# Ever dry fire a bow and get away with it?



## hauntedbyelk

I was at a pro shop today having a bow checked out that I accidently dry fired. I had it checked out by experienced bow technicians at two different shops and the bow appears to be completely undamaged and is still shooting great. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it for awhile. One pro shop owner said they have a least 20 dry fires a year in their shop and maybe 3 to 5 of these bows end up being damaged. I'm curious about the experiences of others. What bow did you dry fire and what was the result?


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## X-SHOOTER

No!


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## John D 194

ya this summer at a 3d shoot.i was learning to shoot a thumb release and got so caught up in using back tension and proper form that i forgot to nock an arrow.boy the release felt good too except for the sound of the dry fire.had no damage to the bow and finished the shoot.


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## Archerynut008

Sad to say i've dry fired a few. Man i'm bad at that. Never again though. I dry fired a Hoyt in a scheels, did it to my Reflex Grizzly, and half ways did it to my Vectrix. The string was about half way let down before it slipped. All 3 times never had any problems thank God. Maybe bad things could have happened had they been a different brand.


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## RH6898

If you shoot archery long enough it can happen to anyone, just not me. (lol)


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## ericjames

a few years ago i got caught up in the same thing with a back tension and did it not once but twice the same day and got away with it, i have since been lucky enough not to do it . the bow was a ross cardiac 31 on 60# i still shoot it 50-75 arrows everyday out of her


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## HCA Iron Mace

John D 194 said:


> ya this summer at a 3d shoot.i was learning to shoot a thumb release and got so caught up in using back tension and proper form that i forgot to nock an arrow.boy the release felt good too except for the sound of the dry fire.had no damage to the bow and finished the shoot.


Same here, Set the sight hooked the string couple of deep breaths eyed the 12 drawed settled the pin on the 12 ring let out half my breath pin on target and pulled into my release and bam!!! The bad thing is that my follow through was priceless. My mathews xl did not hold up, new limbs and cams and it came back to life


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## Neuralgia

twice.

both on diamond bows.

Took bow apart, checked axles, cams, limbs.

Everything was perfect... except for my self steem.

I'm an idiot.


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## Okie918

Dry fired a Bear Element and it took it like a champ. :beer:


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## TecHunter Elite

I did it when I first started shooting I think I was 12yr old. It was a pse nova bow was fine.


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## driller86

The first shot out of my ross cr331 was a dry fire I'm sorry to say but it was fine.


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## wicked1Joe

The only one I did it to was a Reflex Growler...just popped the string off...no damage to anything else.


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## juststartin08

my kid started shooting this spring, and has already had a dry fire. PSE chaos. everything was fine still shooting great.


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## BigRacks

my dad was target shooting with his switchback and had his blow up in full draw. arrow was knocked..... he still does not know what happended. both limbs and string was toast! did not get hurt


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## Hoythunter01

I hear they sound like shotguns going off.


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## automan26

I have dry fired at lest 3 of my former bows and never had a problem. Several months ago I dry fired my 82nd Airborne and really screwed things up. The limbs took it, but I turned my top cam into a pretzel and ruined the string and one cable.

Automan


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## djkillaz

hauntedbyelk said:


> I was at a pro shop today having a bow checked out that I accidently dry fired. I had it checked out by experienced bow technicians at two different shops and the bow appears to be completely undamaged and is still shooting great. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it for awhile. One pro shop owner said they have a least 20 dry fires a year in their shop and maybe 3 to 5 of these bows end up being damaged. I'm curious about the experiences of others. What bow did you dry fire and what was the result?


not me personally but seen a 2005 Browning Illusion dry fired at 70#'s and bothing happened to it. Checked out fine. Guessing the supressors they used to use like the Mathews style saved the bow!


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## Bird Levron

i dry fired an 07 pearson z34 and had it checked from three pro shops lol thats right three bowshop in gulfport, kens bayou in slidell and louisiana outdoors in pearl river(a matthews dealer) and all said bow was perfect, and trust me it sounded nasty


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## wis_archer

Twice on the same bow.


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## onebadmutt

Did it on my bear instinct,scared the crap out of me,could have swore I knocked a arrow.Everything was fine, the string chubs went sailing but everything was good.


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## Wil

yes, i owned a bear instinct once. it was set at about 70 pounds and i was looking at it at my house. i pulled i to full draw with my fingers and my dad, who is a practical joker thought it would be funny to come up behind me, yell and poke me in the side. I dry fired the bow. took it to the pro shop and it was fine. the guy told me that i probably just took any streach out of the string, which he said was actually a good thing.


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## solancodad

*Mission Menace*

My son started shooting this year. Has dry fired his Mission Menace *THREE* times at 3D shoots, twice in one day!:mg: All three times, forgot to nock an arrow. First time, no damage at all. Second and third times, strings and cables came undone. Simple trip to the shop to have the strings put back on, no real damage. Hope there's not a fourth.


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## sstone82

I have never dry fired a bow and don't ever plan on it. but i know acidents happen. A buddy of mine was shooting and his release blew apart half way through the draw holy crap that made a sound i will never forget.:mg:


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## waterwolves

My Bear Instinct has been dry fired twice:mg:, with no ill effects.


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## deer16pt

Dry fired a Hoyt at a 3D shoot. I was so involved in judging the yardage on this really long target I never knocked an arrow. Felt like a fool when I heard the loud noise.. The other 2 guys in my squad never noticed I didn't nock an arrow either. We checked the bow and I couldn't beleive it but it was fine. Finished the shoot and took 3rd.

Great memory.


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## bowhuntrrl

Back when I was shooting Bowtechs, I had an Extreme VFT. A friend was holding it when he drew it back and the string "slipped" from his fingers. He bought it on the spot !!! He's still shooting it with no apparent problems. That bow was probably one of my favorite bows of all time.


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## Babooze

Dry fired a Martin Phantom back in 98 or 99. Only one I did and absolutly nothing happed to the bow it self. My heart though sank to around my ankles. LOL


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## STUDENT-ARCHER

kinda like not setting your sights and shooting 20 yards for 80, if ya shoot long enough, you're gonna mess up. Yes, I've dryfired, and may again...been lucky so far and not split limbs or snapped string/cable.


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## Sagittarius

I would have the axles pulled and checked no matter how good everything else looks.


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## ronmac13

i havent, but a set my bow down for a second to go gewt a sight to put on, taking it out of the packaging then i hear aloud noise, my cousin pulled it back but couldnt let it down. It was a matthews sq2


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## hauntedbyelk

*Dry fire? It could never happen to me!*

At least that's what I thought until it happened. Was focused intently on a long range target at unknown range. Was mentally going through my pre-shot sequence and my buddy started talking to me in a low voice. I was so focused I tuned him out thinking it was a little rude to keep talking in the middle of my shot. Selected the right pin, confirmed my anchor,checked my level, checked peep alignment, zeroed in and started a slow squeeze. Then all hell broke loose. Sounded like a .22 rifle going off in my ear. After a second or two I had that horrid realization of what just happend. I fully expected my bow to be in peices and was afraid to look. Turns out my friends last words were, "it might work better if you had an arrow" Fortunately my bow was just fine. It was set at 65 lbs (vs 70) and I think the suppresors on both limbs andthe Norway String Tamer may have helped save the bow.


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## Montana Rawhide

I see more and more shops putting plastic zip ties or something of that sort on the bows from the riser to the string or at least on the bow in some fashion so that they can not be drawn in the 1st place.


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## sawtoothscream

dry fired my old youth bow years ago and nothing happened.

i fired, it fell down the stairs than i picked it up and started shooting. now year and years later its still doing good


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## bownarra

It would be interesting to see some statistics on this. 

I would imagine a slower bow is more likely to survive undamaged than a very fast bow. More efficient bows (higher IBO) transfer more energy to the arrow, less is 'wasted' within the bow itself, so in a dry-fire situation there's proportionally more energy available to bust things.

Also if you took a bow with 70# limbs maxed out and the same model with 60# limbs turned out to 50# and dry-fired both I'm sure there'd be a difference in damage sustained.


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## powerpoint9

Yes....but set at a low poundage!!!!!!


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## completepassthru

I had a customer dry fire an 82nd Airborne that was not his. It really does sound like a .22 rifle going off. It also gives you a sick feeling in your gut. The limbs were fine and the cams appear to be fine. It did pop the string off track and cut the serving. The guy bought it and has already killed an 8pt., 10pt., and a doe with it this year.


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## SlingingArrows

Never have had a dry fire, but I was under the impression that it would almost always be disasterous. I guess more people get away with it than I thought. Still don't plan on trying it, but good to know there is a chance in case it happens.


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## Jake_526

Ive had my bows dry fired and have seen plenty of em dry fired of all kinds. Ive seen only 4 uundamaged out of about 30.


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## hauntedbyelk

*Lots of Dry Fire Surviors Here...*

I was also under the impression that 99% of all bows would instantly self- destruct up being dry fired. It seems that that isn't the case. Lots of dry fire survivors here. Hopefully this was a one time experience.


