should you leave your bows strung up or not.I worry about limb twist

You won’t twist a limb leaving it strung.

That being said, I unstring my bows if I am not hunting with them as I want to be able to inspect the string loops and the area under where the arrow nocks for wear.

You can’t do that when the bow is strung.

Some will post that they NEVER unstring their bows. I want to know how and when they inspect the string. I have asked that question for close to two years on various forms and I have never received a reply.

My advice? Always unstring your bow if you are not using it

Someone will reply that must bows are damaged when stringing them...my response is if your use a good stringer you’d have to be a ham-fisted cluck with your eyes closed to mess up a bow.

There are pages and pages on here about that subject. It's completely up to you.

How would a limb twist all by it's self?

You are probably right.I have got 2 new bows coming and i guess i just worry about it

would think it would be easier to twist a limb with it unstrung.

Ok thanks guys

Ok thanks guys

I've left mine strung for a day or two during hunting season. But I unstring them when I'm not shooting them pretty much all the time.

I keep mine strung most of the time. But, I do unstring them to relax the string and limbs and to inspect and wax the string about every other month. It doesn't bother me to leave them strung for extened periods though.

Twisting limbs usually doesn't happen anymore unless you have someone stringing them through their legs and not making sure they are on an even keel. Strung or unstrung, how do you twist a limb? It won't happen. To me, letting a bow strung is allowing Murphy in your bow room. Sometimes they can last forever, but we've heard of them also breaking on the rack. And it's a temptation, like I said. Most kids can't string one, but just about anyone can put an arrow on a string and shoot it.

Some of mine have been strung for years. I do rotate shooting my bows.

RI leave my strung as long as I'm shooting them and for the most part you don't leave lay around for kids to get to just like a gun put it away besides I don't think any of my grandkids could even pull a 55-60# bow an inch let alone a 40# bow

This question needs to be answered more than once.

Personally, I have a bow strung 24/7.

I`m seeing double with this post. The bow I`m shooting almost every day, I`ll leave strung for a long time. If its gonna sit for a while I unstring it.

I've had my Bear Polar strung for more than 20 years. It still weighs in at #50. The endless loop string would get fuzzy in the end servings if there were wear. I don't shoot it often, but often pull it 10 times for exercise. Did this evenibg.

Leaving your bow strung by itself won’t cause limb twist. Storing it improperly and stringing improperly will.

I leave the bow im shooting strung. If i were the paranoid type id be flinching in my sleep waiting for a string to break, but in the scheme of things i consider a strung bow the least of my worries.

Don't have to worry about any unauthorized tinkering around here. Don't lock my truck keys up either.

You will get a million answers on this and not sure if there is a wrong or right one. Me personally it doesn’t take but just a second to unstring or string a bow . So for me it makes me feel better to unstring my bows.

How do those who leave their bow strung for years check the string loops and nock area where the arrow lays to prevent this from happening??

The strands can wear under the serving...only way to check it is have the string slack and flex it.

I have a Damon Howatt Hi-Speed that was strung from 1963 to 2013 until I purchased it from the original owner. It's marked #47 and it pulls #47. The lower limb was twisted,not from being strung, but from standing in a closet corner for decades.

Some live in fear. Some weigh the possible outcomes, try to prevent the worst ones and don't sweat the rest. If I had developed a knack of injuring bow strings invisibly, I'd unstring my all my bows.

I do, of course unbrace all my self bows.

Lukas Novotny of Saluki bows recommends unstringing your bow when not in use...

If left strung, do not stand on end or let hang crooked. Support under both limbs at the fades or hang by the string, where it is free to hang straight. >>>----> Ken

I leave my current shooting bow strung, except to travel via FJ to hunt. Check brace prior to shooting. All other bows in "rest mode" remain unstrung until it's time to wipe off the dust and shoot them.

unstring

To my belief and what I think. Most limb twists occur, while standing in a closet in the corner on their tips. That is not the way to store a wood fiberglass backed bow. Hang them up by the fades, or hang them with a string on them on the upper hook between string and limb with no pressure on the rest of the bow. That is my thoughts. Stands to reason how else could it happen. JF

I unerring long bows but not receives. Not sure why except the graceful lines if a long bow seem a little delicate, where as the receives a little clunky. I mean its like a blocky hunk of lumber and a petite, slender branch. Stupid I know. Just me.

For the last 45 years I have used a stringer to string and unstring my bows as I use them, and I've never had any problems. If they are not being used, they are unstrung. Do as you see fit.

