How long does an "in use" vintage bow last/

[nightowl1]

I'm looking at getting a few older, light weight bows for my main practice and hunting. I am just curious as to the life expectancy of these 40 year old bows when they go back into fulltime use.

Are there certain makers known for reliability?
What is the longest period of time you have shot the same bow?
Who hunts and shoots mainly bows from the 70's and older?

[Cody Roiter]

I have many and shoot many, like anything take care of it and it will last, 40# and under seam to last awhile, the oldest bow im shooting is a 1920s yew longbow 35@28 with horn knocks,

[NIGEL01]

I shoot late 60s early 70s bows daily for 5 years now.  Have yet to find one ready to call it quits.

[Echo62]

I've got a 64 Howatt Hunter that I shoot everyday. Never had any issues.

[Blackhawk]

I've got 30-40 bows from the 1950-70 era and have yet to have to retire one.  No... I don't shoot them daily, but proper use, care, and storage should have them around for many years to come.

[jrbows]

Often wondered about this myself almost everything I have is mid 70's and back some of the "used" bows I've bought that had all the original looking string, rest material etc. didn't look to have been shot too much so I guess there are some 50-60 year old bows out there that are nearly new. I've only ever had one traumatic failure and it was on a lower end bow. Other than the lighter-weight issue mentioned above I've never heard any other determining factors that could contribute to the life-span on a bow besides mistreatment.

[4runr]

I have a '59 Grizzly that was terribly abused during part of it's life. When I got it, the tips had been broken off, or cut off. The finish was mostly worn off, and it had dings and dents all over. I had an idea that it could be resurrected.

To make a long story short, I have been shooting that bow,ALOT, for the past 6 years or so and it shows no signs of coming apart. # inches shorter than it was designed to be, limbs narrowed to get the tiller right, and it still shoots as good or better than the day it came off the Grayling factory rack.

Yes, vintage bows will hold up for as long or longer than we will.

[TRAP]

If they are sound after 40-50 years they will likely be sound for another 40-50 years at least if they are cared for.

DD

[Stumpkiller]

1966 Browning Explorer of mine was shot every day to two years, hunted three consecutive seasons, killed two deer.  Shows no signs of problems and I still shoot it on and off.

Currently it's been strung for about five years and only unstrung for occasional road trips.

Right now I'm shooting a similar age Shakespeare Necedah daily and plan on hunting with it this fall.  I love the old recurves.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

All wood Bows will eventually Break or rot.  But Daryl hit it on the head.

I agree with the other posters also.

[Stumpkiller]

And if you lose one every 20 years that means you may be out $300 or $400 for 60 years of bownunting pleasure.  ;-)

[oldbohntr]

This is not boasting, as it merely substantiates the depth of my sickness, and that's never anything to brag about.  But, I calculated some years ago that I'd had about 1500 bows by that time.  90% of them were "vintage" laminated bows, mostly classic recurves. Although it's fair to mention that what I call "vintage" now,sometimes meant I was buying a bow from a popular bowyer at the time!  For example, I only bought one bow direct from Jack Howard, but have bought 7 or 8 since!  Which ones are vintage?   The count I took at that time, was that I'd had only 2 old bows fail, about 5 self bows had failed, and 4-5 custom bows had failed.  And, both the 50s Bears that did fail, were suspect, in my mind anyway.  Their condition just didn't inspire confidence! If you are worried about old bows, do the math on that 30+ years of collecting bows and shooting all that I could!  It's now over 40 years and there haven't been any more old bows fail.  No offense to anyone, but I'm just tired of Chicken Little stories about how old bows are an accident waiting to happen.  Yes, they do fail.  So do some of the ones from your favorite custom bowyer.
Go ahead and shoot your old bow and just be more careful driving to work right after..... you'll have made your own life a lot safer over all.

[damascusdave]

There is a lot of myth around the failure of vintage bows...I am in the process of buying a 1960 Kodiak Deluxe and fully intend to shoot it quite a bit using a fast flight string...just do some searching and look at the myths around that bow and using that type of string...some very competent people have assured me that shooting that bow will be fine and I agree

DDave

[reddogge]

Let's give equal time to failures. I've had three, a '65 Kodiak delaminated, a '56 Kodiak limb broke in half while stringing, a 70s Hoyt Pro Hunter limb broke in half while drawing. They all don't last forever so don't delude yourselves they do.

[jrbows]

Another question might be has anyone ever bought a new bow and worn it out to the point of breaking? If so how long did it take?

[Dave Worden]

My wife Sharen bought me a Shakespeare Super Necedah for our first Christmas together in 1971.  I have shot and still shoot that bow 3 or 4 times a week.  I have others, but "Sweetness" is still the bow that I shoot 90+% of the time.  To answer the question, I don't know yet how long those old bows will last!

[Al_D]

I shoot a Ben Pearson Cougar, which was made in the late 1960s/early 1970s.  I bought it off of the original owner who used it for many years for hunting but had to move to a crossbow due to shoulder issues.  It's still in beautiful shape. I've been shooting it for almost a year now with no issues.  I keep it clean, unstring it when not in use, and store it in my basement on a special shelf I made for it.

[dhermon85]

Shot a 61 year old bow last weekend. I'm a little nervous each time. Stringing and shooting. But that's what it was made for.

[Kopper1013]

Not to hijack this thread just keep reading you guys say "proper care" what is proper care of these bows? I was told never leave them strung, but what else? Am I suppose to be doing something else? I just come in from shooting or hunting if it's soaked I dry it, un-string it and hang it on my rack.

[TRAP]

Originally posted by Kopper1013:
Not to hijack this thread just keep reading you guys say "proper care" what is proper care of these bows? I was told never leave them strung, but what else? Am I suppose to be doing something else? I just come in from shooting or hunting if it's soaked I dry it, un-string it and hang it on my rack.

Most of these 30, 40 and 50 year old bows were of little value for much of their days.  Many were just "old" bows that someone's father or grandfather shot "back in the day" before the wheel bow came around.  Many were stored in garages, attics, damp basements, leaned in corners etc. etc.

When they became collectible, they were, in a sense, rescued from mistreatment.  Now we store them in our homes in a controlled humidity and controlled temperature environment. They are being "cared" for again like their original owners cared for them because once again they are valued.  

I don't do anything special with my vintage bows that I don't do with my custom bows.  Just take care of them.  Check for blemishes in the finish to keep moisture out, hang them instead of lean them, Inspect strings and tip overlays, store them inside unstrung if they aren't being shot fairly regularly.

DD