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## Wil

Montana Rawhide said:


> I see more and more shops putting plastic zip ties or something of that sort on the bows from the riser to the string or at least on the bow in some fashion so that they can not be drawn in the 1st place.


one of the shops near my house crank every bow down to its lowest poundage when they come in, this is to reduce the chances of someone dry firing one of the bows


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## Wil

hauntedbyelk said:


> I was also under the impression that 99% of all bows would instantly self- destruct up being dry fired. It seems that that isn't the case. Lots of dry fire survivors here. Hopefully this was a one time experience.


i have a friend that was fairly new to archery. he went into a store and was looking at an 82nd that was set around 70#. he was at full draw and was slowly letting up on the string to see how the let off felt. one of our friends started talking to him and WAM!!! dry fired it right in the middle of the shop. i couldn't believe he did it and i walked out of the store. the shop owner wasn't upset and told him that it happens sometimes. i thought he was going to have to buy the bow. the bow looked fine though


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## Bird Levron

The alphamax had been tested and dry fired 1500 times before it was no good


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## Robert NLa

Wil said:


> i have a friend that was fairly new to archery. he went into a store and was looking at an 82nd that was set around 70#. he was at full draw and was slowly letting up on the string to see how the let off felt. one of our friends started talking to him and WAM!!! dry fired it right in the middle of the shop. i couldn't believe he did it and i walked out of the store. the shop owner wasn't upset and told him that it happens sometimes. i thought he was going to have to buy the bow. the bow looked fine though



I was in a bow shop with one of my best friends, and he did the exact same thing. Same outcome too. I wanted to slither under some shelving, or something, just because I was standing beside him when it happened.:mg:


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## Christop73

Yep dry fired my Martin bengal TWICE!!! Still shoots fine tho!!


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## teamNFB21

My dad dry fired my 2 week old pse bow madness xs string poped off and frayed a little everything else looked fine sounded like a muzzleloader with the cap just igniting and not the powder.:mg:


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## tarleet

No never has happen to me. but my cousin tried to. Just like everyone else who picks up a bow and trys to dry fire it. They though i wouldnt know. Kinds of hard when your string dampers are broken in half, peep sight comes out, and string falls off the idler wheel. stupids ass who never follow instructions. last time they get to play with any of my toys....


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## asa1485

hauntedbyelk said:


> I was at a pro shop today having a bow checked out that I accidently dry fired. I had it checked out by experienced bow technicians at two different shops and the bow appears to be completely undamaged and is still shooting great. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it for awhile. One pro shop owner said they have a least 20 dry fires a year in their shop and maybe 3 to 5 of these bows end up being damaged. I'm curious about the experiences of others. What bow did you dry fire and what was the result?


Never dry fired one though but have seen and heard many. Most of the ones that survive hae a string stop on them.


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## Barlow

Dry fired a Drenalin. The string blew but everything else checked out. Shot the bow for another year without any issues.


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## hauntedbyelk

*Any more dry fire stories that ended well?*

To the top


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## johnson21

My dad dry fired my new firehawk right out of the box but it ended up being fine. I talked to the main Martin tech at the shop and he told me he has seen at least 5 martind dry fired since january at the shop and the only one that was hurt was a non pro series saber. the others were firecats and they help up great with no problems.

I dry fired my old xforce and it was also fine. it was only a 1/4 dry fire but non the less I did it.


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## widebear II

*Yep!!*

Admiral and it checked out OK and doing fine.


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## ACfixer

In a word, yes.
:iamwithstupid:


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## eagledriver22

No,and hope i never do.


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## dixiedeerslaya

i know its not quite the same, but i have try fired my browning barracuda(bowfishing bow) atleast 5 times over the last two years.... its only a 40lb bow, with zero let off cams, but still im surprised that it took that much abuse... i have replaced the string once... i guess im lucky...


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## MikeK

I read somewhere that whenever Hoyt introduces a new model it is stress-tested by dry-firing 1,500 times on a Hooter-Shooter. 

I don't know if that is true, exaggerated, or false. But if anyone knows for sure I would appreciate hearing about it.


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## Southpawarcher

I dry fired a Pearson 38 Special set at 68# with no damage.

I was in a bow shop once with a buddy years ago and he dry fired a new Golden Eagle.It tore all kinds of stuff up on that thing.


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## john5mt

Well 
I just dryfired my bowtech air raid and couple of days ago :embara:. String stayed on the cams. It had the 65# limbs turned down to 55 so with that and the string stop and stabilizer I guess i may have gotten away lucky or the new/old split yoke system may have helped too? I dunno....just counting my lucky stars.


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## hauntedbyelk

*Glad you didn't take any damage*

Not a good feeling when that happens!


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## HuntWhenever

Dry fired my old Browning Fusion II a couple of times when I first started bow hunting. Sounded like a pistol going off in the house. It sucked! Bow was fine, though. Hunted with that bow for three years after that.


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## BarneySlayer

Hoythunter01 said:


> I hear they sound like shotguns going off.


YES THEY DO!

Great for getting the attention of everybody else on the line too 

Did it in a shooting class. 2008 Martin Firecat. Forgot the arrow, cracked the limb. Still shot fine, but I decided it was safer to move to my recurve for the day.

Just recently, I was being an idiot, holding the bow at full draw, both arms straight out, looking at the timing by viewing the cams in the bathroom mirror, no arrow nocked, because of course I was planning on just holding tight and keeping it in the valley...

I got so wrapped up in examining the cam rotation in the mirror, I got kind of distracted, and....

It's in the shop.... ukey:


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## 1955

Yup, dry fired my brand new that day Maxxis 35...forgot to nock an arrow. Someone had just hit my new truck in a parking lot and I guess I was distracted.

Didn't do a thing to the bow, but I only shot it a few more times and went home.


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## Usingmyrights

Dry fired mine yesterday. Taking it to a shop today for them to give it the once over. The string looks pretty frayed now, but I was planning on changing it anyway


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## fxdwgkd

Did it last year. Hooked up, drew back and settled on the vitals (3d). I was really trying to concentrate on my follow-thru. Put my finger on the trigger and squeezed. I about crapped my pants when I realized what I had done. Took the bow inside looked it over and it looked good. Went back out and finished my shooting session. Fealt like an idiot all afternoon.


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## Widgeon

Twice I've had nocks explode on me and watched the arrow drop at my feet while my ears are ringing. Not a good feeling! Both bows where Hoyts and nothing could be found wrong with them. Still not something that I want to repeat though!


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## elkkat

Sagittarius said:


> I would have the axles pulled and checked no matter how good everything else looks.


Yep! ... and I'll bet the peep is rotated because the string and cables stetched too. :wink: I had to retune my Guardian due to a dry fire and was told everything was fine, but when I put some different limbs on it a year later the axles did not pass the spin test. Still shooting both sets of limbs though, after 3 years (70# for hunting and 60# for target).:thumbs_up


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## Archer Dude

I have had a number of dry fires.

Never had a bad experience with a PSE. Never even had to replace a string or cable. At least 4 or 5 PSE dry fires from X-Force to Firestorm Lite to Fireflight 33. Never a problem.

Never had a good experience with a BowTech dry fire. Always had to replace at least one thing ... sometimes a string or limbs or cam but always something needs replacing on the Bowtechs I have dry fired. Commander - limbs, Tribute - string, 82nd - cams.

I hear Hoyts can take it.

If I were planning on dry firing as a habit, I would buy a Hoyt though I have not owned for quite a while.

Best wishes.


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## BodiBuilt

I witnessed my bro-in-law dry fire a '02 Hoyt MagnaTec the first day he got it... He was so excited he forgot to put an arrow in it on his 6th shot! I couldn't yell stop WAIT! fast enough and he released 
The bow took the dryfire without dammage and he is still shooting the same setup hundreds of arrows later... says something about Hoyt


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## pabuckslayer08

I had a old Browning about 6 years back I dry fired and it was fine.


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## BadgerND

I've seen my wife dry fire her Hoyt twice, no problem. In a met a couple of weeks ago, 2 guys dry fired on the line almost simultaneously. One was a Monster and broke a cable, don't know about the other.


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## dmgiss

Never done it personally, but was standing by one of my friends when he done it. It was a High Country Brute Force. I seen him draw it back without an arrow and thought he was checking his draw length, then I heard what sounded like a 22 rifle going off. He said "Where did that arrow go?" And I said " What arrow?" The bow was fine without any issues after that.


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## dragman

Twice, once an 84 or 86 (can't remember) hoyt MT sport. the second my proelite No bow damage either time.


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## Pager21

*Well...*

Just a few weeks ago, I was focusing on my shot process and the string/cable movements during draw. once i followed the draw I aimed up fired and swore a .22 had just gone off. took me a few moments to realize that my last arrow was still in my quiver and not in the target.

Ends up with new strings that I was planning on anyway. Cams replaced as well with some bearing damage.


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## vegashunter55

*Oops!*

At league this Winter, first night shooting F/S forgot to nock an arrow and blew up my Conquest 4, NEW LIMBS, CAMS AND STRINGS. How about a $400 oops!
No matter how much equipment is on the bow, it still requires an arrow.


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## BuckRubnMI

Shot a phantom arrow three weeks ago out of a Ross Cardiac and no damage was done.


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## alaskamagnet

Did it to my 101st Airborne on wednesday this week. Same kind of deal as others. Got caught up in propper form and started using a back tension release this winter. Thought I heard a vibration the shot before. Checked out all screws on sight, rest and stab. None loose. Pulled back and let her rip....Bang! Oops, forgot the arrow. Almost 30 yrs of shooting and my first time. Took it to the pro shop yesterday and everything is fine. Though its a 70# turned down to 53# for winter spot league. I think that saved my A*%!


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## ebonarcher

I have dry fired my pse rogue too many times.....
Never any damage.

Never maxed out my bows though.
So the is some to be said for shooting a bow below it full poundage.


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## TheTracker

I've never dry fired a bow and i never will!


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## solancodad

My son dry fired his Mission Menace *3* times. First time no damage, last 2 had to have string/cables put back on but no damage. That was last year, his first year shooting. All three happened at 3D shoots. Hoping this year he is more calm and doesn't forget to nock an arrow  !


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## solancodad

My son dry fired his Mission Menace *3* times. First time no damage, last 2 had to have string/cables put back on but no damage. That was last year, his first year shooting. All three happened at 3D shoots. Hoping this year he is more calm and doesn't forget to nock an arrow  !


