Strung or Unstrung

[bsigal]

In the past months I've asked many trad shooters their opinion on whether or not it is necessary to keep newer composite recurve unstrung when not in use.  Needless to say, everyone of them differs.  In the past, I've gotten really good advice from the people here, and I respect their opinions.  So, what is the consensus of opinion on this topic, unstring it when not in use, or does it matter?

[zilla]

Hmmm.  My bow that I am currently using stays strung. I shoot a few times a week so I leave it strung. If I am not going to shoot it for a while I will unstring it.  My current shooter is a Morrison.

[j yenney]

You will have to make that decision your self. I leave mine strung regaurdless, and it hasn't hurt a thing yet

[DBerrard]

You'll get the same mixed opinions here too  :D
Try a search though...many, many posts on the subject already.  

Anyhow, I unstring mine. Wanted to leave her strung but the brace height would lower every time..guess the string would stretch..

[Orion]

Yep.  Pretty much a personal choice.  I unstring mine.

[Mark Trego]

Mine remain strung, Ken Beck of Black Widow says there is more of a chance to damage your bow during the stringing process than just leaving it strung.

[John3]

My new recurves (black widow) I never unstring them during season.. From August thru Jan they stay strung.. NO issues what so ever.

JDS III

[bsigal]

Thanks for the input guys.  I guess it still boils down to personal preference.  Although, the input from the widow shooters, jds3 and especially Mark Trego, makes sense, since I've already had one mis-hap while stringing up one of my bows.

tnx again for the input,

Ben

[donnyjack]

I remember talking with G.Fred Asbell back when he owned Big Horn and I was ordering a bow from him on this issue and he told me they had a shop bow that they left strung for over a year and it only lost 1# in draw weight.

I leave my recurve strung during season (Aug.-Jan) and have never had a problem.  I agree that you stand a better chance of damaging the bow during the stringing up than you would by leaving it strung.

DJ

[Shawn Rackley]

i leave mine strung. i cant count how many times my 21st century long bow string has slipped during stringing. my shins have the scares to tell the story.

[reecool]

Ben ,
Did we met before ?.
 I leave my bows strung all the time , shoot everyday !
Take care .
 Eric .

[cacciatore]

Same as F.G: Asbell; K.Chastain from Wapiti bows stated that his son bow remained strung for several year withuot using it ever and lost 1 pound

[Night Wing]

I always unstring mine.

[Frenchymanny]

As Night Wing, I always unstrung my bows unless in continuous use (i.e. vacation, hunting...)
I scrupulously use a stringer

F-Manny

[Jason Jelinek]

I unstrung my fiberglass/wood longbow using push-pull after every use.  I'm used to having selfbows so its no big deal for me.  If I had a recurve, I probably wouldn't unstring so much since they are a pain to unstring.

Jason

[bsigal]

I'm still in the process of setting up a new acquisition which is heavier than my other bows.
I've been stringing and unstringing setting brace height and installing string silencers and the such.  I think that once all this is done this bow is going to remain strung all the time, since I had another incident last night of the string slipping out of the groove, and it scared the hell out of me.

Reecool, yes, we have met before.  As a matter of fact, you, shimae, trudy and I shot last Saturday morning.  How the hell are you?

Once again, thanks for all the input.

Ben

[frassettor]

Originally posted by Mark Trego:
Mine remain strung, Ken Beck of Black Widow says there is more of a chance to damage your bow during the stringing process than just leaving it strung.

I agree, but for Widow Longbows unstring them each time because of the thicker limbs they will tend to loose a little weight over a long period of time

[Scott J. Williams]

General "Rule of Thumb", if you are shooting a recurve on a regular basis, you may leave it strung as long as it is stored correctly.

Longbows on the other hand, should be un-strung when not being shot.  According to the guys at Black Widow, the design of the longbow limbs give then a greater tendency to lose weight over time if left strung.  

Having said that, I must admit to a time when I was a lot more ignorant, and left my longbows strung for months at a time....no visible loss of weight was observed, but I don't take chances anymore.

[d. ward]

I do'nt believe a bow with fiberglass on both sides will ever lose any draw weight if left strung.I'am a bit more into the vintage bows and have never seen one lose any draw weight from being strung sometimes for years.An all wood selfbow with no backing will for sure lose draw weight and take a bad set if left strung but glass bow generaly do not.bowdoc