# New to recurves- how long can I leave my bow strung?



## ghostgoblin22

yeah i had a gamemaster, i shot it every other day and left it strung and never had one problem, you should be fine


----------



## centershot

My Dorado has been strung for over a year now - only time I unstring it is to transport or adjust the brace height. I believe this to be true of modern laminated limbs. On a selfbow you would want to make sure and unstring in when not in use.


----------



## Captainkirk

Depends on who you ask.
Personally, I unstring every time I shoot. With the Selway stringer there's no reason not to. Most new bows can be left strung for extended periods of time, but a strung bow is like a loaded gun, waiting for someone to pick it up and dry-fire it. And that will be the end of that.
Why risk it? Unstring and be sure.


----------



## Easykeeper

I've got four bows on my wall that haven't been unstrung in at least a year, a couple of them longer significantly longer than than. If I shoot it somewhat regularly I leave it strung, if I know I won't be shooting it for a while I unstring it. With a modern laminated recurve or longbow I've been told by several bowyers that there is no mechanical reason to unstring them, just don't stand them strung on the tip in a corner. 

With a stringer it's not hard to unstring if you want to, do whatever you feel comfortable with. I don't have any kids in the house and want to be able to grab my bow and shoot, not mess with a stringer.


----------



## steve morley

My wife has had her Border Longbow strung for most of it's time, around 8 years, only takes it down when flying to International tourneys, hasn't lost any speed since it was new.

I keep my main shooting bow strung as I shoot 3-6 days a week depending on the time of year, the rest of my bows I normally keep unstrung on my bow rack or in bow case.


----------



## andrewlube

Awesome, thanks for the tips guys. I do have a bowstringer, but I am pretty uncomfortable with it so far. Need to watch some youtube videos on it I guess.

Thanks again!


----------



## martha j

if it's a glass lam recurve it won't hurt it a bit to leave it strung as long as others leave it alone.


----------



## Beendare

Yeah, rarely unstring my bows with laminated limbs- carbon or glass......I wouldn't do that with a all wood bow though especially one carved out of one piece of osage, hickory or similar...those will get string follow. I know the old BW bows with all laminated wood limbs no glass will loose # over time if you keep them strung.


----------



## ghostgoblin22

yeah i have a hickory custom made bow i have, i shoot it for kicks and giggles, but anyways the first week i was shooting it i would leave it strung, well about a week after i bought it it litterally blew up in my hands, i was shocked and shaking at the hands and knees trying to figure out what happened, the seller made me another one at no charge thankfully and i keep it unstrung now and havnt had a problem since


----------



## Stone Bridge

I have seen one bad thing related to keeping a wood-riser recurve strung for years in warm conditions. That is, risers warping under the constant pressure. In every case the riser "hinged", bent toward the window cutout. Picture a view from the back of the bow. Now visualize the limbs tilting slightly left (assuming right-hand bow)

These recurves I saw bent this way had all been left strung for many years in a Miami home. They were owned by an elderly friend of mine who passed away. I helped clean out his house and noticed all 5 or 6 wooden recurves he had were bent at the riser just like I described above. Nock an arrow on the string, and the shaft, when up against the strike plate, was way past centercut. This the result of the limb tips moving to the left. 

The poundage, or draw pull seemed okay without my actually weighing them. I didn't think they felt soft. But the obvious damage to the riser wall above the shelf was very obvious. Bows were all around 50-55 pounds and I recall models from Bear, Herter's, and Browning. All solid brands. Bows were made in the 1960s I'd guess. I observed this distortion about 1992. I have no idea how long the bows had been strung but I'd guess for many years - like 5 or 6 at least, maybe a lot longer.

After seeing those bows bent like that, I'd never leave any recurve or longbow strung when not shooting it.


----------



## JParanee

I leave my bows strung here and there but only for a few days 

for storage and transportation I unstring them 

Heat is you enemy so I would not leave a bow strung in a photo car or similar situation


----------



## Viper1

andrew -

I have about 100 bows in my collection. Some are from the 1960's, some are quite current. Unless being used, they are all unstrung.
While modern laminated bows can remain strung for decades without harm or loss of weight, (see caveat above about heat and add temp changes) it's a spring under tension, and IMHO an accident waiting to happen. 

If you don't have kids, friends, pets (or mice) around, probably perfectly safe. Still I don't take chances. 