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## tuneman

a friend did it to my old martin prowler 10 years ago, broke the string and split the limbs and wacked him on the face pretty good with those nice cable ends.

i put a new string on and kept using it! it finally packed it in last year


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## curvaceous

Few years ago bought a browning rage ( dual cam ) whaen i first was getting back into compound shooting , after only using curves for ten odd years , second night i had it , a friend of mine dry fired it , i was prepared for the worst , but to this day still shoots fine , ( not that it gets shot that often ) but its had several hundred arrows through it since then.


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## Archer Dude

It is very refreshing to hear about all you other guys forgetting to nock an arrow. It makes me feel less stupid as I do it once every year or so.

Sounds like Hoyts and PSEs and Brownings made by PSE bear up fairly well to dry fire and BowTechs don't. 

To "TheTracker" who wrote "I've never dry fired a bow and i never will!" ... The Bible says "pride cometh before a fall". I hope you are right but you may have just jinxed yourself. LOL 

Best wishes.


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## sharkred7

Yup. Last one was 15 min before my line time at Vegas this year

Once I cleaned up and put new shorts on I went down and fired my first arrow in the baby x and the bow performed flawless all weekend. To this day my timing hasn't moved and no issues. I did not even get any string stretch.


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## Bowtech's#1

Sounds like Hoyts and PSEs and Brownings made by PSE bear up fairly well to dry fire and BowTechs don't. 

How do you figure? Out of all the responses only a couple of the Bowtechs need more than strings, which seems to be the norm for a dry fired bow. So lets just throw in a little bowtech bashing while were at it.


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## Duke_II

remind me to check this thread before ever buying a bow out of the classifieds again. Didn't realize it happens this often. Some guys sound like they've done it 6 or 7 times. guess it happens more than i thought.


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## mudslinger2

My wife was one of the ones that was very forgetful about not nocking an arrow and shooting the bow. Did it 7 times that i know of one one bow, a HCA Excaliber set at about a 26" draw and 50#. Never once in the 7 dry fires that I knew about did it break the string or do any other damage. She still has the bow.


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## rubrum

*Oh yeah...*

Had mine dry fired the other day. Made the mistake of letting a friend try out my bow...I shoot lefty, he shoots righty. He picked it up and right in front of me drew it full draw and let er go! String popped off and wrapped around the cam. Took it into the shop to get it on a press, went over the whole thing, seems ok - I've run about 50 arrows through it so far with no problems - but I learned my lesson.


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## shortarrow

*Lots*

I have dry-fired a bow at leasr 5 times :embarres: and NEVER had a problem. My mq32- NOTHING... Switchback XT 4 times. String came off twice but was okay. Peep sight blew out twice. And one time a string suppressor wen flying. but no functional damage. And those were back when I shot 70lbs.

I think the higher power bows are more apt to "explode":boom:


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## Kadob62

Yep,

My left handed sons Mathews FX, Bad Bad sound, yet no problems at all, 

NONE!!!

He now has a Drenalin and a C4---He want let me touch either "HaHa"

Leave shooting left handed bows to left handed people, that is the moral of this story.


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## Sampsain

alaskamagnet said:


> Though its a 70# turned down to 53# for winter spot league. I think that saved my A*%!


How on earth is this possible!?!

I have asked bowtech about how low can you go with 70# limbs on 101st airborne and the answer was no lower than 60# because:
1. It will void warranty
and
2. You are in danger hurting yourself or others near you

So clearly there is something fishy about your setup...


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## Ib4Hoyt

Sampsain said:


> How on earth is this possible!?!
> 
> I have asked bowtech about how low can you go with 70# limbs on 101st airborne and the answer was no lower than 60# because:
> 1. It will void warranty
> and
> 2. You are in danger hurting yourself or others near you
> 
> So clearly there is something fishy about your setup...


they go a lot lower than they want to tell you,,that bolt is long!


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## Ib4Hoyt

can you buy cable slides by the pack anywhere?


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## Sampsain

Bolt is long but the suppressor (black rubberthing) is supposed to be under pressure. If it´s loose the whole limb will shake like Elvis!


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## LUCKYDUX

Sampsain said:


> Bolt is long but the suppressor (black rubberthing) is supposed to be under pressure. If it´s loose the whole limb will shake like Elvis!


I have a 101st that is turned down where the suppressor is very freely moving, yet it doesn't have any more vibe than when the limb is cranked all the way tight


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## Rock Steady

Dry fired my PSE Jetflight when I was younger. Had just thought of putting washers under the field points for shooting rabbits. First shot (fingers in those days) at a target to test them and the washer must have caught the front of my rest as I came to full draw and popped the nock off. I was left standing there holding the riser with cables etc hanging off my arm, no real damage it had just popped a tear drop off one of the cables, had it back together with my spare cables and shooting again in about 30min.


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## deerhuntsheatme

*dry fire*

Some bows just need priming up before you knock an arrow!:darkbeer:

Best, Barvid


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## jdobiash

Well I haven't told anybody out of humiliation, but the night I bought my first ever compound bow (Tomkat) I could not keep my hands off of it just pretty much excited to have it and long story short, I had the string pulled back with fingers and my dog barked I looked the other way and the string seemed to jump away from my hand. Ya it was loud and I looked it over and noticed there was a hairline crack in the top limb. Turns out its just the camo dip finish. The bow currently shoots great three months later


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## hauntedbyelk

*My son's Bear Odyssey II took it like a champ*

My 10 year old son got a little distracted at the range and shot a phantom arrow. Fortunately, no damage. Might have something to do with the fact he was only shooting 26 lbs and the bow is rated for 50. He was a little embarassed, especially after all the trash talk he gave me after I did the same thing a few weeks earlier. Speaking from experience, it's a humbling experience


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## shortarrow

*forgot*

I forgot to mention, when I was a young kid all excited to start bowhunting, my Dad bought me a new MARTIN Lynx. My friends and I dry-fired that bow numerous times for fun until finally the string derailrd one time. Of course I probably wasn't shooting much draw weight then.

Just for the record, and I didn't read EVERY post here, the 1500 dryfire test by HOYT is only good for the limbs and riser I believe. They need to "fix" the bow many times during the test.


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## deanmichael

*Dry Fire*

always nock an arrow - always


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## buffalo62

I dry fired my old old pse intruder that i use for bowfishing, the string snapped and caught me in the hand, i have a scar on my hand to prove it.


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## Mallardbreath

Just a word of caution. If you dry fire a bow that has draw length modules, the modules can crack and not look damaged. Eventually they will fail. If you dry fire one of these bows, get it checked or you could be in for a surprise later on. I dry fired my Martin Bengal and sure enough, the module had cracked.


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## Elkvalleyhunter

Sampsain said:


> How on earth is this possible!?!
> 
> I have asked bowtech about how low can you go with 70# limbs on 101st airborne and the answer was no lower than 60# because:
> 1. It will void warranty
> and
> 2. You are in danger hurting yourself or others near you
> 
> So clearly there is something fishy about your setup...


When the BT General first came out, I dropped by a pro shop and the dealer had his 70# General set at 48 lbs!! He's an older guy and doesn't draw more than 50#s anymore. I shot the bow myself, it didn't feel right but there weren't any safety concerns that I could see... of course, this is a center pivot design and wouldn't be the same as the 101.


----------



## duckman1958

Yep, couple of times on my Hoyt...no issues, but scared the crap out of me!


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## KS-whitetail

I had a brother in law dry fire my reflex excursion,nothing happened to it. I have never dry fired a bow.


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## Sampsain

Elkvalleyhunter said:


> When the BT General first came out, I dropped by a pro shop and the dealer had his 70# General set at 48 lbs!!


WOW! That is some crazy low poundage :mg:

Makes me wonder why buy 60# bow in the first place when you can go so low with 70#

Great to know that General can do that 

My 101st has also been dry fired once. Buddy of mine (who has never even shot a compound bow) was looking my 101st. I said two times not to pull it back. Turn around to get an arrow of my bowcase and when I looked back I saw my buddy at full draw. Like 0.5 seconds later he let it rip. I can still see that picture in my head and hear that sound. It was like sharp "whiplash". Looked at the bow and saw that cable had come of at the roller guard. Also one of the string silencers had been torn to pieces.

I put the bow back in the case and told my buddy: "That was pretty expensive move you made with that bow. Hope you have some cash..." I went to my pro shop and they looked at it. The bow was fine. Still I changed a new set of strings on it because I could not concentrate on my shooting with dry fired strings.

It is more a mental thing when your bow is been dry fired. You have that event in your head every time you release your arrow...


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## bruns51401

i bought a bowtech a few months ago that was dry-fired on the let down was only about half draw when it slipped the screwed up this is it was about 2 hrs after i bought it my brother was trying 2 show off and was only pulling it back with 2 fingers.....2 months l8r i sold it and bought a hoyt.....no damage was done shop checked it out and said it was fine i made 50 bucks on the sale 2


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## bruns51401

my mighty mite was set at 54 pounds and had 4 more turns in it....the guy said a limb bolt has 17 turns in it and each turn is about 2 lbs


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## superga

Hoyt Vulcan 3 times (not by myself). It shot perfectly after each dry fire. I sold my Hoyt Avenger to a chap who dry fired it 4 times in two weeks - no damage to the bow, had to replace the strings though after the 3rd dry fire.


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## hoekma

*Sad Bowtech Owner*

I just dry-fired my less than a month old Bowtech Destroyer 340 today. It's not pretty. String snapped. Both CAMs are slightly deformed. Ego is in the toilet. Just waiting to find out the financial damage. I love the bow, and it's not Bowtech's fault. I think I need a beer.


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## wicked1Joe

Once...
A Reflex Growler

checked the limbs and put the same string back on it...string just derailed.

Was shooting a hour later....


----------



## Hardware

Wil said:


> one of the shops near my house crank every bow down to its lowest poundage when they come in, this is to reduce the chances of someone dry firing one of the bows


The local Cabella's has them all zip-tied.

