Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: rmjames on June 24, 2010, 06:41:34 pm

Title: How long strung??
Post by: rmjames on June 24, 2010, 06:41:34 pm
How long are ya'll willing to leave your selfbows strung up--I've seen some people unstring them between targets at 3d shoots and obviously you have to keep it strung up while actually hunting??--and does temperature come into play as to how long you'd leave it strung up--it gets hot here in Georgia!!??
thanks, Rick
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: half eye on June 24, 2010, 06:47:19 pm
rm,
     I make self bows, and go huntin a lot. Mine dont get unstrung from the time I go into hunt till I'm all done huintin, maybe 12 to 14 hours....never had any trouble......as a matter of fact I made a bow (was posted here on PA) and gave it to a friend out in Wyoming....it was a bit too much draw weight so I told him to leave it strung for week and then try it......well it didn't loose an ounce. Thats just me and my bows so I sure dont speek for nobody but me.
Rich
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: aero86 on June 24, 2010, 06:54:51 pm
i dont like to leave mine strung.  it might depend on your string height too.  but, ive not been doing this very long so i cant say for sure!
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: George Tsoukalas on June 24, 2010, 07:05:40 pm
When I'm done shooting, I unstring. Jawge
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: bubby on June 24, 2010, 07:27:18 pm
if ya gotta unstring between shots at a 3d shoot sumthing's not right. I leave mine strung while hunting, Bub
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: Eric Krewson on June 24, 2010, 09:04:13 pm
Some of my bows like a few warm-up shots to be tack drivers. I like to leave them strung, some times up to 8 to 10 hours, no problems
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: ken75 on June 24, 2010, 09:46:15 pm
i leave mine strung till im done with whatever im doing targets ,hunting, might be different for flight shooting , but hunting bows are tools and i dont pamper my tools ! what part of GA ?
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: rmjames on June 24, 2010, 11:26:10 pm
Thanks guys, In Augusta Ken.
rick
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: ken75 on June 24, 2010, 11:46:31 pm
spent lots of time over there growing up had friends in waynesborro, welcome to PA
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: Scowler on June 25, 2010, 12:01:13 am
Like everyone else said, I leave mine strung until I'm done shooting for the day(8-10 hours).
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: Pat B on June 25, 2010, 12:07:37 am
I leave my bows strung as long as they need to be strung. It is way less stressful(on the bow) to leave a bow strung than one being strung and unstrung over and over again.
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: Josh on June 25, 2010, 12:49:30 am
Same as everyone else, I really don't worry about how long my bow has been strung until it has been at least 7 or 8 hours.. I worry more about how long I hold my draw, seems like that will stress a bow WAY worse than just having it braced... Then I start to worry about losing arrow speed and picking up string follow. Usually isn't a problem though... Welcome to PA!   :)
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: aaron on June 25, 2010, 01:24:09 am
ok confession time: i usually limit it to one hunting day- 12 hours or so, but.... this year i accidentally left my hunting bow strung for four days. AHHHHHHH i nearly had a heart attack when i realised what i had done. well, it gained almost two inches of string follow, and probably lost 5 pounds, but all in all i am surprised at how well it still shoots. BBB (boo backed boo) 66 inches, rigid handle pyramid. stave had one inch reflex, finished bow took i inch set for a straight profile- now it has 2 inches deflex when first unstrung, going back almost straight after a days rest ( but only the JUST unstrung profile counts).
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: Pappy on June 25, 2010, 01:07:00 pm
Same as most everyone else,as long as I need to. If I don't plane on shooting for a while I unstring.
I leave them strung a half a day a lot during hunting and if on a 3 d course I will unstring if I am taking a break,for a drink and a burger.  :)   
   Pappy
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: cracker on June 25, 2010, 02:42:17 pm
Thanks guys, In Augusta Ken.
rick
That means I'm not the only wood bow guy within 100 miles I'm in Bartow not too far from Louisville.Ronnie
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: Badger on June 25, 2010, 03:50:14 pm
   I made my brother in law a red cedar bow while I was in Mississippi. I came back two years later and the bow was still strung, needless to say the string was no longer taught and the bow had taken a full 6 inches of set. I leave mine braced as long as I need to but no more or no less. Steve
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: aznboi3644 on June 25, 2010, 08:56:05 pm
Left my 48" red oak shorty strung for a couple days...I just plain forgot about it being in the back seat of my car...when I finally realized it I ran out and unstrung it quickly...I measured the follow to see the damage...but none had occured...still the same set.
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: Little John on June 26, 2010, 08:56:16 am
I also left a 64" 45# sinue backed osage bow strung for several days laying with some arrows,bracer and glove on some hay bales in our barn. I knew I had left it there but don't know why it was braced as I never leave them that way. Any way when I noticed it was strung and undid it it had lost a bit of reflex but after a few days it seems to have the original profile and I just weighed it and it still has the same draw weight. I don't recomend what I did but happy I seem to have gotten away with it. Probably depends on heat and humidity. In hunting situations I always am strung up from shooting light till too dark to shoot with no ill effects, probably also depends on your bow design.      Kenneth
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: Grunt on June 26, 2010, 09:10:17 am
I usually leave a bow I'm working on a low brace while I go have lunch or for an hour or so. I'm thinking it helps stretch the fibers and helps in the break in stage. Once finished I only string her up when I want to be ready to shoot.
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: gpw on June 26, 2010, 11:11:14 am
   After final tillering , I routinely leave my bows strung overnight before attempting to shoot it ...  FWIW , it does seem to help ...  For hunting /shooting I just leave it strung for as long as I'm in the woods ... once unstrung , they all seem to straighten back out in a few hours...
  Giant PIA to keep stringing and unstringing ... 
  Here comes a Turkey, wait, let me string my bow ...   ::)
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: sailordad on June 26, 2010, 11:20:40 am
for me it all depends
if i plan on sittng in my blind and not leaving it
i string it when i see a the critter i am after and unstring it when hes gone
if i am walking and stalking then its strung the whole time
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: El Destructo on June 26, 2010, 11:42:41 am
When I am building a Bow...I leave it strung at a Low Brace to do all of my Scraping...once the Bow is finished and I have strung it with a new String...I will twist the String to get the Proper Brace...and leave it strung for 24 hours or so...this does two things for Me....it stretches the String out...and it reminds the wood that it is now  a Bow...and how to bend.... ;)....in either a Hunting or 3-D Target Shoot situation...my Bows stay strung until We are done shooting...does more harm than good to bend and relax a Bow like that....I bet the Native Americans did this every time they went Hunting....or went to War...well lets unstring the Bow and give it a break...there is no Game or Enemy around.....not....... :P
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: gpw on June 26, 2010, 11:53:29 am
QUOTE: "i string it when i see a the critter i am after and unstring it when hes gone"    question is , does the critter see you ???   :o
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: sailordad on June 26, 2010, 12:13:45 pm
gpw, read my post again

