How many of you archers...

Diamond Cut II

Diamond Cut II

Joined
Sep 1, 2002
Messages
1,245
Had your bow "explode" on you? I have a cheap beginners bow and that's my number one concern. I keep it de-stringed when I'm not using it. I wouldn't want it to hit my eye or puncture my lung or anything. I have absolutely no idea what the material is made of. It's just a basic bow and it's colored red if that helps classify what type it is. I don't know what the brand is and I've had it for about 4-5 years. Thanks.


-DC2
 
Hmm, a true mystery bow, lol. You would know if it were wood, so I'm going to venture a guess that it's solid fiberglass, but without seeing it, it's difficult to be sure. Havn't seen one blow personally, but have heard of it happening. Older wooden bows will delaminate over time because the glues weren't as good as they are today, or if a bow is left in the hot trunk of a car, or hanging in the rear widown of a truck and the full sun is on it all day will delaminate (glue lines seperate). I heard where a recurve snapped at the handle when someone strung it up backwards and then proceeded to draw it several times. Old all wood bows will revert back to a tree if they aren't shot. Meaning they lose their flexibility and if they are drawn after several years of inactivity will break. Never heard of an all fiberglass bow breaking though.

If you're uncomfortable shooting the bow, then don't string it up. You'll never get accurate with a weapon if you're affraid of it.
 
Heard of it but never had it happenand don't know of anyone that its happened to. A timber bow would have to be pretty dry to explode. I recon its more likely to happen with a compound and a heavy one at that.
 
Never seen it, but have always heard that the biggest danger is in 'dry firing' without an arrow nocked.
 
Sounds like your bow has a strip of fiberglass on the back which will help prevent it from breaking. All wood bows that lose their moisture content can literally explode into pieces (personal experience). Most fiberglass bows that I am aware of are pretty tough unless the back has been compromised. Look for chips, cracks, etc along the back. If laminated look for gaps in the laminations. It could be you have a solid fiberglass bow in which case it will be extremely hard to break. Twisted limbs could flip off a string upon the draw.
My best advise is have a not so good friend draw your bow, pretending you have a bad shoulder.;)
 
Diamond cut II,
You say 'Beginner Bow' I venture to say it is a Bear. Many Many all red bows, thin in the limb with black rubber handles have been made.

I would also venture to say that most Bow 'explosions' are caused by string failure and not the limbs breaking.

Does your bow have any markings on it and where? How about a little nickle sized Bear?

Just be carefull not to overdraw it if it is a kids bow. When a Bow is made it has to be tillered. This is the process of making each limb roughly equal in strength. This is also done as the bow is strung and pulled but most bowyers stop this process around 29" draw length. If the bow is pulled beyond this you will notice a weight gain that doesn't appear as smooth as at shorter lengths..this is called stacking. If you get to this point the bow is in the 'Redline" zone!

Gadget54
 
Not sure about the name but it is red and it does have a black rubber handle. If you're talking about one with pulleys(?) that's not it. It's a pretty simple bow. I might have to get a new string for it. Thanks, Gadget.


-DC2
 
Well it seems that it may be a Bear 'kids' bow. How heavey is the draw weight? If it is less than 40 lbs please dont hunt anything bigger than a rabbit with it. It would not be efficient enough to kill humanely.

I shot many arrows through my Bear as a kid. A string should not be hard to find at the local bow shop.

Good Luck
Gadget54
 
i fire a crossbow quite regularly and ive never come across anything snapping, the force put on crossbow bows is tremendous too. im afriad ive never made a point of learning the correct terminology so you will have to bear with me. the main things to look out for are

- the centre of the string, where its whipped to press against the arrow, you should change the string as soon as this area starts to fray

- before a firing session give the bow a quick look over to check for crakcs and any sign of de lamination. dont fire it if you see this as it could snap

- the main area of concern if it does snap is your eyes, although they can interfere with what your doing and look wierd, eye protectors will help protect them if it does snap.

- dont dry fire the bow as it will damage it, the considerable amount of energy that would have gone into the arrow ihas to be absorbed by the bow when you dry fire and this will damage it.

- you shouldnt have to de string the bow if its fiberglass, if its wood then you should de string or it will loose its springness and if its metal you should be careful as they are more prone to catastrophic failure

hope this helps
 
I've only got access to one bow at the moment... soon to be mine(when I leave), but it's my fathers for now.

compound bow he bought in his 20s(mid 70s) for $1500... Oak core, fiberglass outer slabs... 3 'strings' of cable... small metal rest for the nock, on the cable(about 1/8" thick)... currently set to 80lbs pull, 60% letoff, and I draw a 33".

annoying when the only arrows you have are custom made for yah. I pay $15/shaft... graphite shafts, 2 blade broadhead(fixed), and a pile of field point heads of the same weight as my broadheads. My local gun shop gets them for me(shafts and heads)

I head out every fall to a farmer's field(one of my father's old buddies) and shoot haybales from 60yards. I have my top sighting pin set at 100yards, though I've only started getting good at 80yards max.

considering that bow is about 30yrs old, and only the 2nd cbale(my father changed it in 96 when the draw-weight was reset for me), it's holding up well. only a couple minor scratches on the handle.

the only bad part about compound bows is the snapping against your arm. This bow is made to be held in your left, and use your right to draw(my father's bow, remember), and I do the opposite(my left is stronger)... had to get a leather guard made for me, only set me back $200.

full leather gauntlet, covers over my thumb and back of my hand, and goes back far enough that I can still bend my elbow confortably. Full lower arm is covered, just slips on(and gets hot when you shoot in +25c weather.

haven't seen any bows blow into pieces, but I've been told of one doing it. guy had it in his safe for 5yrs, then took it out of string it. It cracked when he had it 3/4 of the way.
 
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