The shooting club where Mrs Hardware and I are taking our classes sells bows and they're not zip-tied, but they're all hung very high up on the walls.


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## Slim37KS

Once....Well sort of it wsnt at full draw, long story short I grabbed the bow in one hand string in the other and as it started to roll up towards the peak of the cam it slipped out of my fingers.....It was no where near loaded up yet but even that noise sounded like to peices of plywood being slapped together really hard......a noise I never want to hear again thats for sure Been shooting it ever since without issue.


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## Hog Father

Its been long time but i dry fired my Dads Jennings Buckmaster not once, not twice but 3 times in a row... i was tryin to show my brother that i could draw it back.. but i kept hitting the trigger on the release like a freakin moron.. but it didnt do anything to the bow.. but again i never got to full draw either just to the hump.

I hung my head in shame..


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## hutch3703

I just started shooting, when I say just started, I mean in the last few weeks. My uncle set me up a great bow. When he sent it to me the draw was a little short. Took it to a local shop to get squard away. Oh, the speech I got about dry firing. Owner showed me a bow that was dry fired, let me pray every time I touch my bow to not make that mistake.


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## twippin

Might be wrong here but I think I saw some where that hoyt has a 1500 dry fire torture test. Anyone else here this


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## 50 plus

Forgot to nock an arrow and dry fired my Carroll Intruder at a 3d shoot years ago. It blew the nock set off the string. All else was fine, and I was shooting it at 75lbs.


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## Afree

I was 13, and I didn't know any better... No damage. OOps!


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## SARASR

Yup!
At full draw with my Jennings PWC opening day in 2004 with a 6 point with an Ideally tight basket rack at 30 yards I released (useing fingers) and all H-ll broke loose the arrow went sideways (Braodhead coming back at me!) then fell straight down to the ground, the buck had no Idea what had happend and at that point niether did I, He ran a large circle stopping right in front and below me ten yards out, I drew back again and as I got to full draw
I heard a click??? Looking at my hand I was pinching the nock and broke itukey:
Watched that buck walk away and never shot fingers again!
However shot that bow up to last year and Its still as good a shooter as it was when I bought it.


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## bowhntng4evr

The first bow I had, I did. I was 16 years old and didn't know better. Now I know the ramifications of doing so, and don't. Always put an arrow in the rest and nock it, before pulling the string back. The bow needs a place for the energy to go when fired.


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## trophyhill

if the string breaking at the peep at full draw is considered a dry fire then yes i have. 71# and i thought i would be replacing limbs. i didnt totally get away with it because it bent one cam. 09 82nd airborne last summer. i replaced the cam and the bow still shoots great. all i had to pay for was the tech to put on a new cam (under warranty and bowtech had a cam shipped within a week at no cost, great customer service) and i had the tech put on a custom string.


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## buffalochip

*yes*

ultratec 65 lbs. Nock blew out. Really went whack. Everything was fine. I now look at nocks more.


----------



## Curtis S.

a few weeks ago that happened to my turbohawk it sounded loud but that was all nothing happened i was surprized


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## JWaltrip

Just wanting to mark this thread so I know to never buy a used bow from anyone who posted. Thanks


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## Monkeybutt2000

Back in the early 90's,I was on leave from the USAF. My dad and I were in WalMart,and I saw a Bear bow in the sporting goods section. I picked it up and drew it back, BLAM!!! Freakin thing blew apart,and I mean cams were gone,limbs blew apart,it was crazy. I had a few welts on my face where the string probably hit me,but that was it. There was pieces of that bow all over the sporting gooods section. I dropped what was left and we split. I'm sure the bow had been dry fired before I got my hands on it.


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## speedway440

Admittedly.....Yes...twice with the Maxxis. Both times...talking and paying more attention to what was going on around me than my shooting. I forgot to nock an arrow both times. My Brother in Law was filming me when it happened and caught it in 720p hi def with my Nikon D90. One of these days I may suck it up and post it as a Youtube video, but havent lost all of my pride yet. The first time nothing wrong accept an elongated G5 Meta Peep. Got the peep replaced and continued shooting. The second time I forgot to nock an arrow and the string rolled off the cams. Again, no damage. pulled the axles and rolled fine. No damage to anything but the second G5 Meta Peep...which was again elongated....I should invest in a spare I guess..lol


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## IowaChiro

*I just did it...*

I was at a 3d shoot yesterday...totally focusing on gauging the yardage...snap...nothing happened...however..5 targets later....I did it again....this time the cam bent...everything else checks out ok..need a string and a cam..I'm so mad at myself that I can't eat or sleep. I have shot 40 arrows a day over the last two months, never once coming close to not knocking an arrow, and within minutes I do it twice...


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## ckxtreme

I dry fired my PSE nova, not once, but twice in the same day. It was fine.


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## lnevett

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f_YxmELtM4

I have post it already, but it is worth posting again.

A friend was checking his form and...


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## bowhntng4evr

I dryfired my mathews drenalin. That was six months ago. I had it checked out, and it was fine. I'm still using the same string.


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## Bnbfishin

Yes  In my ground blind checking clearance while at full draw  07 XF6. Nothing happened other than it sounding like a 22 going off and checking my shorts. I shot that thing for 3 years/thousands of shots afterwards with no issues.


hauntedbyelk said:


> I was at a pro shop today having a bow checked out that I accidently dry fired. I had it checked out by experienced bow technicians at two different shops and the bow appears to be completely undamaged and is still shooting great. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it for awhile. One pro shop owner said they have a least 20 dry fires a year in their shop and maybe 3 to 5 of these bows end up being damaged. I'm curious about the experiences of others. What bow did you dry fire and what was the result?


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## Elwood Hoyt

Yeah , I dryfired a Protec a while back, broke the string and cable and bent the bottom control cable track rim a lil bit. Had no shirt on. I know know what 2 lashes feels like, I couldnt image 20. Bow survived.Cam track was tapped back and new set of strings installed.


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## mattheww1377

Is it just me or does it seam that more Bears and Hoyts are dryfired with no problems..just thought id see if anyone else noticed the same.


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## FireMedic26

*I have*

I dry fired a Hoyt Raider Intruder, when I first got into archery. I just didn't know any better. Luckily it didn't come apart, because my daughter, who was just a toddler then, was standing about 3-4 ft from me. I shot the bow for a while after that. I just never dry fired one again, because it sounded SO BAD.


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## SunRiverMan

In 2007 I was a PSE man. I went into the shop to look at a Hoyt Vectrix. The place was busy so I picked up the bow. Nobody helping me I drew back thinking I had a good tight finger hold on the string. Some guy bumped my elbow, more like a tickle, and POW!

The shop went dead silent. I looked up and said "I will take it". Thank God it was a Hoyt because nothing was wrong with that bow. The shop owner said it was the easiest sale he ever made and was impressed I was man enough to buy the bow.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. SRM


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## Woody69

My wife has accidentally dry fired her Martin Phantom about 3 or 4 times now, and so far nothing is wrong with it, i think the fact that she only has a 24" draw length and it's only on about 35lbs draw weight probably had a lot to do with it surviving each time.

And one of my daughters has dry fired her Martin Tiger (a few times) and Martin Leopard (once) and got away with it as well, once again i think it's the short draw length and low draw weight that has helped the bows survive.

Woody


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## mopar4life

I haven't done it yet but I've seen my friends do it before. I always pay very close attention and only draw without an arrow if I've got the dummy release on at my shop. I've seen releases get bumped and go off too many times.


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## camoman73

No i haven't , i have had one dry fired while i had it drawn (i know what your thinking) BUT my shooting buddy wanted me to draw his bow ,so he could check out cams for lean,and the idiot bumped into my hand,and blam.
I don't consider that my fault. yes the bow should have had an arrow nocked, but he didn't think it necessary,and i had just started out shooting so stuff happens.


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## philip111

I dry fired my buddies 8nd airbone last night, truly made me sick. It sounds like a gun going off, thank god he had dual sting suppresors. It did pop the string off and caused it to fray, looks like the limbs and cams will be ok. A good friend of mine just had his Rytera Nemesis blown up when a good friend was pulling his, I said to myslef what an ******* learn how to pull a bow. Trust me dont ever draw someone elses bow, most of the time you are using fingers which I never do and dont forget the strings are real waxy feeling. Just an FYI, your better off putting a release on stepping outside with an arrow.


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## Raf Morgan

I also dry fired a 2009 Bear Showdown once, because of a broken nock. Nothing happened at all. The bow still shoots fine.

I guess today´s speed bows have a higher risk of blowing up than regular bows, mostly because of their incredibly high efficiency.


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## TNMAN

*It can happen*

Years ago at Longview, Texas, the shooter to my right had come to full draw, anchored and was just about to work the shot when I yelled "let down, let down". He was mad as a hornet until it was pointed out he didn't have an arrow nocked. The guy was an experienced pro freestyler, so don't think it can't happen. ukey:


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## thirdhandman

s!?x happens Thats why thirdhandarchery.com makes the Can't Fire Release.


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## Dick Parker

Yea! Dry fires are like masturbation. Most do it, but know one wants to admit it.


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## 22WVBOWHUNTER

I dry fired a bow at a pro shop in the shooting range the nock came off the string but arrow was still on the rest and i didnt know it and shot and 4 pieces of goldtip went flying


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## [email protected]

djkillaz said:


> not me personally but seen a 2005 Browning Illusion dry fired at 70#'s and bothing happened to it. Checked out fine. Guessing the supressors they used to use like the Mathews style saved the bow!



Dude I was there when you dry fired that Illusion. VS... about had a fit!!! Being a shop bow or was that your bow the first time you drew it back. Either way I am sure someone was begging to have it fixed for free. ROTHFLMAO


Hey how ya been? Still doing the Rico Suave thing? Miss the friends in GR!


