Does tis sound right to you?

[Nephew]

A cousin of mine has put aside his compound and taken up the longbow. I actually wanted to send him my 40#Greybeard bamboo limbed one, but he went and bought a 30# Viper Deluxe on impulse last Saturday! Anyway, I asked him if the shop showed him how to use his stringer, and he said "What?", he had no idea what I meant. I spent a while telling him what I've been taught, from here, about not leaving wooden bows strung when not in use and he sounded like he didn't believe me, or at least had no confidence in what I was advising. Today he rings and tells me he had rung the shop, and they laughed and told him it was a ridiculous old wives tale! That the owner has had bows strung for 30-40 years and there is nothing wrong with them, and that 95% of damage done to bows is from people destringing /stringing them.
Now, I believe what I have been taught as the folk who taught me are mostly blokes who make bows and/or have been around the scene a long time, but I am confused as to the advice the shop owner gave Dave. Is he trying to make sure he'll get further business from Dave (either repairs or replacement bow) or is that just my middle age cynicism showing.
What do you blokes say..to destring or not destring, that is my question.

[pdccr]

I have always unstrung my bows mainly because it can sometimes be a month between shooting them, also in NQ i was told the humitidy can sometimes be damaging to the bows so yes i have never left them strung.

[Stickbow Hunter]

It doesn't hurt modern glass composite bows to be left strung so long as they aren't stored in a place that gets very hot - hung up against a the wall of a tin shed for example. Yes, some bows get left strung for years on end.

Now for me personally, I never leave my bows strung; they are much easier to store and carry unstrung IMO. I also never use a stringer and probably never will as I fail to see the need if you take care when using other methods of stringing a bow.

Jeff

[longbowinfected]

It is all about degrees.

If you have an unglassed ELB you unstring it between shots walking around the field course if slightly longer between targets.

You can leave glased bows. A number of folk do.

Yes if you string bows, especially recurves badly with uneven pressure they can be badly damaged, including delamination.

I have seen as many bows especially recurves damaged by leaving them strung up as compared to other bad care behaviour.

Excessive heat is the real killer as it raises the bow's temperature above the glue's melting point. I know as I damaged a bow I love whilst unstrung in a bag but left in a hot car.
It still shoots well but I had a nervous moment when it went "crack" in the glass as I strung it for a tournament. I drew very carefully for the next 144 arrows and ever since.

You own the bow. You paid for it. You make the decisions about maintenanceand care.
If you unbrace carefully, put the bow in a bag and keep it away from heat you should be ok.

There is a lot of "the only truth" in trad archery. I take advice then check it out myslf.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have seen some of the best trad shooters never unbrace [unless transporting them] their numerous bows but they all keep them cool.

Kev

[Night Wing]

Both of my glassed Blacktail recurves stay strung in my bow rack.

[Nephew]

Thanks Fellas. I wasn't sure on this one, but like so many things, it all comes down to opinion. For my money, I'll keep de-stringing mine at the end of the day.

[MattW]

I recently got a black widow longbow, they recommend unstringing after the days shooting, but their recommendations for their recurves are very much in line with the comments from the archery shop you mentioned (ie more damage done from stinging than leaving strung). So to me it sounds like the shop owner has heard some information about recurves, then though it appliled to longbows as well.

[dmm]

This was a very informative thread. I started reading and thought I knew the answer. Unstring the bow between uses, everyone knows that.

Seems I was wrong. However, the reason I unstring my bow, is that's what pretty much everyone I have ever shot with (excluding compound) seems to do.
So even if it isn't necessary, it seems to be the common practice.

[otis.drum]

my glass bows stay strung perminentely, my all woods/selfies get unstrung.

not sure how leaving them strung affects them but some of mine have been strung for over a year and haven't dropped poundage of shown any obvious signs of damage. i see some people leave them strung for years.

like jeff, i dont use a stringer either.

[stickshooter]

I have a Bear Grizzly that I left strung for a couple of years & when it was shoot through a conograph it was shooting 15fps slower from new.
so now I destring all my bows

[GrahameA]

Morning All.

I unstring my bows however, that may be force of habit as anything.

Consider this, one of my compounds has been strung for 20 years - there has been nil measurable decrease in draw weight. To balance this I have seen a bow drop 10% of its draw weight as a result of being left strung in a closed car on a Summer afternoon. My opinion is that the temperature was high enough for plastic deformation to occur.

[Steven J]

I tested this with the first bow that I made. It had a lot of visual faults in it so I had nothing to lose. I found that after 6 months that there was no drop in draw weight. The bow took the usual string follow (about 1/4"), but after a day this had come back out again. It did not seem to harm this bow.

As has been said, I would not ever leave a strung bow in a warm/hot place (eg. a hot car).

I unstring my bows because they are longbows and store easier when unstrung.

Steve

[Chase N. Nocks]

Morning All.

I unstring my bows however, that may be force of habit as anything.

Consider this, one of my compounds has been strung for 20 years - there has been nil measurable decrease in draw weight. To balance this I have seen a bow drop 10% of its draw weight as a result of being left strung in a closed car on a Summer afternoon. My opinion is that the temperature was high enough for plastic deformation to occur.

Yes mate my Polar LTD compound has been strung for 30 years and still shoots fine.

Moreton, I generally unstring all my bows these days, mainly for room on the racks and because I finally purchased some decent bow stringers. But yes my Damon Howart Hunter probably stayed strung for one period of nearly 10 years...maybe that is not recommended but it still shoots like a beauty.

[greybeard]

It is all about degrees.

If you have an unglassed ELB you unstring it between shots walking around the field course if slightly longer between targets.

Kev

There is no need to unbrace a selfbow unless it is half a days walk between targets.

My red ash 'D' section longbow [can't call it an ELB as it was made in the land of Oz using Australian timber]. The bow is at least eight years old and shoots as good as the day I made it.

During the course of an all day shoot I would only unbrace the bow at lunch time and then again when going home.

Daryl.

[ed]

Like everybody else I unstring when not going to shoot for an hour or longer, but a lot of that is heat in the summer, ease of storage etc. I still think that since there is wood in a composite bow that there may in time be some change, maybe not, but why risk it? If you have any skill at all with stringing a longbow then there is less stress on the bow in stringing than when being shot so I see no issue in unstringing it. It also gives the chance to check the string loops for wear.