# Can temperature affect recurve limbs?



## Dado (Aug 1, 2004)

A shooter from my club says he felt his limbs "softened" a bit, and he had to lower his sight at a 2x70m tournament last weekend.
At our range we practice below a shade and there's forest like 10 yards aside the range, so it is always cool and bearable during summer...
Could a very different tournament setting (twice as hot than practice) really do what he says he felt?


----------



## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

yes, this was rather common a couple decades ago.

I have had some high quality limbs lose yardage in a very hot day


----------



## Dado (Aug 1, 2004)

good to know, thanks!


----------



## Landed in AZ (May 11, 2008)

Dado said:


> A shooter from my club says he felt his limbs "softened" a bit, and he had to lower his sight at a 2x70m tournament last weekend.
> At our range we practice below a shade and there's forest like 10 yards aside the range, so it is always cool and bearable during summer...
> Could a very different tournament setting (twice as hot than practice) really do what he says he felt?


Kiley's first year shooting we had no idea that temp could affect limbs. We went to shoot indoor Nationals and it was 75 degrees outside where we set up her bow and it was 52 degrees inside where she shot. 

We chased sight marks all night long and could not figure out what was going on. When I took down her bow, I noticed the brace height had changed considerably. This was the limbs due to the temp because the next day the brace height was way too high so I had to let out twists in the string. I kept an eye on it and we were able to maintain the sight marks and scores that day. It cost her the National Championship as she lost by just a few points that year.


----------



## Sighting In (Feb 5, 2009)

So do you think this could be a factor with a compound bow?


----------



## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

Landed in AZ said:


> Kiley's first year shooting we had no idea that temp could affect limbs. We went to shoot indoor Nationals and it was 75 degrees outside where we set up her bow and it was 52 degrees inside where she shot.
> 
> We chased sight marks all night long and could not figure out what was going on. When I took down her bow, I noticed the brace height had changed considerably. So the next day, I kept an eye on it and we were able to maintain the day. It cost her the National Championship as she lost by just a few points that year.


heat can play hell with some strings as well-the changing brace height suggests it was the string involved with your daughter.

I used to keep track of sight marks and the temperature years ago. I don't have time for that now nor can I recall the exact differences


----------



## Landed in AZ (May 11, 2008)

Jim C said:


> heat can play hell with some strings as well-the changing brace height suggests it was the string involved with your daughter.
> 
> I used to keep track of sight marks and the temperature years ago. I don't have time for that now nor can I recall the exact differences


It wasn't the string or it would have stayed that way. It was clearly the limbs. We have not shot wood core since then.


----------



## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

Landed in AZ said:


> It wasn't the string or it would have stayed that way. It was clearly the limbs. We have not shot wood core since then.


Interesting. I never had much problem with Earl-made Sky limbs. I thought I was having some with my new F3's last week in 90 degree weather but the way I have been shooting I cannot say for sure


----------



## ScarletArrows (May 25, 2007)

Sighting In--Most likey not...compound limbs being carbon fiber and fiber glass would usually not be effected in normal temperature ranges. Strings on the other hand can be affected. Usually high temps can cause cables to stretch and throw off cam timing. 

In extreme temps you can cause the laminations of limbs of any type (recurve or compound) to come undone...which is why you don't leave your bow in your car during the summer.


----------



## VinZ (Apr 30, 2007)

I have seen a cheap black KAP suprise bow that stood out in the sun for a couple of hours. It was really bend out of shape. (for those that don't know: this bow is made of plastic). I would say temperature was/is a factor. 
Wooden limbs seem to have more sensitive than foam limbs. I have shot (cheap) wooden limbs in the rain and noticed a (big) drop in performance. I haven't noticed a drop in performance when it was hot - but I had more trouble with the heat then my bow.


----------



## Big.Dave (Dec 13, 2009)

Are you sure its the limbs!! it just might be the conditions you are shooting in that affect your sight marks. Air density changes and there are archery equipment makers out there who have tested what happens to bows with extremes temp changes an found little or no change in wood or foam limbs some say the syntactic foam maybe more temp sensitive because of how the foam cores are made. The are also limb makers out there that have hyperflex core limbs that are specificly used because of its temp stability and light weight.

As for plastic training bow limbs keep em out of the sun.


----------



## LongStick64 (Aug 29, 2009)

I've been shooting Samick Universal Wood/Carbon all day outside today, Hazy Hot and Humid, No brace height changes at all. Using Brownell Astro Flight String. Great string, no creep at all and the shot feels soft as they claim.


----------



## Vidachi (Jan 13, 2010)

In my shooting and education I haven't heard about limbs changing much due to heat. I would imagine that it would contribute to warping, but I don't know about changing sight marks. I have heard about and seen strings change drastically due to heat. The string will lengthen on a hot day and that will make the brace height shorten. The string is only lengthening because of the heat, but it is not stretching. This means that when the bow is back at the same temperature that it was tuned, the string will shorten and the brace height will be accurate again. The only real way to catch this is to check and correct the brace height during the shoot. 

Compound bows have this same problem. Single cam bows are more extreme in their change because the string is so much longer to go around the wheel. Some strings are much more resistant than others to this process, but I have not researched which materials are best.


----------



## newyorkarcher (May 26, 2008)

well from one that shot 30 yrs ago when we shot in hot weather we always tried to keep our bows out of the sun when we could.we also moved our marks lower after lunch.after doing this for awhile you could figure out where to put the sight.its hard to break habits so i still do it now.
Phil


----------



## Duss (May 23, 2006)

When I started shooting outdoors in 2006, I was using an old Black Widow bow. It was very efficient, but all its settings were changing depending on the temperature. More so because the riser is all metal and because of the hand temperature. 
When it was very hot or very cold I foud that by coming back quickly from the targets after scoring and putting my hand back on the grip immediately I could save a lot of points.


----------