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## Cheerioette

I accidentally dry-fired my z7. At first I though my arrow exploded, because there was this loud cracking noise, which turned out to be my ceramic peep shattering. Other than my peep nothing else came off the bow, luckily. As there was another shooter right to the right of me, and I would have felt TERRIBLE if some more serious would have happened, and they ended up being caught in the crossfire. But after I got over the initial shock, I checked my bow over, another person at the range checked it over, and everything seemed to be fine. So, I ended up shooting for the rest of the day. However, the very next day I did take it into my pro shop for them to check it out a little more thoroughly. Everything was fine, but I will never forget my lesson learned... don't forget the very important step of nocking an arrow, before firing a bow.


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## WalterJ

I was @ a 3D shoot. I was helping a buddy check something hooked up my release, drew and fired. As I 'm standing there trying to see where my arrow went & wondering just where the heck it did go not to mention what he he77 that God -awful noise was. The guy next to me was looking @ me and say that didnt sound good. Did you nock an arrow?? About that time i realized oh crap!!! I just dry fired my Parker. Gave it a quick once over nothing wrong. Finished the shoot with it. It really does sound just like a dang .22!!!!


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## rak762005

A few years ago I was trying out my buddies new Hoyt and I pulled it back to see how it fit me. I have the trigger on my Tornado set really light and didn't realize his bow was set at 65lbs and the release let go of the string at nearly full draw. The only thing that happened was the peep sight popped out(it wasn't served in yet).


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## muck

Just thinking about it puts knots in my gut. I have never dry fired but have heard it at shoots and shops


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## bowhuntrrl

I must be real unlucky since all you guys that dry fired had no damage. I have had 3 dry fires. One on an AR bow and two on a PSE X-Force. Every time there has been damage. Most common is bent axles and blown cam bearings. The main thing that I have had is bent cams on all 3 dry fires. Either I am the most unlucky guy on this forum, or people just aren't checking their bows properly after a dry fire !! My dry fires were caused from the use of a Draw Lock. It's real easy to cock it, then before you load the arrow, someone will walk up to you on the range and start talking and distract you. Then you go back to shoot, pull the bow up, touch the trigger and BLAM !!!!! Ouch .


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## AVENSTOKE

Does pin nock breaking count? If so I dry fired my Vantage elite 6 times last year. Needless to say I don't shoot them any more.


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## hawk2hunt

Bought a PSE mach pro off ebay one time and the guy was local. So I drove over to his place about 20 miles away. He pulls it outta the case and it didnt have a mark on it. Black and chrome, Just a sharp looking rig.. I drew it back and dry fired the thing right in his living room!!!!!!!!!! Couldnt believe it. You should have seen the look on his face!


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## ballison90

It happens to all of us, I was adjusting draw weight on my Hoyt Vipertec and I pulled it to try out my heavier weight and it slipped when i hit the wall of the cam, no damage whatsoever, split limb bows are much less prone to damage. I also had alphashox in and im sure they absorbed a lot of the energy.


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## ballison90

bowhuntrrl said:


> I must be real unlucky since all you guys that dry fired had no damage. I have had 3 dry fires. One on an AR bow and two on a PSE X-Force. Every time there has been damage. Most common is bent axles and blown cam bearings. The main thing that I have had is bent cams on all 3 dry fires. Either I am the most unlucky guy on this forum, or people just aren't checking their bows properly after a dry fire !! My dry fires were caused from the use of a Draw Lock. It's real easy to cock it, then before you load the arrow, someone will walk up to you on the range and start talking and distract you. Then you go back to shoot, pull the bow up, touch the trigger and BLAM !!!!! Ouch .


Shooting the PSE is your problem, PSE is known for that badly, Pull Shoot Explode-PSE


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## Cade

Not a bash, but an observation/question - How does one forget to nock an arrow? It should be habit- like wiping!


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## stixshooter

Yea ... A guys bow I was just checking out back in the 90's ... With fingers....It was fine

An Alpine 2 years ago at Redding that the arrow shattered ... It was fine... Finished the day Even sent it back and they replaced everything just to make sure


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## blue25km

well yes i guess it could happen. you seem to get less damage the less lbs the bow is id say, but for one to say " get away with it" i have seem some problems that just a quick lookover has overlooked. 

bent pins for your cams
worped riser

these are things that happen that the quick over look cant see, but causes irratic shooting


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## MOHALucan

Bird Levron said:


> i dry fired an 07 pearson z34 and had it checked from three pro shops lol thats right three bowshop in gulfport, kens bayou in slidell and louisiana outdoors in pearl river(a matthews dealer) and all said bow was perfect, and trust me it sounded nasty


Yep, I dry-fired my '08 Z-32 and the only thing it did was blow the peep out. Sounded like a. 22 going off though. One of my friends dry-fired my 82nd and it mangled the cams on that bow...I wasn't very happy...lol


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## need-a-bow

Im glad that sporting goods stores have the zip ties or else I wold have destroyed a few bow s over the years. And I only pull about #55 max


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## bowhuntrrl

ballison90 said:


> Shooting the PSE is your problem, PSE is known for that badly, Pull Shoot Explode-PSE


I really don't think so !! I spend a lot of time at a local pro shop and see all makes of bows screwed up from dry fires. I just think you guys don't check them out properly. Have you ever seen a Monster cam after a string derailment ???


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## tinwoz

Hoyt Katera dry fired three times. One broken string rest of bow fine.Lesson learned, Don't let anbody touch your bow even if they say they know wat they are doing.


----------



## SnapCracklePip

I wake up every morning and head out to my backyard range to shoot a few dozen.......but before I start I dryfire my showdown 2-3 times just to make sure its pulling good LOL


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## SnapCracklePip

just kidding! lol but i have had it go off dry on me 2 times during tuning......both times during finger pulls.....i use lots of wax and both times it slipped scared the dog so bad he peed the carpet......


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## spatan

Had a couple of PSE X- Forces Dry fired No damage to the limbs or riser...Yes the strings jump off the cams and the peep and cable guard slider go 'west'.... and there was repair work needed on the strings to replace serving and the 'speed bumps'... Its like useing u a 1000 shots all at once though so I really would'nt recomend do it... always draw with an arrow nocked in a safe direction

Spatan:cocktail:


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## UglyBagofWater

More often than I would admit!

The worst was in the 80's with a recurve. Snapped the top limb off the day after as I just began to draw back. Thank God.

Did it a couple of times to my Hoyt Havoc with no consequence. My bro-in-law took my Bowtech w/o my knowledge and dry fired it. Nothing bad to the bow itself, but the TriVan rest broke one of its arms right after.

My daughter had a bad habit of doing it with her Menace. No issues other than the cable and strings popping out (and a lost peep), but she's shooting a 60 pound peak bow at 27 pounds.

Nonetheless, I would check over the bow extremely well with a flashlight and magnifying glass. Take it to a bow shop if you don't have a press to check to cams, limbs, pockets, and cables. Having a limb, cam, or cable go at full draw is something I would not want to experience!


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## hunt365

My brothers friend grabbed my brothers ross cardiac and drew it back and let it go. HE took it to get it checked out and it was fine. Well season opened and we went out of town for a hunt. While we were back at camp we decided to shoot a few arrows. My brother was about on the 5th shot and said he was hearing a creak in his bow, I got to looking at it and his top limb was cracked. That was the end of his trip.


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## Jebbu

Don't know why but this has happened to me 4 times with my bowtech, the arrow must be getting disslodged from my fingers on the string. Terrible noise, brass nocking point flies off. no other sign of damage.
Would realy like to avoid this happening again, however I don't seem to be doing anything different to cause it, so appart from using a release, I'm not sure it won't happen again. The axl to axl length is 37 inches, should be plenty long enough for finger shooting?


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## amorgan1006

Yesterday... my third or fourth time practicing with my new back tension release (always been a trigger guy but I'm trying to make the switch). After pulling and walking back to my shooting pad, I was so wrapped up in thinking about that release and my form that I forgot to nock an arrow on my Hoyt Contender target rig. I executed the shot (or so I thought) only to hear that awful sound of a dry fire. I was shooting behind my house and my concrete pad is next to an area of woods. Right after the release, I thought I heard something hit the leaves on the ground to my right. But after inspecting my bow and not finding any apparent damage to the limbs, limb pockets, cams, scope, etc. I nocked an arrow to give it a try. When I drew back I realized what I had heard hit the leaves to my right... my peep. It flew out of the string. And it was a 45 degree peep with a #3 lense insert. So I was done shooting because there is no way I'm finding that little black thing on the leaf covered ground in the woods. I'm picking up a new one today. Hopefully everything else is alright...


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## sotexbowhunter

I've accidently dry fired a Reezen. No damage. In fact, I finished the shoot and won. Shot it several years with no ill effects.


----------



## Dhostetler339

HCA Iron Mace said:


> Same here, Set the sight hooked the string couple of deep breaths eyed the 12 drawed settled the pin on the 12 ring let out half my breath pin on target and pulled into my release and bam!!! The bad thing is that my follow through was priceless. My mathews xl did not hold up, new limbs and cams and it came back to life


its because its a mathews


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## mccoppinb

Back when I got my first bow me and my buddy knew nothing about them and we dry fired it all the time that bow was a pse durango. Luckily nothibg ever happened to it lol

But the scariest thing ive ever done is I was showing someone that my ascent sight had a lot of travel in it and turned it almost all the way down. Put my bow in the case went to shoot the next day and shot my arrow straight through the middle of the sight housing luckily all that happened was I lost the arrow and broke a fiber optic but man did it scare the crap out of me.

Anyone else done this before with a slider sight?


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## UtterButter

I have to fess up.. I just dry fired my bow, like 10 minutes ago.. 

broke 2 rules, I pulled back without an arrow facing a target and I used my fingers. 

