I've never had this type of bow failure before. It's a lousy time for it to happen. I figured I could at least shoot my bow in my yard during these shelter in place orders, but NOoo, not to be! My Pearson Colt failed on the 4th shot. Anyone else see this before?

Yep. Get a black widow. Won't have to worry bout it.,

Maybe its the picture, but those look like some awfully skinny loops on that string.

Maybe it's me but those strings are not in the groove

Looks like piano wire-skinny loops. For shame.

Yep, seen it lots of times. I had a set of ILF limbs split the same way a few years ago.

Sorry about your luck.

Nothing to do with the loops. I've seen it 4 times. Each one a different make and different strings. One was mine, on a #41 Gordon Plastics bow with a 12 strand dacron string.

That sucks

Nothing to do with the loops. I've seen it 4 times. Each one a different make and different strings. One was mine, on a #41 Gordon Plastics bow with a 12 strand dacron string.

That sucks

I've shot the bow the past 2 yrs with no problems. The loops weren't any skinnier than any others I've had, and they were sell in the grooves. Of course, when the limb split on each side the loop just continued down the limb. Now I've got to find another bow to shoot, I don't particularly like the looks of the Samick, but may have to try one out so I can get back to shooting, lol.

May just be the picture bot the loops look skinny to me as well.

There was undoubtedly a defect in the string grooves, it happens. Every bow is going to fail.

Sorry about your bow, have you looked at the one piece Samick Sage? A much nicer looking bow than the takedown. Similar to the one you had fail on you.

"skinnier", like a fast flight string material on an older bow, that's the question I have and some others seem to be asking as well.

The appearance is that the string material was able to cut through the limb without fraying.

Does that bow have tip over lays? Did you dry fire the bow? Is that a FF string? Sorry that happened to you, and yes I have seen that before, and the reasoning behind it varies in opinion around here from person to person.

This is just my opinion but if it were mine, I would try to fix it. There’s a post dated 3-21-20 you can check called “fixable?” . Just out of curiosity, what are the bow specifications, i.e. length, weight, model # and serial #?

Condolences.....At least a limb didn't shatter and endanger you. I had a Herter's recurve many years ago that broke in half and hit me in the head!

Sorry about your bow, that's a bummer. Hope you can find a replacement and get out shooting again!

Judging by the way this thread is heading I have to ask myself; is it too early in the morning for popcorn?

I feel your pain. It happen on my original 59 Bear Kodiak. Now it just leans against a wall :(

I feel your pain. It happen on my original 59 Bear Kodiak. Now it just leans against a wall :(

That Kodiak is fixable too.

I built a bow for a friend 2 years ago that experienced the same failure. I believe my overlays were too thin but who knows.. that sucks. and yes I had to rebuild that bow for him,, Went with phenolic overlays on the new one!

if you buy one of those ELBs we talked about, that won't happen. On a bow that old, there's no telling how many broken nock/dry fires it has been through...or worse... it happens.

If you don't like the looks of the Sage, check out the Black Hunter. Better bow IMO, and those loops look really skinny to me too.

That happened on a Pearson Colt of mine as well, and it also happened on a Howatt Monterey. The Colt had no tip reinforcements, and the Monterey had very minimal ones. If you have an old-time bow that you like, it's worth doing an add-on of overlays...or at least checking it very closely and watching for hairline cracks to start at the nocks.

Who handles the Black Hunter. Been looking at their longbow but don't know what business to deal with in buying one.

It just wore out from all that fun you had with it. It happens.

I’ve had this happen to a bow of mine, and I was informed that it’s not fixable unless the limbs are cut down to make the bow shorter. And if skinny loops are a problem, why are they made that way?

MP

Lot of dealers have the Black Hunter; pretty sure Lancaster is on the list. Or Mike at Hitman Archery in the NYC area; he brought in one that had a bunch of upgrades to the materials and finish. Arguably all cosmetic touches, but life really IS too short to shoot and ugly bow.

No one seems to pay attention to the loop notches on recurves when they decide to shoot them again. The only way a string cuts into a limb like that, is there is an opening along that notch that wasn't addressed ahead of time. Over time a loop can work it's way in and once it starts it goes quickly. Not a string material issue...even a twelve strand Dacron will do that.

99% of that would go away if you attended to making sure those string nocks were both symmetrical and smooth by checking them and sanding and shaping if necessary. I've been telling folks that for years but I guess no one is listening....well, except Jinkster. ;) Shaping, smoothing and creating a symmetrical teardrop effect will keep most of those old bows going.

