavy draw on account of it's antifreeze properties.

Thanks in advance

Blaze


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## Winnie (Nov 10, 2010)

Just out of curiosity, why do you say TBG is hopeless?


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## ConnorA9 (May 3, 2018)

In terms of thickness of the ideal bands alone, anyway, for shooting 6mm steels, you'd want .55 in my experience.


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## Winnie (Nov 10, 2010)

Perhaps you're not cutting your own bands. My experience is just the opposite of yours. TBG in the right length, width and taper is, for me, in every way exceptional. I have shot everything from steel BB's to 1/2 inch (12mm) lead with great results.

Have you experimented with assorted lengths/widths?


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## KawKan (May 11, 2013)

A "best choice" can be a moving target. Your idea of the best compromise of performance, draw resistance and longevity could be very different from mine. And you might like different set ups for different purposes - lighter for plinking and targets, heavier for hunting, although 6mm is a bit light for most game.

Additionally, the ability to vary the width and taper of flatbands results in a great deal of overlap in performance between bands of different thicknesses and different manufacturing compounds.

That said, a good place to start is in the .60-.70 mm range, cut to a 6 to 7.5-inch length for a 30-inch draw, regardless of ammo.

For the 9.5 mm, taper 19mm to 14mm.

For the 6mm, taper 12mm to 9mm.

You could start with a 7.5-inch length, and trim a 1/2-inch or so from the narrow end for a performance boost if needed.

If you're more inclined to draw to 60 inches, reduce all the widths listed above by half.


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## mattwalt (Jan 5, 2017)

How about using tubes?


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## Blaze (Apr 6, 2019)

Winnie said:


> Just out of curiosity, why do you say TBG is hopeless?


Longevity. The most i have had out of TBG is approx 50 shots. I have tried different batches but get the same results. Compare that to GZK for example, then 500 shots is more than achievable.



ConnorA333 said:


> In terms of thickness of the ideal bands alone, anyway, for shooting 6mm steels, you'd want .55 in my experience.


Cheers. What taper?



Winnie said:


> Perhaps you're not cutting your own bands. My experience is just the opposite of yours. TBG in the right length, width and taper is, for me, in every way exceptional. I have shot everything from steel BB's to 1/2 inch (12mm) lead with great results.
> 
> Have you experimented with assorted lengths/widths?


Hi. Yes i cut my own bands. Longevity is the problem with TBG. I like the draw and power of TBG but the longevity is unacceptable.



KawKan said:


> A "best choice" can be a moving target. Your idea of the best compromise of performance, draw resistance and longevity could be very different from mine. And you might like different set ups for different purposes - lighter for plinking and targets, heavier for hunting, although 6mm is a bit light for most game.
> 
> Additionally, the ability to vary the width and taper of flatbands results in a great deal of overlap in performance between bands of different thicknesses and different manufacturing compounds.
> 
> ...


Cheers. Good answer with much information / suggestions Appreciated.



mattwalt said:


> How about using tubes?


I could have guessed


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## mattwalt (Jan 5, 2017)

Definitly sounds like your bands are overpowered.


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## mattwalt (Jan 5, 2017)

KawKans info is a great starting point.


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## Winnie (Nov 10, 2010)

Recomendations for taper will vary quite a bit depending on draw length.

I can't deny that tubes will last much longer that TBG, yet so many of us willingly forgo the advantage of wear and instead choose TBG for it's other qualities.

As you probably know already, the most effective ways to prolonge TBG band life is to use razor sharp cutter and balance the bands as best as possible with the load to minimize "snap".


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## Blaze (Apr 6, 2019)

mattwalt said:


> Definitly sounds like your bands are overpowered.


To start with i was. The bands were at max stretch. Then i lengthened them several times but the result was only marginally better. Then switch to using GZK and that stuff is super strong. Done around 500 shots with GZK and it hasn't broken. Am experimenting with Sumeike also....


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## wombat (Jun 10, 2011)

what thickness are your GZK's ?


