# Do bows "wear out"?



## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

compounds do...all i got. :laugh:


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## 187 BOWHUNTER (Feb 13, 2011)

Jinkster.....lol


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

drew -

I've have a few bows fail due to design flaws or abuse (usually heat exposure), but haven't just worn one out yet.

Viper1 out.


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## drewsumrell (Dec 4, 2011)

Viper1 said:


> drew -
> 
> I've have a few bows fail due to design flaws or abuse (usually heat exposure), but haven't just worn one out yet.
> 
> Viper1 out.


Thanks Viper1. Yeah, I had a recurve limb shatter with me once. Never did figure out why unless it was a manufacturing defect. I've been wondering if a good recurve or longbow limb will suffer after thousands of shots due to material fatigue.......sorta like what can happen with metal fatigue. Will a bow loose poundage after years of use? Just curious.


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

drew -

A lot of us do, or used to shoot 1,000 arrows / week. That's also why metal limbed bows were abandoned fairly quickly in the 1950's. 

Most bows should not lose draw weight due to just normal or even excessive use, although I have heard of reported cases, where a pound or two were lost after decades. (Understand the meaning of the term "reported".) 

When a bow is seen to loose draw weight, it usually, for me anyway, sends up a red flag that something bad is going to happen. 

Viper1 out.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

I have bows here that are way over 30 years old and my kids are shooting them better than I did


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## hunter terrior (May 15, 2008)

I would think with replacement of wear items (strings etc) and proper maintenance of attachment areas (Limb bolts, cam axles) a bow would outlast the shooter.


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## thorwulfx (Sep 26, 2011)

I've got a bow that's 37-38 years old, and it shoots so well I can't help but smile every time I take it out. I'm sure that there's a time scale where the materials will degrade, but I couldn't say what that might be with a laminated bow. In the same way, it's possible there's only so many shots in a bow before the stresses add up and begin to destroy it. Given a high quality bow being used by one archer, though, it might be tough to put that kind of mileage on the bow. 

When you think of it, it gets into something that an Eastern philosopher might ask: "How many times does the wind bend the tree limb before it snaps?"

Cheers,

Patrick


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## WillAdams (Jun 6, 2009)

Trees aren't made of fiberglass, and a properly designed bow isn't bending fiberglass anywhere near its limits --- barring catastrophic failure or manufacturing defect as noted by Viper1 and hunter terrior, they should last essentially forever.


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## voodoofire1 (Jan 24, 2006)

Woooo...I see no one has mentioned the very elusive, still shootable, old selfbow, selfbows seem to wear out.....


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## jack mac (Feb 8, 2011)

I tell my wife that bows wear out, some quicker than others. My current bow is just plane shot out and I need a new one as this 2010 has no pop left. Thats my story and I am sticking to it!


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## rickstix (Nov 11, 2009)

I shoot 50 year old glass laminated bows a lot and they perform just as they did when they were new. Actually...I’m the one that's showing signs of “wearing out”. Enjoy, Rick.


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## WillAdams (Jun 6, 2009)

voodoofire1, yeah, I thought about mentioning that, but given the OP's mention of ``limb delamination'' it seemed pretty obvious that he was referring to bows w// fiberglass laminations.


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## voodoofire1 (Jan 24, 2006)

Well, there are all wood lam bows too, and I view them the same way I view selfbows.. They wear out too ,just takes a bit longer to do, it..Glass bows have shown they can do quite good in standing the test of time so far, but I would love to look 200-300 years into the future and see if any of the bows built today are still viable.....and how the shooters then view the builders of our time..


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## feathermax ed (Jun 29, 2010)

i shoot a 46 yr old bear grizzly


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## rembrandt (Jan 17, 2004)

I'm doing my best to wear out the SAGE but so far it is holding up well. I would like to give it some rest tho. If I get the limbs for the Excel, I will give the SAGE a rest for awhile!


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## spinsheet (Oct 30, 2011)

I don't know about the bow wearing out, but this archer sure does...


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## BOHO (Aug 7, 2004)

as long as its taken care of, I would bet a bow would last at least 75 years. (laminated) like viper said, heat is the worst thing for em and would take time off the life of the bow, substantially if exposed repeatedly. makes it tough for us folks in the south. its hot as blue blazes 2/3 of the year down here


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## BowmanJay (Jan 1, 2007)

I absolutley think that laminated and even staves have a limited number of cycles. What those are who knows really? Ambient heat should not be an issue, the excessive heat in a car and storage would be the environments I try to avoid as much as possible. I shoot over 10000 shots a year typically and I havent had any issues on my older bows.


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## RecurvesOnly (May 23, 2011)

I'm not an expert. My bows are three future wood Bears from the 70's. There is just something about them to me that feels like they're going to last forever.


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## HonkAddict (Oct 18, 2011)

My longbow is about 30 years old and still going strong! 

Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk


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## Ryddragyn (Jan 28, 2012)

I have noticed some self-bows take increased set as time and use goes by. But it sort of depends on the wood. My dad made a Sudbury bow out of mulberry that has taken zero set after almost 20 years. 

Other than that, I think it depends on environment and storage conditions. The most famous example of a bow possibly deteriorating during storage is from the Odyssey, where Odysseus inspects his composite bow for signs of decay:

"Thereafter he came and sat down on the seat from which he had risen, and gazed upon Odysseus; now he was already handling the bow, turning it round and round, and trying it this way and that, lest worms might have eaten the horns"

Edit: I'd have to add that I know, from unfortunate personal experience, that compounds are immensely more fragile than traditional bows. In terms of the ratio of robust, reliable performance to time/money/effort in making, the ratio is embarassingly favorable to the trad bow.


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## drewsumrell (Dec 4, 2011)

I've read a number of comments where people say it's OK to leave a bow strung all the time. Sure seems to me that that would weaken the limbs over time.......whether wood, fiberglass, carbon.....whatever. Maybe some mechanical engineer could comment on the effect on materials being under constant tension or compression.


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