Geezer, I hear what you're sayin. Yes longbows 'look' delicate, but they're not. Recurves are big and clunky in the riser area, but not the limbs so much. They're wide yes, but their limbs are thinner and have less laterally stability, so they're the ones that acquire limb twist more easily, i.e. more delicate.

Bigger/heavier risers pushing down and sideways on a thinner, less stable, curved limb while leaning in a corner? That can do it. Lighter, straighter, thicker longbows can stand like that for decades with virtually no risk of misalignment.

Even so, I still unstring them all and hang them by their strings or lay them flat. Longbows, recurves, glass bows, wood-only bows... all get treated the same here.

Heat is an enemy of bows. I once traded a Robertson recurve to a friend who left it strung on the wall of a hot cabin all one summer,the top limb twisted badly. Another time I was with a fellow at a shoot when he left an 0ld straight end longbow strung up in his truck, I suggested to him that it ought to be unsprung.. but he didn't.. we were at a 3d shoot and when we came back a limb had delaminated. Jigger

I unstring my ASL longbows any time I'm not using them. The thick wood limb core can take on a set if left strung for too long.

It takes a couple seconds to string/unstring a bow. If you don't know how you should learn it's not rocket science. But it's your bow so do what you want.

I learned to string and unstring my bows many decades ago, before I was a teenager, and to me, it's a basic part of the traditional skill set of archery. I believe Ishi told Pope (paraphrasing based on memory) that a strung bow is not at rest, and is "sweating". I recognize that Ishi's (and Pope's) bows are different from mine, but thinking about a sweating bow is all the motivation I need to unstring a bow that has done its job for the day.

I always unstrung my FG bows and I, of course, unstring my selfbows. Jawge

I would be more worried that the limbs are under constant pressure than i would limb twist. I unstring them as soon as im done shooting.

KyPhil is 100% correct. When you pull your truck in the garage do you keep it running 'til you use it again ????? Let those bows rest !!!!

I have mine strung since I bought it new in 1993. It pulls 71# as it did when new. Went thru many strings over the years and many more serving changes. I just hang it from the string and never had any problems. I'm sure it will outlast me by many many years

Not using them, unstrung on the bow rack.

I have a bow that I only occasionally shoot - its been strung for more than 10 years. It seems fine. I shot it last week for a few shots.

Most of my bows I unstring if Im not going to be shooting them with in a week or so.

I dont really get the people here saying one way or the other is absolutely correct.

I unstring mine but that’s just me. I don’t think leaving them strung hurts.

Truck has moving parts that wear out plus costs money to run. A bow has no moving parts and doesn't cost a penny to be strung. Guy come up with lots to make themselves seem right. How about if you're going to lose sleep over it unstring it, if not ,leave it strung. With modern well made flat limbed bow there is no wrong answer. I'll go along with the unstring crows on true asl's tho. Lots of wood or grass to take a set.

I will offer a somewhat less decisive answer... Yes, and no...

I don't less I'm storing them. You do as you wish.

I did have a bear grizzly strung hanging in the garage. I pulled into the garage after a 2 day trip and the limb had broke. Not sure what, why or how, but broke right at the fade.

I leave my bows strung, just like I leave my car engine running and my fridge door open.

Doesn’t seem to make a great deal of difference, new bows out of the box break with some regularity, obviously they are warranted, but, after that theirs no guarantees, just like life

Anything under tension, such as a strung bow, degrades over time. Will it be enough to notice. Maybe, maybe not.

Regardless, I've never found it a chore to unstring and string bows. Leaving your bows strung is not a good habit to get into, IMO. Might end up leaving one in the sun, a warm building, in a vehicle, etc., on a hot day. Lots of bows delaminate that way.

Yep they sure do delam in a hot car, strung or not.

Always unstring after a days use.I will leave strung in hunting camp.

Black Widow ( classic bow company) recommends leaving them strung.

Howatt ( classic bow company) recommends unstringing them.

I’ll go with the certainty and peace of mind of the less than 10 seconds it takes to unstring them.

And then I’ll inspect my string before I string it again, for more peace of mind.

While at the cabin hunting I leave 2 or 3 strung (excluding my self bows) while I am up there. I unstring them before I head for home. The reason I leave so many strung is I am not sure which bow I am going to hunt with until I dress and grab one. Because I know how to make strings I make a new string every winter for my hunting bows and toss the old one's. I do inspect them before I toss them to check for any unusual wear.

In the winter months I leave a couple of my target bows strung for 3 or 4 months as I shoot one of them almost everyday in the basement.

The only thing I would suggest to anyone is never lean your bow against the wall for a long period of time. Hang it up.

Seems we have a consensus. :)

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