proper treatment of new bow

[kconner]

#6992

bought my son a fred bear grizzly recurve. when should the bow be unstrung? he is practicing daily.

[Brennan Herr]

#57009

I never unstring if I am shooting daily. Which I always do!

[kconner]

#57039

he cannot draw the bow back but about a third of the way. my intent was to let him shoot it often and build strength eventually coming to full draw. he can shoot a 25# bow all day and i was looking for something that he could legally hunt with which is 35# in Arkansas. I got a VERY good deal on this new bow which is 50# draw. Was wondering at what point the bow should be unstrung—if not shooting for a few days, weeks, months?

[David Petersen]

#57089

If not used for months you might unstring it. Or not. No well-made glass-backed bow can be harmed by leaving it strung so long as it’s not exposed to direct sunlight or other heat sources. Strung or unstrung, hang from one peg vertically or two pegs horizontally. Never leave it sitting on the floor with the weight on one tip. Get the boy doing push-ups and you’ll speed his muscle development and keep it from getting lopsided. Bet he’s excited.

[TurkeyCommander]

#57261

I left my bear Montana longbow locked in a safe strung for like 3 months while i was away. Didn’t mean to leave it strung the whole time, and i was a bit worried the bow would’ve lost some of its form or maybe mess up my brace height. Worries for nothing because when i returned to my bow it was fine. Brace height was fine and the bow didn’t settle into a different shape.

[Stephen Graf]

#61365

I think the bigger problem is the jump in bow weight. If he is shooting 25 lbs, it is not likely he’ll be shooting 50lbs any time soon.

If it was me, I’d put the bow away for a few years and find him a 30 or 35lb bow. But I have to say I have found with my kids that going up in weight even 3 or 4 pounds at a time is daunting.

Last thing you want is frustration in a young’un. It’s the fastest turnoff to archery there is.

[Arne Moe]

#61460

I’ve got to put on my “coaching hat” now and offer some advice.

50# bows are not something for a person to “grow into!!” And especially a 25# increase in one jump. He can or will develop some really bad habits trying to “haul” the string back (and risk potential injury!).

I suggest that you unstring the bow and put it away for a good while and let him work up to it in no more than 5# increments and over a few years as he grows (depending on age).

You will need to do what you need to do, BUT this is a CLASSIC error that often drives folks out of archery. The bow MAY have been a “great” deal, but it is NOT the best way to go for the situation you describe.

Arne

[tom-wisconsin]

#63917

Maybe some physical therapist types can chime in but I remember that using too much wt can cause some muscle and growth problems in growing boys. I agree with others about gradually increasing bow wt. You will be all set when he has children with different bow wts.

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