" if i plan on sitting in my BLIND and not leaving it i string it when i see the critter i am after and ustring it when he goes"
i have yet to be busted while stringing a bow in my blind.i hunt alot of filed edges and they are several hundreds of yards across
when a critter comes in the open i see them long before they even notice the blind
sometimes the bow will stay strung for several hours while they are in the field in front of me,sometimes its just a few minutes
either way,if i am in my ground blind i only string it when its needed and unstring it right after its no longer needed
hunting in te open is differant,like i said before
if i am walking/stalking then its strung the whole time
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: gpw on June 26, 2010, 01:44:41 pm
  I'll be VERY careful to read your posts thoroughly and Exactly in the future ... you bet !!!  :-[

 You not a Lawyer huh ??   hahahaha
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: rmjames on June 26, 2010, 08:04:05 pm
"That means I'm not the only wood bow guy within 100 miles I'm in Bartow not too far from Louisville.Ronnie"

Yeah Ronnie, there are others out there--I know a couple from down around Vidailia and there are a few more around Augusta, I just don't think they do the computer thing too much. Did you happen to attend the Appling Archers shoot this year?
rick
Title: Re: How long strung??
Post by: Hillbilly on June 26, 2010, 09:05:13 pm
I'm the same as most everbody else- if a bow won't stand up to being strung several hours at a time while hunting, I don't want it. I unstring mine when I'm done hunting, 3D shooting, or whatever I'm doing. If I stop hunting for a few hours in the middle of the day I'll unstring it. I am careful to not leave a strung bow in really hot direct sun or in a parked car if I can help it-I think heat and stress together is a  good way to get a bunch of string follow.