Show Whether you’re an experienced archer or you’re just getting started, one critical mistake you want to avoid is dry firing your bow. This usually happens on accident, but anyone who has ever been around a dry fired a bow knows there are consequences. Not only is there a loud and terrible twang, but you can also damage your bow. Read on to learn about dry firing and how you should avoid this archery mistake. What is Dry Firing?Dry firing, also known as dry loosing, is when you draw back and release the bowstring without an arrow nocked. Any type of bow can be dry fired, including crossbows. A dry fire can happen accidentally if your arrow isn’t properly nocked or if your fingers slip on the string. It can happen to anyone, including experienced archers, so don’t be too hard on yourself—just check your bow for damage and try to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It Could Cause Serious Damage
 While many people like to dry fire a firearm for practice and weapon familiarity, you cannot safely do the same thing with a bow. When you dry fire a bow, instead of transferring the harnessed energy of the string into the arrow, your string has to deal with the reverberation once you release. Many people strive to avoid any type of vibration in the string, going so far as to buy dampeners for everyday practice. If even the small, regular vibrations of the string can cause damage to bow parts, can you imagine what type of damage all that extra energy can cause? The higher the draw of your bow, the more damage a dry fire can inflict. For example, dry firing a crossbow or compound bow is much worse than dry firing a recurve. Some of the most common damage you can expect from dry firing includes:
Your Bow Could Literally Explode
If the only damage to your bow after a dry fire is a derailed string, you can probably consider yourself lucky. Minor bow damage is far from the worst thing that could happen. Dry firing a crossbow, compound bow, or recurve bow could cause a literal explosion! Plastic or wood parts flying through the air, metal pieces becoming shrapnel, and a tightly coiled string lashing back at your face—these are real possibilities as a result of a dry fired bow. What To Do After A Dry FireAfter a dry fire, you want to complete a full inspection of your bow to ensure there is no damage. Heavier draw bows are more likely to sustain damage from dry fires, so check those meticulously. Make sure you don’t miss anything by taking your bow to an archery shop for a more comprehensive inspection. Have questions about dry firing your bow? Reach out to our staff shooters today for expert advice. Most people think that they’ll never dry-fire a crossbow, but if you spend enough time shooting one it will probably happen. A dry-fire can be as blatantly obvious as having forgotten to load an arrow onto the bow, or as subtle as having a nock failure, which can cause the string to go over or under the arrow. Either way the resulting damage to the crossbow can range from catastrophic to minor. Recurve crossbows are much more prone to survive a dry-fire with little to no damage than their compound counterparts. This is due largely in part to their simplistic design and their lack of cams and cables. However, there are certain precautions one must take after a dry-fire regardless of the type of crossbow. If you have experienced a dry-fire, it’s imperative that the crossbow be immediately and thoroughly inspected before it is shot again. You MUST assume that damage has occurred. The first thing that you want to inspect is the limb tips or cams depending upon your model. If it is a recurve-type bow make sure that the string loops are still securely slotted on the limb tips. If it’s a compound model, visually inspect the cams thoroughly ensuring that no damage has occurred and that the string and cables are still slotted properly. If everything looks to be intact, the next step is to inspect the strings and cables. Gently run your fingers along each asserting a moderate amount of pressure to make certain that there is still tension on the string and that no strands have been damaged. Next a complete limb inspection should be performed. Visually inspect the limbs for splinters, cracks or chips. If none are noted, rub a cotton ball over the complete surface and edges of the limbs. If any limb flaws are encountered they will pull small fibers from the cotton ball and be revealed immediately. If no damage has been found to this point, slowly cock the crossbow listening for any unusual sounds. If nothing has been detected again visually inspect the entire crossbow and perform the cotton ball test on the limbs one more time. If any problems are detected during the entire inspection process, take the crossbow to your local pro shop or contact the manufacturer immediately. Rare is the instance that a crossbow can withstand a dry-fire without some type of damage. Visit Sportsman’s Guide today for the latest assortment of Archery Gear. Click here to subscribe to Crossbow Magazine! What happens if you dry fire a crossbow?Your crossbow limbs can crack or splinter during a dry fire. Kinetic energy slamming back into the bow can also do a number on the cams. It can bend them and warp the cam tracks where the string sits. If the cams become damaged, the string will vibrate out of the cam tracks.
Is a bow ruined if dry fired?When you dry fire a bow, the energy is not able to transfer to the arrow because there is no arrow, but the energy will still need to go somewhere. So instead, the energy goes back to the bow creating strong vibrations throughout the entire bow. These vibrations can cause catastrophic damage to any part of the bow.
Can you dry fire a Barnett crossbow?Never "dry fire" (i.e., release a cocked crossbow string without a recommended arrow properly loaded into the receiver) your crossbow. Dry firing a Barnett crossbow will immediately void your warranty and result in catastrophic damage to the crossbow.
Why can't you dry fire a compound bow?Dry Firing a Recurve is Bad; Dry Firing a Compound Bow is Worse. Because compound bows are so powerful—the force of the draw is magnified by the lever system—the damage to a compound bow after a dry fire will be much, much worse than the damage to a recurve bow.
|
Can you dry fire a crossbow
Related Posts
Copyright © 2024 pauex Inc.