I know there are, or were, some people here who had no problems leaving loaded guns around the house, while not exactly the same, I tend to give both a certain amount of respect. 

If you're not comfortable using a stringer, learning that might be your first priority.
I prefer the double pocket type over the friction block type, but that's a personal call.

Viper1 out.


----------



## BarneySlayer

andrewlube said:


> Hi,
> 
> I recently picked up a Hoyt GM2. I have had the bow about 2-3 weeks and I shoot the bow everyday. If I was to shoot it everyday/ or a few times a week, is it ok to leave strung?


Take the bow's brace height. Subtract 5. Multiply that by 5238. Divide by the draw weight, in Newtons, Multiply by 9.8 m/s/s, divide by the arrow's average mass, multiplied by the Mass of Mars, in units of Earth mass. Assuming you're talking about bows that use Fiberglass for energy, that's your Strung Hung Safety Coefficient, or Shsc. If you're talking carbon fiber, multiply that by the square root of two, if calculations are done from Titan.

Take that number, and give it to the manufacturer, along with the model and serial number, and given that, they can tell you how stringing for given periods applies to warranty, and under what shooting conditions.

If you apply that number to the function of real world use, you'll find your answer.

Me, I leave it strung if I shoot it a lot, but if you've got people likely to grab your bow and do things without asking (which is more likely that you'd realize), I'd suggest not.


----------



## steve morley

BarneySlayer said:


> Me, I leave it strung if I shoot it a lot, but if you've got people likely to grab your bow and do things without asking (which is more likely that you'd realize), I'd suggest not.


I have a locked bowshop so I don't keep them in the house for anybody to mess with them. If you have kids in the house then it' best kept in a bow case, even if your own kids respect your property you don't know what goes on when they bring their pals home from School.

Our Club bows were in our Sauna house because it had rained the day before and all the equipment was drying out, I came home on a Sunday night 1am to find Katrin's teenage Son had decided to have a Sauna party without asking, his so called friends had got hold of the bows and shot arrows into the plaster walls of the Sauna and into the night sky (thank god the nearest house to us is over a mile away), around a 100 arrows vanished and I'm amazed that nobody was injured, this is why I keep my $2000 ILF setup locked in the shop and not in the house, I don't trust this Teenager as far as I can spit.


----------



## Stone Bridge

Steve, I take it the kid is not interested or involved in archery with you and his mother? If not I find that odd. Have never met a teenage boy not interested in bows and arrows. Of course the kid might be actively shooting with you two and still be a dingleberry. It happens.


----------



## steve morley

He shoots because Katrin asks him (keeps him out of trouble some of the time), problem is he is very self absorbed and just don't care about peoples feelings or property. This Summer he was standing in middle of Hay field smoking, I shouted don't smoke in Hay Field if it goes up in flames we will lose everything, Event area, Sauna/Conference building etc, 15min later when I came back he had lit up again. lain:


----------



## Joe Hohmann

andrewlube said:


> Hi,
> 
> I recently picked up a Hoyt GM2. I have had the bow about 2-3 weeks and I shoot the bow everyday. If I was to shoot it everyday/ or a few times a week, is it ok to leave strung?


How do you like the bow? I "won" a Hoyt GM5 on eBay, due to arrive mid-week. Do you own other bows as well?


----------



## Azzurri

Stone Bridge said:


> I have seen one bad thing related to keeping a wood-riser recurve strung for years in warm conditions. That is, risers warping under the constant pressure. In every case the riser "hinged", bent toward the window cutout. Picture a view from the back of the bow. Now visualize the limbs tilting slightly left (assuming right-hand bow)
> 
> These recurves I saw bent this way had all been left strung for many years in a Miami home. They were owned by an elderly friend of mine who passed away. I helped clean out his house and noticed all 5 or 6 wooden recurves he had were bent at the riser just like I described above. Nock an arrow on the string, and the shaft, when up against the strike plate, was way past centercut. This the result of the limb tips moving to the left.
> 
> The poundage, or draw pull seemed okay without my actually weighing them. I didn't think they felt soft. But the obvious damage to the riser wall above the shelf was very obvious. Bows were all around 50-55 pounds and I recall models from Bear, Herter's, and Browning. All solid brands. Bows were made in the 1960s I'd guess. I observed this distortion about 1992. I have no idea how long the bows had been strung but I'd guess for many years - like 5 or 6 at least, maybe a lot longer.
> 
> After seeing those bows bent like that, I'd never leave any recurve or longbow strung when not shooting it.


