[167_12PT]

Quick/ easy question, how long can you keep a bow strung without damaging anything??

If not going to do any damage, I would like to keep them strung.

Is the answer different if it is:
- a heavy poundage bow vs a light poundage bow??
- Or vintage vs old bow??
- Or one piece vs ILF???

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Bowbender Mike]

The short answer is it won't hurt a modern bow to leave it strung. An all wood bow should be unstrung if you're not shooting it.
Proper storage is important.

 

[StevenB]

If you do a search here, you'll find a few threads with very detailed opinions about this.

For example, this one.

http://tradtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42456&highlight=leaving+strung

 

[mnxs54]

I talked to Jim Brackenbury before he passed away. He told me you could leave his bows strung over a year.

 

[j-san]

I acquired a 1970s Bear Grizzly that was found braced in a family friend's attic. Who knows how many years it had sat that way, but it still drew smoothly and shot an arrow just fine. Most of my bows are ILF and hang vertically on my bow rack unbraced if I will not be shooting them in over a week. My regular shooters are left braced and hang from the same rack. To date, I have one bow that's been braced for about a year now with no harm done, as far as I can tell.

 

[longrifle346]

I've had a problem with one bow left strung and I attribute that more to environment than the fact that it was left braced. It was an old wooden Grizz that I bought for $20 at a Flea Market. I played with it from time to time and left it hung in a motorhome during a Florida summer. I came back and found it splintered. But I also had two teenage bows at the time so who really knows.....:cussing:

I leave all of my ILF bows strung, hanging horizontally on level pegs. Haven't had a problem in two years....

 

[Bowmania]

We have a proshop here in town that has a Bear Super 48 hanging on the wall strung for over 40 years. The poundage was still the same as it listed on the bow and limbs were straight.

I unstring my hunting bow after the season.

Bowmania

 

[Easykeeper]

I leave the recurves I'm regularly shooting strung all the time. The ones I don't shoot very often are kept unstrung. If I had to worry about kids or other picking them up and messing with them I'd probably unstring them all the time.

My bows are all wood/fiberglass laminated of relatively recent construction. Self-bows and older all wood bows I know you are not supposed to leave strung.

 

[167_12PT]

Thanks guys, Great Info!!!

Maybe I should ask has anyone ever damaged a bow by leaving it strung??

 

[SteveInNJ]

Unfortunately this is one of those topics that always gets a wide range of answers.

 

[Hank D Thoreau]

I used to hear that I should unstring my bows and that I should not stand them up against a wall to store (to avoid twisting the limbs). Then I heard Rick McKinney say that during his prime he kept his bow strung and sitting in a corner so he could grab it at a moments notice and shoot.

 

[John in NZ]

I leave my bows braced when I'm shooting them regularly,,that could be years.
No harm has come to any of them.

If not in use they hang on pegs un braced.

John.

 

[TradArcher]

Bowbender Mike is spot on... I've got a bow I haven unstrung in well over 25yrs! Every not n then I check to see it hasn't lost any weight at draw... and it's always just fine. Just remember this is only for modern bows.

Tom

 

[Sam Dunham]

No biggie to leave it strung but if your not shooting it everyday, just unstring it,,it is not that hard to string a Bow.

 

[WinterWind]

Really don't know if its me but I was taught to unstring after every usage and still do. I have also been told by several well known bowyers that its ok for a few days but it doesn't take that long to unstring so.... I recently bought one of the repro 59 Kodaiks and in the manual it states that its ok to leave it strung for a week or so but any longer to unstring it. Cmon how long does it take to unstring the bow?