10/01/2025
Here’s a different post… let’s talk broken bows. I work in an archery shop, and one of the most common repairs we get into our shop every season is a “blown up bow” due to “dry firing”. How does it happen?
With a compound bow, the most common occurrence is from drawing back your bow without an arrow in it, and then releasing the string, causing the kinetic energy to have nowhere to go but through the limbs, causing them to stress and fracture- often times “exploding” your bow, leaving you out of commission for weeks. Dont let your buddy draw your bow back in your garage just to feel the draw weight. (It happens ALL THE TIME).
On crossbows, the same thing occurs, but can happen if your bolt isn’t fully seated on your bowstring. Even a micro-gap between the bow string and your arrow nock can cause a dry-fire condition. It’s always good practice to ensure your “odd vane is down”, and that it is FULLY seated on your string. Constantly check your bolt while you’re hunting, whether you’re mounting your bow on a tripod in a blind, or on your crossbar while sitting in your stand or climber.
We want to see as many hunters as possible stay in the field versus making the walk of shame into our bow shop with broken equipment.
As they say: “an ounce of prevention prevents a pound of pain.”
Happy hunting
