Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting How long do you leave your bow strung?

Wondering how long you trad shooters leave your longbows and recurves strung? I take the string off everyday, as I yet to have a reason not to. So far I have been on nothing more than day hunts. When on multiday hunts, do you fellas unstrung your bows every evening?

As I was just chewed out by Whip for leaving my bow strung all the time, and hearing stories of guys who unstring their bow after every shoot, I called Beth Windauer of Schaffer Silvertip bows. They recommend the bows be left strung unless they are stored in a hot car or something. They say that there is more danger of twisting a limb in stringing and unstringing these modern high performance bows than there is in leaving them strung and hung properly with pegs on a wall.

I can tell you that I have left my 65# recurve strung for the better part of ten years and it still pulls 65lbs and shoots straight, same with my Silvertip longbow which is 6-7 years old.

Traditional archers have discussed this often over the years.

We're talking about quality fiberglass wood laminate longbows and recurves..NOT self bows or wood only laminate bows.

Bow makers would PREFER the recurves & longbows remain strung-braced as then the risk of the user improperly stringing-unstring and possible damage to the equipment is minimized...and they'll get fewer calls for 'warranty damage' etc.

Realisticly, When just braced, the bowstring is under at least 75% of the same stresses & strains as when the bow is full drawn.

IF one leaves his bow braced for extended periods of time, the bowstring will age prematurely..and certainly stretch some.This will require the astute archer to unbrace the bow and twist up the string for proper brace height-tuning at the very least.

Any bow left braced is also more at risk of damage should the string break, be cut, the bow fall over or some looky loo grab it and draw-dry fire the bow.

My own policy is that the bow is braced to proper brace height and used for hunting shooting even if over a week's duration..so long as the bow can be kept in an area not TOO hot during it's idle time and away from things falling on it or it being damaged.
You bump a braced glass bow on the fiberglass of the limbs or tips and I'll about guarantee the damage to the stressed bow will be far more severe than it might have been to an unbraced bow.
Otherwise, I UNBRACE my bows for longer storage.
Learn to brace your bows properly and safely using a quality bow stringer..
My own bows are over 70#s and highly stressed at brace height..Even with a stringer, care needs to be taken to brace them safely..The tip pockets of the stringer MUST fit properly of course..Jim

I'll have to agree with the above. My own preference is to unstring after shooting. An unstrung bow is safe and not under undue stress. I don't store my guns cocked either. Most trad archers should leave them strung though if they don't have a stringer. I used one once and it 'bout scared the heck out of me. I've been string and unstringing bows with the step thru and push pull method since I was 10 years old. That's 52 years. No injuries to myself or any bows - recurve or longbow. If you don't know what you are doing then don't do it ;-)...Van

I use a stinger and unstring after shooting and after finishing a day in the field hunting. I just bought the best stringer I've ever owned or used. It is a Skookum strap stringer and I bought it from Alaskan Archery Supply. It is bright orange and I'll have no problems locating even during the dark when stringing the bow to go hunting or unstringing it after hunting.

Bill

FWIW:

I had to buy a new "limb/arm" for my recurve (its a breakdown martin). The prior owner had left it strung and Hanging by the heater/furnace.

The MFR said, being strung was not the problem. Repetitve heating of just one side of one limb, was.

BMT

Over the years, I have used the Saunders tip to tip stringer for lighter bows but for heavier ones, I make my own tip to tip stringers.
Design and sew the boots of quality leather & waxed cord( B50) so theY fit the bow limb tips properly...add brass grommets and parachute cord.

Doing the step thru method that Van does well just doesn't work well for me with highly stressed, heavily backset recurves or longbows which are heavy and long.
I have one recurve I built which is so highly stressed at brace height that even with a tip to tip stringer, I need an assistant to slip the string into the string grooves as I bend and control the bow up to brace height.
3Rivers archery sells some good bow stringers..Pick one designed for the bow style and tips you have and use it properly.
NO ONE should be close in when you are stringing or unstringing a heavy bow..
Anything goes wrong and the bow gets away from you and the recoiling limbs can rip an eye out in a heartbeat..and that has happened..Jim

I get my stringers as well as my armguards, tabs, quivers and stringkeepers from Jack Bowers, he makes em out of latigo leather you supply the parachute cord, he has some very nice leather products, he also makes "Mountain Banjos" a little 3' instrument with only 3 strings. He sells as many of those at rondy's as he does quivers. If anyone wants to inquire about his products give him a call 360-623-0036...PR