I was messing with my front/side bar weights and pulled it back to see how it felt. Needless to say the line twised and rolled right off my fingers. I never got past 1/3 the way back but it was enough to derail it. 

I will take it to the shop in the AM and eat a @#$% taco from the guys I know up there. But, what can ya do? its done now..


----------



## Prime#1

hauntedbyelk said:


> I was at a pro shop today having a bow checked out that I accidently dry fired. I had it checked out by experienced bow technicians at two different shops and the bow appears to be completely undamaged and is still shooting great. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it for awhile. One pro shop owner said they have a least 20 dry fires a year in their shop and maybe 3 to 5 of these bows end up being damaged. I'm curious about the experiences of others. What bow did you dry fire and what was the result?


Several times from either full draw or half draw. No damage any of the times before.


----------



## matt flint

dry fired my first bow on accident.all i needed was a new string.all else was sound.it was a hoyt crx 32.it had a horrible draw cycle and i couldnt shoot it worth a crap.but that thing was tuff


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## bowtecha

Dry fired my 2012 carbon element at about 1/3 the way into the draw cycle, luckily it was a Hoyt so no damage :shade:

Also last week me and my dad were shooting shot father shot, he for got to nock an arrow derailed, but no damage (#43/25.5" DL Z7x) just went up to the shops bow press and got it hooting in 5 minutes.

Will be watching or small scratch o start on the limbs though


----------



## bowtecha

matt flint said:


> dry fired my first bow on accident.all i needed was a new string.all else was sound.it was a hoyt crx 32.it had a horrible draw cycle and i couldnt shoot it worth a crap.but that thing was tuff


Lol when I FIRST got into archery I didn't know that you COULDN'T dry fire a bow, lol good thing I never got my hands on one before someone told me that dry firing a bow can yin it or cause injury...


----------



## n.vodden

Seen a few bows dry fire in my few years of archery and have never seen one fail totally.

The only 'incidents' were a Hoyt Carbon Matrix that was drawn and shot without an arrow and it derailed, string jumped off the top cam and was down the side of it. Straight into the club's bow press, reseated and given a full health check - no problem  

The other was also a Hoyt, an Alphamax that the arrow had come off the nock and shot as the archer attempted to let down if I remember correctly. All fine apart from the serving all came undone on one of cable loops strangely.

I've never done it, I tend to watch the arrow drawing back on the rest as I come to full draw and anchor so I hope I would know immediately if it wasnt loaded! I want to make sure I don't as well, I don't think the thin cams on my CPXL would survive!


----------



## casey

Dry fired a long time ago.. Peep came out of string hit my scope lens came back and hit me in the forhead... Left a welt.


----------



## souwest_ghillie

I dry fired my old PSE Thunderbolt one afternoon while shooting at a friend's place. Had the bow checked out and it was fine.


----------



## spotshot

casey said:


> Dry fired a long time ago.. Peep came out of string hit my scope lens came back and hit me in the forhead... Left a welt.


I was there when he did it and he still never found his peep......

Back to the question.....YES


----------



## ocxgeno

Have I? No... Did my dad with my brand new matrix? YES! He was so shocked at how light it was and proceeded to pull it back, no arrow and with fingers. Mind you, he just had or was about to have carpel tunel surgery in is draw hand. Luckily the string popped and everything else was still good


----------



## PRIMETIME9

Had 2 buddies dry fire my maxis 31 on 2 different occasions. Bent the peep both times. No other damage.


----------



## rembrandt

Couple of times, once in a bow shop trying out a new Bowtech. Silencers flew everywhere and once with my Mathews bow. Didn't hurt either one......


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## harpdude

I did it today. I released and heard a loud "bam". I just froze. Looked the bow over and it seemed fine. I then counted the arrows in my quiver and realized what I had done. I shot about 20 more arrows and my groups improved. Anyway, I'm taking it to a tech in the morning, just to be sure. I felt like a real doofus.


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## nuttinbutchunks

I dry-fired a Bear obsession twice. The first time the rubber string stom/cable slide blew off the bow. The second time nothing happened. I sold that bow to a friend and he still shoots it.


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## Decker

2009 Bowtech 82nd Airborn. My neighbor dry fired my bow. Upper cam took a minor hit,nothing bad enough to have to replace and serving on lower end of my string had to be fixed. Dodged a huge bullet. Shew!!

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2


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## TheBuxtaHuda

Have dry fired my Hoyt CRX-35 multiple times like the complete idiot I am: only excuse I have is for the first time, when I was buying the bow and had no clue about proper form or the fact that dry-firing is the biggest no-no. After that, just me getting too comfortable and drawing back without an arrow when showing it off. Never again, I'll say that.

First dry-fire: ate up either my control or bus cable (don't remember which). Limbs and cams seemed fine.

Second dry-fire: nothing. Strings, limbs, cams all seemed fine. (Obviously can't see beneath servings.)

Third dry-fire: peephole flew out. Ego damaged. Strings, limbs, cams seemed fine.

Haven't touched my bow since: grounded myself from it until I can excercise proper care for the thing. And I've been far too embarrassed to take it back to my tech. Worst part of all is I did it the day I finally got the thing sighted in just right..


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## Flyguy

Yes. I dry fired a Bowtech Tribute in a local shop a few years ago.


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## BowTechForever

Wasn't really a dry fire but one time at full draw with old solider I was shooting and forgot to load an arrow. The looped came apart at full draw and dry fired the bow. The bow survibed


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## harpdude

I never did it, except that one time. Oh yeah, there was that other time.


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## coop88

So today I was at the range and I had a QAD ultra rest LD. well have had the timing string pull through twice on me before and it happened again today and when it pulled through the rest fell and the arrow fell off the side. So now I have an arrow still nocked with a broadhead pointed in the general direction of my leg. So I got the arrow off with my mouth and when I went to let it down THWACK. Dry fire. After much yelling I finally looked at it and my string was just destroyed. The bow shop seems to think that the string took the brunt and that everything else is fine. I will know more tomorrow. Definitely one of the most embarrassing things to walk into a shop and tell them.


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## Snakum

I am amazed at how many people simply forgot to nock an arrow. Amazed because I did this with an ancient '96 HCA Split Force two weeks ago. Simply forgot to load an arrow. Sounded like a centerfire rifle going off. Bow is totally fine, however. The owner - who let me borrow it to learn on last month - dry-fired this same bow in front of me the day he got it, two years ago. At 17 years old, there's no telling how many times this old thing has been dry-fired. And it is still a laser from 30yds and under, at least it was before I dry-fired it. Now it needs to be resighted. Those old HCAs were/are some tough bows.


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## BluNunn

harpdude said:


> I never did it, except that one time. Oh yeah, there was that other time.


Yeah...but that was different!


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## Mr.Moose

I have been shooting a bow for over 30years and I have never dryfired a bow. I always have an arrow in the bow before I draw it back.


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## BluNunn

MikeK said:


> I read somewhere that whenever Hoyt introduces a new model it is stress-tested by dry-firing 1,500 times on a Hooter-Shooter.
> 
> I don't know if that is true, exaggerated, or false. But if anyone knows for sure I would appreciate hearing about it.


I've heard that as well... from the owner of my local bow shop which carries Hoyts and almost everything else.

I thought it was impossible to forget to nock an arrow...until I did it. It took me about a minute before I realized: 1. Why I couldn't find my arrow; 2. That it hadn't just disappeared; and that 3. Damn, that last shot sounded/felt odd!


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## GregBS

Back from the Dead!!! Again....


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## 628

3 types of people on AT:

1) Those who have dry fired bow(s).

2) Those who are going to dry fire bow(s).

3) Liars. (Can also include 1 & 2)


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## wildernessninja

did it on a bow my grandfather gave me its an old bear bow from 80s.it was going to be my first bow but had it checked out it was fine but the tech at cabelas said I migh be better of with a new package bow.after I asked to see some he pointed at a rack of bows and walked away, and so did I. went to my local shop and got a bow.still think ill set grandpas bow up and shoot it and maybe even hunt with it.


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## Navycook91

i dry fired my 09 Ross Carnivore yesterday. it "looks" ok, bringing it into the shop to have another set of eyes go over. my mis-hap was due to my stupidity. trying to reset my peep sight height and "accidentally" hit my trigger.. BAM.. strings parted, peep sight flew off, gash in my left hand... hurt my pride more than any thing as of right. now..


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## Joeshwa24

Only once, my mom had gotten my dad a Brand new Hoyt Rampage for Christmas a few years back and stored it in my houses he wouldn't find out. So of course I messed with it the second she left and not ten minutes into it WHACK I dry fired it. The string silencers and peep went flying but I took it to the shop and they confirmed no damage and he still shoots it to this day.


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## JMart294

dry fired the first z7extreme I had. young and dumb pulled it back with my fingers and it slipped.


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## islandhuntah

dry fired my 2007 bear truth bow. nothing happened to it still shot fine!


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## mongopino915

628 said:


> 3 types of people on AT:
> 
> 1) Those who have dry fired bow(s).
> 
> 2) Those who are going to dry fire bow(s).
> 
> 3) Liars. (Can also include 1 & 2)


Totally cool thread. I am #2 and do not look forward to it. No, I am not #3.


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## KS Bow Hunter

Did I? Yes? Did I get away with it? Absolutely! That chubby kid in the camo never had a chance of catching me in the Bass Pro Shops...


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## NoahP1211

I did it about 2 years ago on ny first bow (martin threshold). Got it checked out and all was good


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## Nyles

Ill never tell


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## nhns4

Yep during a shoot. String popped off. Pressed the bow put the string back on along with a new cable slide. And continued.


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## Pigdaddy

shot my bear encounter 2nd day i had it at 50ish lbs, no damage,**** myself once i heard the noise though, too embarrassed to tell any of my friends about it haha


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## turkeyhunter60

Not with today"s bows , long time ago arrow popped off of string when i released it...Had it happen a few times no damage..THEY BUILT THEM STRONG BACK THEN..