Physics matter I would think if the setup wasn't perfectly balanced it would over time twist in the direction of the imbalance under the pressure of the string.

That being said, my approach is practical, I unstring the olympic routinely because it won't fit in my car otherwise. I generally leave the trad bow strung but unstring it for long distance transport (it will fit in my car, but has to come apart for planes, and I take it apart for long car trips).

I probably should keep all unstrung based on my physics sense but I like the idea of having one strung, I use it for training exercises.


----------



## BarneySlayer

steve morley said:


> Our Club bows were in our Sauna house because it had rained the day before and all the equipment was drying out, I came home on a Sunday night 1am to find Katrin's teenage Son had decided to have a Sauna party without asking, his so called friends had got hold of the bows and shot arrows into the plaster walls of the Sauna and into the night sky (thank god the nearest house to us is over a mile away), around a 100 arrows vanished and I'm amazed that nobody was injured, this is why I keep my $2000 ILF setup locked in the shop and not in the house, I don't trust this Teenager as far as I can spit.


Holy crap. If my kids did that, not only would I be shocked, they'd be working chores at below minimum wage until they paid for whatever they lost or damaged, after they've done enough pushups and wall sits for their arms and legs to fall off. I have to think back and remember that I did lots of stupid stuff as a teenager, but I'd certainly say you're justified in offering major correction therapy. Good luck.


----------



## BarneySlayer

Azzurri said:


> Physics matter I would think if the setup wasn't perfectly balanced it would over time twist in the direction of the imbalance under the pressure of the string.


A non-symmetrical riser, which is most of them, is inherently structurally imbalanced. If the material can be shifted over time.... Perhaps it was related to heat and humidity, though we'd like to believe that the things are sealed pretty well. 

It's a good point I never thought about before


----------



## Stone Bridge

Barney, I have no doubt the bows I saw warped were helped along by our Florida heat and humidity. I would never worry about an alloy riser. Man above mentioned any structure out of alignment, even slightly, and under pressure will eventually move toward the weak side. That's what I observed in the wood risers. Limbs can do this too. Even if attached to a metal ILF riser. Any slight twist in the limb tip will have the string slightly off center. Over time it will cause a limb to twist more and more. May not happen every time, and some materials are more resistant than others - like carbon laminates vs. wood. But I still would not leave any non-compound strung for any long period of time. It's just too easy to unstring them. Takes me about 20 seconds. And I'm lazy, yet I do this every time.


----------



## aread

Through a series of unlikely events, I left a '72 Pearson Predator strung in a closet for over 15 years. After a new string, it had lost no draw weight. I still shoot it for hunting. And I still leave it strung. Just now it gets a bit more use than being lost in a closet. 
Allen


----------



## andrewlube

Joe Hohmann said:


> How do you like the bow? I "won" a Hoyt GM5 on eBay, due to arrive mid-week. Do you own other bows as well?


The bow is amazing. I got the short 50lb limbs, at my draw I am pulling 55lbs all real tree camo. The guy I bought it off of took great care of it, it was actually off this site. I haven't changed anything but the string and beaver balls on the bow. You will need to add some felt underneath the tips of the bow to help reduce noise. Also, I have been shooting off the shelf, even though you could put a rest on it. I am a compound shooter (main bow 73lb 29in BT Assassin), so the weight is awesome. As well as the price for accessories for the bow. The string, beaver balls, finger tab, and three arrows cost me 35 bucks. I am really pleased with the bow. Actually, it revamped my passion for archery and target practice. I actually haven't touched my compound in about a week.

As to the rest of you guys, thanks again. I live with my roommate, but she doesn't go into the garage(afraid of spiders). I successfully unstrung the bow with no hiccups. It was just an awkward motion for me, but figured it out. Although, leaving it strung is convenient I will try to keep it unstrung for a bit to relieve stress. I do in fact have an engineering degree as well as common sense. So I understand keeping it strung could compromise the integrity of the risers.

Again, thanks to everyone for the info.


----------



## Gregjlongbow

I did that equation. 42.


----------



## Joe Hohmann

If I plan on shooting next day, I leave it strung. However, I make sure it is unstrung if anyone is visiting. If someone tries to "shoot" it without an arrow, the bow could be damaged as well as the person. BTW, I do not have pets.


----------

