Strung or unstrung??

[jmsmithy]

#2479

Hello Gents (and any Ladies that may be reading),

My son’s 12th birthday gift (among other things) was an Allegheny Mountain Bow Co. “Mountain Bow”, made for him etc. 26#@21″ (he draws about 24-25″) 56″ longbow . It is one of Jeff Strauss’ (NJ’s premier bowyer IMHO 😀 ) signature models.

I’ve also come across a Bear Kodiak Magnum for $25 at a garage sale. 42#@28″, 52″ long recurve. Was BEAT UP, mean limb twist etc…$100 or so later and Joe Lasch at Prairie Traditions “Bow Hospital” made it look, well, show room new or at least pretty close!. It still has bit of a twist but can’t do much more per Joe. Shoots well enough for me…

Anyway, my question is..Do I leave them strung while hanging up? Currently hung on full shoulder bison mount (looks COOL 8) ❗ ) Can I leave them hanging/strung like that? Is it advisable? Am I doing damage to either or both bows? I’ve heard soooo many opinions I don’t know who to believe so felt this was the place to turn… I trust you folks 😯 😆

I USUALLY leave my Black Widow PMA strung but I’m playing with/ shooting it at least 4-5x per week. I will unstring it/clean/wax etc regularly but again, gets shot often, usually short 12-24 arrow sessions…

Any thoughts, as always, are appreciated!!!!:D

BTW – Don’t mean to make the above sound like a commercial but I do believe quality folks who do quality work should be acknowledged. I also believe we should share our knowledge, as we all do here and on other sites. That knowledge, IMHO, includes craftsmen/women from which we can all benefit.

Be well >>>–>

[FUBAR]

#10511

I always unstring mine if its going to be a few days between sessions

[celinsin]

#10672

I’ve heard various opinions … The Black Widow people have indicated that some of their sample bows have remained strung for years. Some say it’s okay to leave them strung and hanging horizotally from the string. The Shafer Silvertip people have stated it’s okay to leave them strung, but hang them horizontally with pegs supporting the riser; never the string. I, however, agree with the above gentleman … unstring them between use.

Later, Chris

[Raymond Coffman]

#10877

I am definitely not an expert —
But for the last 40 yrs — I unstring my bows when not in use – I especially would not leave them Hanging for long periods of time strung*! IMHO — so far, { knock on wood} I have not Had one break on me — or a string either [ change them out at least once a year- irregardless of condition]–
Probably excessive –but — it is working so Far
Scout

PS – I have Seven bows currently [ including my First one – 1970]*I exercise all of them periodically – so they also are not “unstrung” for long periods of time– “Balance in all things”

[DAbersold]

#10965

My primary hunting bow is strung all season long. Also, if I’m going to be shooting a particular bow off and on during the off season, I’ll leave it strung. Right now, my recurve is what I’m hunting with so it’s always strung. My long bow is “resting”(unstrung). As soon as I get my new arrows done, the long bow will be the one that stays strung and shot. Both bow makers of the bows I own now say it’s ok to leave them strung.

[celinsin]

#11270

Scout makes a good point about those bowstrings … Regardless of its condition, at the end of a year throw away the old string and put on a new one.

Later, Chris

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#12895

I guess my question would be, “what’s the point of leaving a bow strung when you’re not using it?” It only takes a few seconds to string/unstring a bow.

[handirifle]

#15260

I suspect some of the bow makers issues, and reasons for leaving them strung, might be twofold. First, MOST damage done to longbows or recurves, is done during stringing/unstringing. That is where most limbs are twisted or broken.

The second, I believe, is purely a marketing ploy, to show how durable a particular bow is.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#15898

I wonder how much of that is a hold-over mentality from older bows and older methods of stringing/unstringing them. Seems to me that when using a stringer properly, on a quality-built modern bow, the chance of damaging the bow is very slim.

[handirifle]

#16074

Smithhammer wrote: I wonder how much of that is a hold-over mentality from older bows and older methods of stringing/unstringing them. Seems to me that when using a stringer properly, on a quality-built modern bow, the chance of damaging the bow is very slim.

I think they would agree with you 100% on that, but it’s when we don’t use a stringer, that can cause problems.

[wbp93]

#20374

jmsmithy wrote: Hello Gents (and any Ladies that may be reading),

My son’s 12th birthday gift (among other things) was an Allegheny Mountain Bow Co. “Mountain Bow”, made for him etc. 26#@21″ (he draws about 24-25″) 56″ longbow . It is one of Jeff Strauss’ (NJ’s premier bowyer IMHO 😀 ) signature models.

I’ve also come across a Bear Kodiak Magnum for $25 at a garage sale. 42#@28″, 52″ long recurve. Was BEAT UP, mean limb twist etc…$100 or so later and Joe Lasch at Prairie Traditions “Bow Hospital” made it look, well, show room new or at least pretty close!. It still has bit of a twist but can’t do much more per Joe. Shoots well enough for me…

Anyway, my question is..Do I leave them strung while hanging up? Currently hung on full shoulder bison mount (looks COOL 8) ❗ ) Can I leave them hanging/strung like that? Is it advisable? Am I doing damage to either or both bows? I’ve heard soooo many opinions I don’t know who to believe so felt this was the place to turn… I trust you folks 😯 😆

I USUALLY leave my Black Widow PMA strung but I’m playing with/ shooting it at least 4-5x per week. I will unstring it/clean/wax etc regularly but again, gets shot often, usually short 12-24 arrow sessions…

Any thoughts, as always, are appreciated!!!!:D

BTW – Don’t mean to make the above sound like a commercial but I do believe quality folks who do quality work should be acknowledged. I also believe we should share our knowledge, as we all do here and on other sites. That knowledge, IMHO, includes craftsmen/women from which we can all benefit.

Be well >>>–>

[wbp93]

#20379

If I am shooting a lot which is almost always now days, I too leave my Bows strung. I have 2 that I am shooting on a regular basis right now a Big Horn Take Down & A Savage River Take Down.If I were to stop shooting them for any length of time I would un-string them.

[Author]

Posts