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## Blaze (Apr 6, 2019)

wombat said:


> what thickness are your GZK's ?


0.62 yellow


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## rosco (Jan 10, 2012)

GZK and Sumieke are triffic stuff. KawKan has given you some tapers to start with, my two bobs worth says .62 GZK 25-20 taper for 9.5 mm ammo, active 170mm( this is a short draw for me) Sumieke .45 18-10 taper for 6mm ammo, active 190mm (my longer draw).

Everyone has a different take on bands, tapers, draw and so on, time to muck about and start forming your own preferences.


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## ConnorA9 (May 3, 2018)

@Blaze I find 15-10mm works fine for me, with .55 flatbands. The shots are very, very fast, making perfectly round holes through filled platic milk bottles and cans.


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## Blaze (Apr 6, 2019)

ConnorA333 said:


> @Blaze I find 15-10mm works fine for me, with .55 flatbands. The shots are very, very fast, making perfectly round holes through filled platic milk bottles and cans.


Cheers. Is that with 6mm steel BB's?


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## Blaze (Apr 6, 2019)

rosco said:


> GZK and Sumieke are triffic stuff. KawKan has given you some tapers to start with, my two bobs worth says .62 GZK 25-20 taper for 9.5 mm ammo, active 170mm( this is a short draw for me) Sumieke .45 18-10 taper for 6mm ammo, active 190mm (my longer draw).
> 
> Everyone has a different take on bands, tapers, draw and so on, time to muck about and start forming your own preferences.


How do you have different draw lengths? Do you shoot semi butterfly or something similar?


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## ConnorA9 (May 3, 2018)

@Blaze Yeah, 6mm steels, mate.


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## rosco (Jan 10, 2012)

@ Blaze. Yep, different draws for different frames. My usual is a floating anchor, with the bands just brushing my cheekbone, pouch past my ear, but recently taken a leaf out of the Kalevala handbook and mixing things up with a shorter draw, thicker bands, heavy ammo and anchor at the corner of my mouth.

Got frames and band sets for half butterfly, three quarter and full. Variety is the spice of life, but my preference is shooting 6 to 8 mm ammo with long, thin bands and light, small, narrow forked frames. I've had a busy fun year trying lots of stuff, but feel I've kind of found a comfortable groove after a longtime fluffing about in the wilderness. Fascinating sport. So many rabbit holes to go down.


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## Blaze (Apr 6, 2019)

ConnorA333 said:


> @Blaze Yeah, 6mm steels, mate.


Cheers. I have got some .55 sumeike i have yet to try - so your advice sounds promising. Thanks bud


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## Blaze (Apr 6, 2019)

rosco said:


> @ Blaze. Yep, different draws for different frames. My usual is a floating anchor, with the bands just brushing my cheekbone, pouch past my ear, but recently taken a leaf out of the Kalevala handbook and mixing things up with a shorter draw, thicker bands, heavy ammo and anchor at the corner of my mouth.
> 
> Got frames and band sets for half butterfly, three quarter and full. Variety is the spice of life, but my preference is shooting 6 to 8 mm ammo with long, thin bands and light, small, narrow forked frames. I've had a busy fun year trying lots of stuff, but feel I've kind of found a comfortable groove after a longtime fluffing about in the wilderness. Fascinating sport. So many rabbit holes to go down.


Cool. You're in to all angles of it. Enjoy, and thanks ????


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## ConnorA9 (May 3, 2018)

Blaze said:


> ConnorA333 said:
> 
> 
> > @Blaze Yeah, 6mm steels, mate.
> ...


No problem, cheers!


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## skropi (Mar 22, 2018)

I dont know which GZK bands you tried, but the yellow GZK 0.72 is super smooth. Much much smoother than Precise of the same thickness. 
For 9.5mm steel, you cant beat GZK 0.72, 20/15 taper, at 500%. That should give you around 62m/s, depending on your draw length of course.


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