Be careful stringing that bow!

[YORNOC]

Just like you all, I've strung and unstrung my ever increasing supply of bows more times than I can count. Had a strange thing happen last night. I have a lot of long recurves, so my bow stringer is on the long side. I was unstringing a 62" 63# bow, and after the upper bowstring loop was off the tip, the rubber piece on the stringer suddenly slid down the limb at lightning speed. Just like the bow was shot. Because I was pulling up on the bow to put tension on her, when this thing slid, the bow came up at me very fast. The damn limb tip caught me right under my left eye, because my face was over that way while reaching to pull the string loop off the tip.
Man, hurt like hell. Woke up this morning and the eye looks like a ripe eggplant. Another half inch and you would be calling me one eye.
Watch yourselves out there!

[Ravenhood]

Had one end up strung backwards through the quiver, had a hard time unstringing , almost had to cut the string.

[ishoot4thrills]

Glad to hear you're okay.

That's just one of the reasons why I leave my bows strung. Doesn't hurt a thing with glass laminated bows to leave them strung, hanging on two nails, horizontal, by the string. Also, I tend to shoot my bow more often when stored this way. I just grab it and go.      

[D. Key]

Man...Glad everything is ok.  Whew, that must have been close.  Be safe.

[YORNOC]

I'm going to get some nails........

[GRAYBEARD]

YEARS AGO I WAS STRINGING A RECURVE AND FAILED TO NOTICE THE LOOP WAS NOT PROPERLY SET IN THE GROOVE. WHEN I WENT TO RELIEVE THE PRESSURE OFF THE STRINGER THAT RASCAL CAME UP AND BLOODIED MY LIP AND GUM. ALMOST LOST TWO TEETH. LOTS OF STORED ENERGY IN THOSE LIMBS!

[reddogge]

I try to get my head out of line with the limb when stringing and unstringing.  As for leaving bows strung how can you leave 20 bows stung?  I shoot most of them during the year and they are all from the 50s and 60s.  No way am I going to leave these old classics strung.

[Mudd]

My wife's uncle was killed stringing a bow using the step through method.

That in and of itself was sad enough but to make matters worse, his grand kids were right there with him and saw it all happen.

They had found the old bow in the basement and wanted to shoot it but didn't have any arrows so they all loaded up and went to the local archery shop and picked some up.

All the attention was on grandpa as he started stringing the bow. I can't say I know for certain what happened or how but the tip of the bow caught him near his eye breaking a bone and pushing a sliver of it back into his brain. They said he died instantly.

A horrible accident that didn't have to happen.

Please be careful!

God bless,Mudd

[Zradix]

...goosebumps....
Very sad story.
Thank you for telling it as maybe you can help to keep this story more unique.
    :(

!!Be careful out there!!

[straitera]

John Schultz's brother was blinded in one eye exactly the same way. Have had my rubber stop stringer do the same thing. Don't use it anymore. Make my own stringers sturdy & sure w/leather pouches.

[Doc Nock]

Friend of mine almost lost an eye the other year when his stringer slipped and he took the recurve tip into his eye! Gruesome.

Mudd, that has to be the saddest story I've ever heard...  :(

[LoweBow]

Had an uncle pluck out his eye using the cross leg method years ago............

[RkyMtn Joe]

Just curious, but how in the world can a "step through or cross leg" method put your face in line with a bow tip?  I can see the push/pull method and certainly the bow-stringer if you aren't careful---but the step through?

I am just trying to visulaize how something like the "grandpa" incident could happen.

Joe

[Bowwild]

Yikes!  I didn't learn until I moved from the recurve to the commpound in 1975 that the step-through method was fraught with danger. I've learned that since. I had no idea people could be hurt using a stringer correctly!  I have many different styles of stringers, many of the custom bows come with them.  I like the leather pouches because they are secure WHEN THEY FIT and for me, they provide more leverage.  So many of the leather pouches though are too small or too deep and I can't access the string loop to remove it eaisly.  The ones with rubber or leather straps that go below the limb tip give great access but effectively shorten the amount of leverage I have and frankly, stringing and unstringing some of my bows is the most difficult thing (exertion-wise and nerves) I do in archery.  I leave 2-3 bows that I'm likly to shoot strung. Others, if I'm not shooting them, I store unstrung. Even the Widow folks say they've left bows strung for decades with no harm.

I think the last different stringer I used was sent with a loaner from schafer. It had a leather strap instead of rubber one. It seemed to work pretty well.

[Bowwild]

No, the leather strap one came with Tim Strickland's "The Stick" recurve.

[onewhohasfun]

Using two feet on your stringer may give you a better angle.

[YORNOC]

You are right, I had one foot on the stringer because I was in a hurry and slipped a boot on one foot. I got lucky compared to these guys.

[bpjon]

About twenty years ago I was stringing a 56" 55# Bear Black Panther using the push-pull method, and my upper hand slipped off of the limb, which then gave me a solid whack on the forehead.  I bought a stringer shortly after.

[JamesV]

Back in the mid 60's I bought a very short high poundage Pearson full recurve. I could not string it so I put it across a chair and sat on the riser, pulled the tips with both hands while my wife put the string on. She didn't get the string in both groves. I noticed it while drawing the bow and instantly the limb twisted and knocked the **** out of my head and the bow strung its self backwards. Believe me I always check the string groves before I ever draw a bow now.

[wapiti792]

I totally messed up my recurve doing that same thing just prior to my elk hunt this year. Now every time I string any bow I wence...glad you are ok!