The Pearson Colt has no overlays so it needs even more scrutiny to make sure tips are strong and correctly done. You can also put overlays on them which will help alleviate pressure along the bottom of the notch. That said, some bows will get by with fat loops a little longer, but don't blame the string for something that could be prevented with some pre shooting scrutiny.

I’m listening George.....

George, I agree but it's easier to blame the string or string material.

"The only way a string cuts into a limb like that, is there is an opening along that notch that wasn't addressed ahead of time."

Wouldn't both sides of the notch have to have "an opening" to cause that sort of damage evenly on both sides of the limb?

Those loops are no skinnier than those on a 14-16 strand endless loop B-50.

I’ve also been doing what George is talking about for years now and I Haven’t had an older bow fail. I have to say though that all I have in the way of strings is B-50 or B-55. The few bows that I do have with low stretch string on them came that way from the bowyers, so I left them. Sorry about your old Colt, they’re fine bows. Lance

Good question Supernaut.

Yes. In order for the string to run down both sides of the limb like that there would have to imperfections in both sides.

If there had not been it would have only split one side of the limb.

I'm wondering if the OP only has one bow? The Sage is ugly, but is a fine shooter. Order a good string with it and toss the factory one that comes with it. Limbs are are also inexpensive if you want a few different weights. I made my ugly Sage look better by painting it flat black.

What do you think the odds are of a bow having "an opening" on both sides to cause that sort of damage?

What do you think the odds are that the numerous bows we've seen with this type of damage have all had "an opening" on both sides?

I'm not a professional bowyer or string maker but I do choose to follow their advice when choosing what string material to use on a bow.

It really does stink about the OP's bow.

Tough luck. But, another reason why a person "always" needs more than one bow !

Didn’t know such a thing was possible

I was shooting my Samick Sage yesterday afternoon. Being that it is such a cheap bow, I put really hard strings on it and was using pretty light arrows. Talk about fun! You can always take a rasp and sandpaper to those boxy risers and make them look pretty good. I'm looking for another riser now, just to have a project to fiddle around with.

Once you see this it is the beginning if the end if overlays are not installed.

Herter's CV17. B-50 endless loop. Not the string. Likely dry fires.

Beginning of the end...

Here's another view...the cracks go into the wood.

I think more data is required from the OP before assumptions are made.

I appreciate the pics and input! It was never dry-fired by me, but I haven't owned it its whole life. I don't believe the loops are "so skinny" either. I have several spare strings I've collected over the years from previous bow, and the loops are pretty much the same. I just learned what I didn't know that I didn't know, though. I checked the other end of the bow and it has the same tell-tale lines as some of you shared. I never knew to look for that before. It was m only bow. :(. I was so looking forward to shooting it to take up some time. Darn it! Guess I have an "excuse" now to have several bows!

Supernaut...above is a bow with openings on both sides of the nocks that NEVER saw a FF string. Had an endless loop B-50.

Is it the string?

Saw it 2 x's this winter on the same bow. One was a dry fire. The other had or broke the nock kinda a dry fire on the 2nd set of limbs. The dry fire did it to both limbs.

Saw it 2 x's this winter on the same bow. One was a dry fire. The other had or broke the nock kinda a dry fire on the 2nd set of limbs. The dry fire did it to both limbs.

Yep dry firers will do that with any string, specially with no reinforcement on the limb tips. But the question is did the OP dry fire his bow ?

Pdiddly, I would guess that if you knew the bow never had a FF string on it then you would know that it was dry fired. In that case I would guess that a dry fire caused the damage you pictured.

That's a bummer about the bow.

I really don't care what anyone decides to use for string material. I base my choices on the recommendations of bowyers, manufacturers and string makers. Live and let live and hopefully we don't see many more pics of damaged bows.

I'm not saying it was the string but I do pad my loops on my 12 strand D-97 strings to 16 strands just because. It's a good idea to inspect these old bows for cracks in that nock area anyway. If present, put on overlays.

Nope, OP never dry fired the bow.

EZArcher, the bow is a Pearson Colt 7070, 50# @ 28 inches.

George, I never saw "an opening" anywhere in the notch, but I'm not sure I'd know what to look for, unless it was completely obvious. I do know, now, that I'll look for these "stress lines".