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## cece

my Assassin was dry dired >>> 2 bents cams, peepsight flew over the room...

limbs still OK ... 

I shot with the bents cams for 3 months before receiving the new ones with no problem.


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## land527

2013 martin alien waiting on upper cam as we speak. Everything else was good.


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## rutmaster

Yep, my sons diamond edge a few years back sounded bsd but the little bow was tough and took it! Had a judge that split a nock at release, sounded like a dry fire , and the mods bent and strings came off, arrow skidded about 10 ft. Not good


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## Tim/OH

Ive never dryfired a bow but I did dryfire a crossbow when I was young...does that count?


Tim


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## whippedcream

Yes. Did it in my bear strike. No ill effects that I can find now 4 years later.


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## mizzo29

I watched my dad dry fire his bow at a 3d shoot. Cable slide flew off it that was it. He was shooting a K&K vindicator 65lb 28.5" dL. It was backed down. A few turns maybe that helped.


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## norsemen

Yep.....60 lb.Bear "Game Over". No damage.


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## redwzrd1

once was using one of those allan draw weight scales and it slipped out of my hand, thought my bow blew up and I had no arms. scale hit riser, rest and my arm. luckily the scale was aluminum and it was soft, dinged the riser and left me with a 3 inch scar on my arm. bow is fine shot fine brought it to a shop and they gave it the ok. also got a used specialist shipped to my dads house, had it out of the box and left the room. from the other room I heard a loud snap, my dad pulled it back and he said the riser slipped out of his hand. no damage still shooting it


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## sweeetsbowhntr

Have dry fired 3 times...first one was an old unbranded shop build (no damage), tore my forearm a new one!. This one was dry fired on purpose and nobody to tell me it was a bad thing...oops. Second dryfire was a Mathews FX Solocam (complete limb destruction), this is where I learned that a dry fire is bad. More recently...I pulled a rookie move. Dry fired a Bear (DOmain?) while testing bows. I Seriously thought I nocked an arrow and even looked for the non existent arrow (operator error). The bow press was down at the time, so still unsure of damage, but being told it looks good at this point.

There are many types of dry fires...1) Purposeful release (don't know better), 2) Ignorant release (thought you nocked an arrow), 3) Rookie release (poor form, actually a disrailment due to torquing the bow on draw) to name a few popular "dry fires". #1 is bound to happen to many new archers. #2 is bound to happen to seasoned archers when not paying proper attention. #3 will happen when an "archer" thinks they know more than the technician trying to teach them proper form. 

From my experience, a disrailment will almost always result in limb failure. Most bows are tested to withstand a dryfire, but a disrailment is far more destructive, as the strings are not present to hold the bow together because someone torqued the bow so bad that the strings simply popped off the edge of the cam. Not only do you get limb failure, but you also get "cam tacos" (cams fold over with side force, they are meant to draw in a straight line, not a "torqued line").

If you do dry-fire your bow...be honest to the tech and they will usually cut you some slack. They know a dry-fired bow when they see one and if you lay blame on the bow, they won't help you as much as they could otherwise.


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## nflook765

This thread makes me leary of buying used bows...


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## crazy4hunting

Closest I've come, was shooting an arrow with no fp in it. Was about 75g underweight all said and done. Nothing happend. I was lucky.


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## dad2sixmonkeys

Dry fired my target bow once, honestly thought I put an arrow in. String came partially off the top cam and that was it. Still shooting it today with incredible results. I got lucky, I think the long stabilizers, site etc absorbed most of the shock.


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## The X Moves

Before I buy a used bow on AT, I always check these threads out! :teeth:

I did it to a Hoyt Protec. Broke off an axle plastic bushing is all. Over 1000 shots later and it is still a tack-driver and solid as a rock.


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## KenMorse

About 25 years ago, when looking for my first bow. Went to a shop, the owner was showing me bows. He didn't explain the rules and I didn't know better. Pulled it back and let her rip - EMPTY. He was calm, explained we don't do that. It was a Browning bow. I bought it and shot it for 4 or 5 years before upgrading. It was fine. 

It's amazing how a measly 400 grains can keep a bow from blowing a part though.


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## KenHo

Just a question here from a total newbie - would the weight draw have an effect on possible damage of dry fire? Just seems a low draw weight would (could) cause less damage than 70# draw weight. 

Great site, and I'm learning a LOTS from reading threads. 

Ken H>


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## bowhunterhaus1

Not lately new bows cant take it like old school bows could. I have had a few screw ups.


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## hopper

was at an archery shop ordering arrows, the clerk said check out the new bows , i picked one up to see how it felt, it felt good so naturally I drew it back,and when i got about to full draw my fingers slipped, the string hit my forearm causing 2 dime size spots to bleed quite a lot,felt numb, only the string was bad which i promptly gave the clerk 69.00 dollars for a new string ,the clerk seemed in shock seeing the blood dripping off my forearm,I probably didnt feel any pain because once I saw the price tag at 799.99 i was in shock,felt i got off cheap at 69 dollars, still have 2 scars on my forearm


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## red_6

I was playing with my peep serving to rotate it a little and forgot to nock one....liked the adjustment I made and fired away. The string exploded and my cable slide hit warp speed. After kicking myself repeatedly and reciting a few choice words I drove back to the proshop that I'd bought my ballistic from not 4 days earlier. The tech checked it out and said the limbs, cables, and servings all looked fine. After $60 and a new string, all is well and I love my mission more than ever.


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## GrisMunkyNinja

Dry fired my Mathews DXT once and my HCA X10 twice. After that I wised up and, knock on wood, I haven't dry fired my Hunter as of yet.


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## w8indq

Lol did it last weekend at a 3d shoot was shooting with a guy i hadnt shot with in 15 years was talking absolute crap and judging distance at same time forgot to load an arrow and bang only casulty was my stringstop flew about 5m away and my bow is cranking 289fps with heavy arrows at 60#


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## cg2737

Mathews Switchback XT. No damage was immediately noticed. However a year later the upper limb had a large sliver pop out. My shop got me new limbs cables and string. In the end I basically had a new bow. Cost free. Very happy customer.


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## Double B

Watched a friend do it at the Columbus Asa this year. String stop came loose and that's it. He's actually shot it better than ever since then to. It was a bow tech brigadier


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## 2bitbow

I spotted this thread and giggled a little bit. I'm not snickering anymore as I broke a brand new string and got a nice wound in the process. We were shooting targets and shooting the **** and I forgot to nock an arrow. 

Here's the result....














String broke at the peep. No other damage as far as we can tell.


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## Redneck4020

I accidentally dried fired my old pse thunderbolt I forgot to nock a arrow and my release failed nothing happened to my bow at all the strings cables everything was fine


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## peanut perry

not sure I'm doin this right but I was wondering where you live.I live in bay st louis


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## fmf979

I am a new member to the club. I was shooting my Heli-m yesterday and while at full draw somehow my arrow fell off the string. It was like I saw the arrow fall as I was pulling the trigger. I couldnt stop in time.
Cable derailed I took it to the shop they said it looks ok from what they see they are putting a new string and cable on it and taking it apart to double check everything.
They said it should be ok. I will probably know for sure middle of the week.
I have been shooting atleast 25 years and this is the first time this happened to me. I am sad.


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## goofy2788

Well a few years back, at the ATA show, I intentionally stood in a booth and repeatedly dry fired a PSE Nova......Those 3 days alone I'm pretty sure I did it roughly 50-60 times and other then some fraying on the string there was never an issue. (that bow had been dry fired roughly 200 times prior) We did it to show how an STS string stop could help prevent damage to a bow in case of dry fire. The last night of the show someone stole that bow...We never found out who but Joe Goade (STS owner) thinks it was one of his competitors. Everyone was sure we had done something "special" to the bow but other then replacing the strings frequently it was a 100% stock PSE Nova.

Now that 99.9% of new bows come with some sort of string stop I'm sure the instances of destroying a bow with a single dry fire has reduced greatly. It can still happen but hopefully for those of use who make that mistake it doesn't and we never make that mistake again.


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## goofy2788

2bitbow said:


> I spotted this thread and giggled a little bit. I'm not snickering anymore as I broke a brand new string and got a nice wound in the process. We were shooting targets and shooting the **** and I forgot to nock an arrow.
> 
> Here's the result....
> View attachment 1937461
> 
> View attachment 1937463
> 
> String broke at the peep. No other damage as far as we can tell.




Ouch!!! That string become and instant lethal bull whip.... Hopefully it looks worse then it was.


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## jono446

The closest I've had I was in a small bow shop shooting some bows in the guys garage when about half draw my release let go and I shot his digital thermostat  the guy was super nice about it, partially because I ordered a bow and a lot of other things off of him but I felt horrible and tried to pay for it and he wouldn't let me. But i also punched myself in the face so maybe he got some entertainment out of it lol.


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## 2bitbow

goofy2788 said:


> Ouch!!! That string become and instant lethal bull whip.... Hopefully it looks worse then it was.


I will have the scar for years and now i have another just above it so it doesn't get lonely. I went over the bars on my dirtbike and the rear wheel wore a nice divot in my arm.


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## hometownhero

Yup this fall. Nothing wrong with the bow, string or cables.


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## Boss Lady

Dry fired my 3 week old bowtech today after spending a good 45 seconds holding it at full draw. Stood there long enough to be a complete idiot, not long enough to realize I never knocked an arrow. The sound alone sent my stomach into the ground, the thought of taking it into the shop and having to explain what I did to it almost made me sick on the spot. 

Everything's golden though, no damage to limbs or string/cables besides the string popping off the top cam and just looking generally nasty. I shot it a few times in shop with no problems. Guy at the shop dryly called it 'a fancy derailment' and told me to count myself extremely lucky. Never again! hwell:


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## tialloydragon

I never dry fired the same bow twice and got away with it.


