Question about dry firing bow

[Bobby Castello]

Was shooting my new perigrine longbow today and dry fired the bow due to a split nock. Now I can flex the limbs with the bow strung by pushing the string towards the limbs. Wanted to know what I did to the bow and if it can be fixed. I shot a few arrows out of the bow after it happened and the bow seems to shoot fine. I did not see any damage to the limbs or the tips.I unstrung the bow and did not notice any problems. Any help would be appreciated. I hate to think I just ruined a brand new $780.00 bow because of a damaged nock! Thanks for any advice.
                             Bobby

[rastaman]

If it's Abe Penner's Cari-Bow perigrine, give him a call.  
Randy

[James Wrenn]

It is probably fine if you don't see any damage and it shoots ok.Check all the glue lines good and the tips and overlays.Not sure what you mean about flexing the limbs?? Is your brace height low on the bow?

[chuck172]

I hope your bow is alright Bob. This has happened to me quite a bit lately. I haven't seen any limb damage yet, but are there any precautions that can be taken to prevent shooting with damaged nocks? Are there any more durable nocks out there?

[rappstar]

i haven't shot long enough for this to happen...how does a damaged nock cause a dry fire?

[Bobby Castello]

James the brace height is set a 7" as per Abe's istructions. With the bow strucg I can push the string towards the limbs and the bow limb tip flexes foward. Maybe its just me but I don't remeber ever being able to do that. I think I'll string another bow and try to do the same thing.

[LKH]

I'd bet you just don't remember.  It doesn't sound like you did anything.  

rappstar - basically the arrow moves out from the string without getting any of the energy, hence its just like it was never there.  The split nock allows that to happen.

[d. ward]

If you could restring the bow and draw it,and it did not break I would think things are fine too..You may want to replace the string...bowdoc

[James Wrenn]

I think it would do that from the begining and you just did not pay as much attention as you are now.Most bows will take a dryfire or two.Longbows better than recurves.Really the only time I have ever had an issue is when the bow had a defect from the begining.I can honestly say I do not own a bow that has not been dryfired at least once.I dryfire ever bow I build before I go through the trouble of putting a finish on it.If it has a problem I want to know it before I go through the extra work.I got some bad nocks one time and had 7 dryfires on a 20 target 3d round.    Boy the guys will give you some room to shoot after the first couple.  

[Pete W]

Bring the brace to 7 1/4 and it will stiffen the limb tip. I found mine shoots quieter at this brace too.

[Bobby Castello]

Thanks guys for the info! I got in touch with Abe and he told me the flexing of the limbs when I pushed the string towards the limb was due to the design of the bow. I checked the bow again changed the brace height and shes shooting better than before! Pete thanks for the great review on this bow. After I read your review on the Perigrine I ordered one from Abe. Everything in your review was correct. One of the best shooting bows I have shot. Thanks again to all!

[TheArc]

My Shawnee Cougar did the same thing, more when the brace height was lowered. Just feels funny but I also called the bowyer and Bob assured me it was OK and gave mer the same good advice as Pete W. has here.
As for the damaged nocks, well depends if you are sanding them to fit a thick serving you have to be a bit more careful to examine the nock before each shot. I also notice that a nock ready to split will feel real loose on the seving even though you may not see the fatigue and subsequent split.

[b.glass]

To get the nock to fit the string optimally, I have taken the advice found in "The Traditional Bowhunter's Handbook" by T.J. Conrad. You dip the nock in very hot water for a few seconds then adjust it and let it cool. However, I have recently found that not all nocks will allow this. I have had to file arrows with Signiture nocks to get them to fit the new string on my longbow. I never thought about making the nocks weak by doing this! I will start checking them more often now.

[Blackhawk7204]

It would be alot more consistent to reserve the string to fit the nocks than trying to change each nock. Much safer too.