hazel bow lost draw weigth

[Jjpso]

hello there

couple of weeks ago i finished a hazel pyramid bow with rawhide backing, 64" long
i have been shooting it, and put maybe 500 arrows on it and it setled in 45 pounds at 25 inches with 1/2 inch of string follow after shooting, and around 1/4 inch reflex in 30 minutes or so

last saturday i went on vacations, and brougth the bow with me, i planned to tunne some arrows for it, and aplly the finish i normally use - linseed oil - on it.

i applied the linseed oil (2 coats) on it last monday morning, and the wood absorve it completly, by mid afternoon it was completly dry

yesterday i took the bow and shot some arrows on a target, and then went to a forest with it, but when i unbraced it i noticed that it was following the string more than usual - 1 inch- and after resting all nigth it showed 1/4 of string follow
i measured the weigth and it was only 37# at 25".

the place where i am now is even dryer than my hometow, the bow weigth, draw weigth and tiller were stable, so what happened?!
was it the linseed oil?!

i read somewhere that linseedoil could decrease bow performance, but i have always used it and this never happened?

any opinions?

best regards,

Joćo from Portugal

[bradsmith2010]

linseed oil takes a while to cure,, maybe thats it,,,unless the bow was exposed to moisture somehow,,seems unusual to loose 7 pounds,, did anyone else draw the bow more than 25 inches???

[Jjpso]

linseed oil takes a while to cure,, maybe thats it,,,unless the bow was exposed to moisture somehow,,seems unusual to loose 7 pounds,, did anyone else draw the bow more than 25 inches???

Thanks for your answer bradsmith2010.
I dont think the bow was exposed to moisture, tis really hot and dry here, i checked Google and the moisture was below 30% these last days...
I draw the bow to 26 in the tillering tree, just to be safe, but i am sure no one used it... I can only assume its the lineseed oil, but i find that strange...

[BowEd]

It's got to be the linseed oil bud.Since that's the only thing you did different to it.That's a first to hear of that though.I'd let it dry more is the only thing I'd do.
I've used linseed oil before though.I mix it with mineral spirits for it to absorb deeper into the wood.

[Dakota Kid]

Humidity can be much higher from early evening all the way through sun up, especially if camping near a lake or pond. Also, you stated the bow absorbed the linseed oil almost completely. Just because the surface was dry doesn't mean the oil that soaked into the wood was also dry. Give it a week or so to dry out a little more. You can also weigh it twice daily to see if it's losing any moisture weight.

The only other things that may have caused a drop in performance  like that would be something happened to the string to alter it in some way or if your handle laminations  popped their seams. 

[PlanB]

Check carefully for frets/chrysalling all over -- the fresh oil may have hidden them.

[Frodolf]

The only time I've had anything remotely similar happen with any of my bows was when one bow developed chrysals. Had a rowan longbow go from 55# to 42# before finally breaking. But those chrysals were pretty obvious and, in my experience, oil make it easier to spot chrysals, not the other way around. Maybe that depends on the kind of wood. If the belly is fine, it sounds like it has to be the oil... very strange!

[Jjpso]

Thanks everyone for your help.

I havent found any frets or chrysals. I will give it a few days and check out the weight again, and see what happens!!