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## hometownhero

tialloydragon said:


> I never dry fired the same bow twice and got away with it.


I did lol.


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## tandin93

Well, I have dry fired 2. My first was a hoyt razortec when I was about 12, and the other was my carbon element that was about 1/2 way back. Both were fine and killed more deer!


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## Frederick D. Be

About 15 years ago I was teaching a fellow how to shoot a bow with my point blank new wave by proline...top of the line at one time. Went down range to set a target and left explicit instructions not to touch anything. Snap! I turned around and yelled NO! No damage but he swore up and down he did not pull the string back...right.


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## Icenberg

Yes, just last week. i havent shot my bow in about a month i was excited to go use it agian, i was sitting on my couch drawing it back like i had done a 100times. i didnt have a good grip on the string and it slipped off my fingers at half draw, it slammed forward and knocked my string dampeners off flipped over the side, bent my cam and tore off a chunk off it, also the edge of the cam cut through a strand on my string. i was lucky that my limbs didnt get damaged but i will see once i get it back and shoot it a few times. all said and done it was a string and cam about 180$ damage. i was very lucky. deffitaly learned my lesson to never mess around like that agian, i will never draw a bow unless an arrow is knocked.


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## Icenberg

Cam and string damage.


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## hunter11

I did one time...no damage to bow...years ago...bow tech Pro 38...scared me so bad I dropped the bow...and unbelievably no damage...and if happened to my current bow that I like so much it would probably blow up!


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## hometownhero

hunter11 said:


> I did one time...no damage to bow...years ago...bow tech Pro 38...scared me so bad I dropped the bow...and unbelievably no damage...and if happened to my current bow that I like so much it would probably blow up!


Your hoyt would take it.


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## fmf979

Following up from november my hel-m has about 300 arrows since the dry fire and so far it shoots very well.


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## roosiebull

dry fired an 02' ultra tec years ago, knocked the string off and that was it. ran over an alien x with my truck, new quiver and rest and I was back in action.


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## tatergreer13

Had a buddy dry fire my vectrix years ago and the peep just flew out, also i saw a guy pick up a new parker in a pro shop and dry fire it, it was embarrassing as hell, thats when the zip tie thing came into affect. No bows were damaged in either case.


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## Ryddragyn

I have never dry fired a compound myself, but I've seen other people do it. They are unpredictable events. In some cases nothing happens, in other cases the bow derails or the peep pops out. And sometimes the string completely snaps. 

I dry fired a longbow once long ago (loose nock slipped off). Lots of handshock, but the bow and string were fine otherwise.


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## bowtechlx

Yep with a Mathews lx lol.


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## youngguy

My Hoyt has gotten away with it twice, once I got caught up and forgot to nock and arrow, and the second some kid thought my bow was cool, picked it up and tried pulling it back without a release. I was so mad after that, thankfully it walked away without a scratch. Now my brand new PSE didn't like it one bit. I was just checking out the draw length and feel of the draw and my release went off. The release it set pretty hot so I'm guessing that I set it a little to hot. Only thing I noticed was bent cams. Hopefully that's the only thing wrong with it.


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## Duck$&Buck$

never dry fired one per say. im sure its coming but I blew a PSE bow madness 34 up in the press one time. cam from the factory with the string on wrong and when I went to unstring it and string it up the right way, I startred to tighten the press and the lower left limb separated and blew up. the cam went flying, the limb came out of the limb pocket. the customer who was gunna buy it was right there. lucky he didn't get hit with shrapnel. scary when it happened but looking back its kind of funny in a, wow I just exploded 800 dollars worth of a very nice bow and it wasn't even my fault


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## AustinZippe1

I dry fired my old alpine once never had a problem with it.


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## Ingo

My dad dry fired my old Bowtech Tomkat when I first got it. Didn't harm it but scared the poo out of me.


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## Padgett

I came home on a sunday afternoon after going to a 3d tournament and when I walked into the garage my back up bow was in pieces, my wife had invited over her family and she said the guys had gone outside after lunch for a while. Not one of them ever admitted dry firing it, jerks.


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## Padgett

For me personally, both times I dry fired my good bows it ended up either leaving me with some blood coming out of a body part or a few weeks later some splinters popped up on the limbs.


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## jastein79

I still can't wrap my mind around how an arrow that weighs one ounce...one ounce!...can create enough resistance on the string of today's aggressive bows to prevent damage. Crazy that that small amount of weight compared to the total violence of the bow being shot can make a difference. The science behind modern bows fascinates me.


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## Padgett

That was a awesome little fact jastein79, did a google search for 372 grains and it is only .85 oz which is less than a ounce and enough to keep my bow together.


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## B4L Okie

Did with a Martin bow once. No damage. Shot it a couple years, killed a few deer. It was a single cam 60 pounder. Now always have an arrow nocked, got a nice little triangle hole in a closet door once! Now own a third hand can't fire release. Works great.


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## boner

I'm a pro at it. Only one that didn't hold up was a mathews z7. I got so bad at one point I thought about going into quality control for a bow company.


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## Left I Dominant

Yeah once or twice. What is fun though is Witnessing a Catastrophic Failure upon dryfire. I saw a guy in 2013 got the latest Mathews Hunting Bow ( i forget the exact model)and dry fired in on the firing line of the practice range and it was quite dramatic. High on the Entertainment Value Scale.


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## Hoyt'Em10

Yeah I dry fired my old Hoyt Turbo Hawk when I was younger. Bow was completely fine. Killed plenty of deer and x's after the dry fire. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## PaBone

I have seen a lot of bows dry fired over the years working in my dad's archery shop and in leagues. Mostly older Dartons and all that I can think were fine.


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## jastein79

Padgett said:


> That was a awesome little fact jastein79, did a google search for 372 grains and it is only .85 oz which is less than a ounce and enough to keep my bow together.


I know right. It's crazy but true!


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## spyderGelement

watched three bows blow up dry firing, a relex, a hoyt and pse, never saw or heard of one make it out alive


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## glencf

Dry fired my Bowtech, really worried I took it apart checked out fine-LUCKY . 50lb draw think a 70 lb bow might be a different story .


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## Thebirdman613

My cousin jumped a string on his 4 year old Hoyt last year. I thought it was shot cause his limbs were 20 degree past parallel to his limb pockets. Took it to a shop, put the string back on line and it was good as new. He’s a 32 inch draw but they said because he was only shooting 55 pounds it didn’t damage the bow. I say he was lucky


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## full moon64

hauntedbyelk said:


> I was at a pro shop today having a bow checked out that I accidently dry fired. I had it checked out by experienced bow technicians at two different shops and the bow appears to be completely undamaged and is still shooting great. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it for awhile. One pro shop owner said they have a least 20 dry fires a year in their shop and maybe 3 to 5 of these bows end up being damaged. I'm curious about the experiences of others. What bow did you dry fire and what was the result?


would u buy the bow you dry fired?


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## deadturkey

My buddy dry fired an Elite I sold him a couple months ago. Had the string and cables reinstalled and it's good to go

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## These-87

As I was literally paying for my wife’s admiral back in 09 my buddy dry fired it right behind me. Don’t know how but we got away with it.


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## tmead

Yes, got distracted helping my son and forgot to put an arrow on my Hoyt. All it did was pop the string off. Put the string back on and it was fine.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## cmcnorth

I tried to use a draw weight scale at a club years ago with my PSE DNA which held the bow and drew it up with a winch. While I lowered the winch, the string must have moved off the rails and it derailed on me. Ended up sending the cable slide across the room, but no other damage to be seen. Thankful, and now only use a LCA scale to measure my draw and hold weights.


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## Dim5bck

When I first got into archery. I accidentally torqued my bow while at full draw showing my father the bow. As I was letting the bow down, the string jumped the cam ( and my release went off..) I was able to get the string back on track and had the bow and strings inspected the next day. To my suspise no damage at all. 

Done to my 2007 Diamond Black Ice.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Archery Talk Forum


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## AimHigh

yes. not proud but yes. I dry fired my BT CXP at 84#s....... and all it did was throw my peep across the room. thank goodness.


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## Bobbysurrett

I didn't but my step brother did he dry fired my prime rize I didn't notice it untill I nocked an arrow and tried to draw the bow. Derailed the string off one side of the cams and who knows where the peep went. Pro shop put the string back on and everything was good to go they even ran a cotton ball over the limbs to make sure they were intact. So I got damn lucky. My step brother wasn't so lucky if you understand that. So from that point forward I put my bow in the case and lock it


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## Milhouse

Dry fired my Monster 7.0 at a 3D shoot, several years back. I don't recommend it. It got real hot in there, real quick..... I was done for the day. Needed a new string, completely crushed the Meta peep, which cut the string half way through. Had it completely checked out by the pro shop i bought it from, limbs and cams were fine. Mathews even sent new strings and cables for nothing...bow tech guy at the pro shop says, "It's under warranty." I said, "There's a warranty for being stupid?!" Good on Mathews and Scheels in Bismarck ND! It happens. I just wish it hadn't happened in front of 200 people. It stings in the pride department.


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## modernhunter

I personally have not Thankfully.. But my brother did on a Hoyt Nitrum Turbo and a Bowtech Carbon Overdrive. Hoyt was fine, the Bowtech may have only been fine because he had it turned down to the minimum draw weight on the bow. Needless to say after dry firing a bow a second time he got rid of his thumb style release..


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## Bucket

Have a buddy that bragged about how his Hoyt (Katera or Trykon...can't remember now) could be dry fired. He would shoot that thing dry a couple times every time we got together. To the best of my knowledge, he still has it and it shoots fine.


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## barebowman

been shooting for 4 years and hasnt happened to me so far. im going to go knock on wood now.


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## gator97dwb

Yes I did. Not on purpose.


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