I had a dogleg Grizzly. I never paid a lot of attention to the string groves. Well I gave it a good look when I was taking pictures to offer it on a trade. It had hairline cracks in the tip, it would have failed. I took clear pictures and traded it to a guy who fixed it. I almost bought it back when he offered it for sale. So I pay attention now and look the tips over before stringing any of my bows.

Pdiddly's bow is an easy fix with tip over lays. If I made an attempt to fix yours I would remove the stuck string . Fill the cracks with Loctite 420, and clamp till it dried. Add under lays,and over lays of Micarta using Smooth on for the glue up.It may ,or may not work, and I would test the bow after the fix on a tiller tree from a good distance away until I pulled it at least 2 inches past my draw length. I just like fixing things. I would say most guys on here would junk the bow, and that is OK too. For me it is fixing some thing broken,and bringing back to life.

Sent ya a PM Sinner.

2x’s Bassman

Well, Bassman, I'll have to go ahead and put it up for a drawing to anyone who may want to tackle such a job. It sounds like there are a few that would. Me, I'd never trust it again.

Fact is limb glass has unidirectional fibers. Meaning there are NO cross fibers in the limb. That's why black widow has had a thin layer of glass mat down the middle of their limbs ever since they put ff string material on them. Overlays skirt the issue of 0 lateral strength. But without overlays the limb grooves need to be in perfect condition.

My 6 month old Robertson stykbow did it as well. With the stock string.

I been kicking around buying a new bow but couldn't decide on one. You guy have about convinced me to buy a BW.

? duct tape?

Drawing? I’m in!!

If you have a drawing I am in also. 2 years ago I fixed a friend,s 1989 Martin Sabre were a 12 strand FF string ripped through one side of the top limb with a dry fire about the same as yours in length. On the belly side of the tip the Co. cut a Y into the limb tip were the lam wood was showing. I don't think that helped matters either. I used the above method,and tied him 2, 10 strand B55 strings with padded loops. He has shot the bow a lot since then ,and it is holding up just fine. Every time we shoot together I do a visual check on it. He has killed 2 buck with it since the fix, and shoots it at indoor shoots in the winter.

Bummer, but those bows weren’t meant to last forever. I also believe we do not pay enough attention to the bow tips. About the only time I look at the bottom limb tip is when I change a string which maybe once a year. Otherwise only if bow gets wet, I take off the limb protector and check for crud. Then put some string wax in the groove and on the string loop. Maybe your misfortune will help somebody save their bow by checking those limb tips.

I agree M60gunner. I never really thought to do much of an inspection of the tips other than a quick check for obvious cracks, scraps or gouges.

Here's another LWer's repair from a while back. Big overlays added.

Bassman. Do you have any pictures of the Saber's damage? That bow was made from 1996-2000 and had black glass overlays on the tips.

Shows that a poorly designed string can damage a bow even with strong tips on a dry fire.

My Saber's are one of my favourite bows and want to ensure they are not harmed.

Pics of the repair would be welcome.

I have a Browning that is in the same condition. I haven’t shot it since I noticed the tip cracks. One of these days I’ll have overlays put on it.

fishin coyote, I never would have known before my mishap to look for that!

Pdiddly, This one is red Elm under clear glass. I just talked to the owner. He called to give me the report on our home lake. He caught 7 bass in 2 hours. Any how I asked him again,and the bow is a 1999, so you are correct ,and I was wrong. When he gets the bow to me I will post the repairs that I made. The string ripped right through the tip over lay.

Sinner, If the Browning would’ve had bigger tip I may not have noticed either but the little tips and white limbs made it easy to see.

I've never seen one do that but had an old Herters blow up on me. I'll be looking more closely now. Love old bows.

Years ago I had the same issue with an older Howatt High Speed. I was shooting a B-50 string on the bow and decided to try a D-97 to see the difference in performance. The D-97 made a marked positive difference in feel and performance. It was great... for 10 shots. Then the string ripped through the grooves like above.

Now, before I changed strings I DID notice that the glass was compromised at the string grooves but I still did it anyway. It was more of an experiment. Afterward, I was able to repair the bow and still shoot it with no adverse results.

IMO, a high strength string will exasperate an already existing problem. I still use high strength strings on all my older bows. I just make sure the tips and grooves are in good shape. That, and using a well made string I feel confident that the bow (at least at the tips) will hold up just fine.

For instance, a buddy just gave me an old Shakespeare Sierra. I reinforced the tips and am currently refinishing the whole bow. I will make a BCY-X string for it and never give it a second thought.

Above are some excellent examples of string grooves ready to let go. They can be easily fixed before disaster happens.

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