Caring for your bow

Your traditional bow is relatively low maintenance. Riser, limbs, and bows are all water resistant so long as the water proof coating has not been damaged. If the coating has been damaged it can be sealed with clear nail polish, or a dab of polyurethane. If your bows gets wet simply wipe it dry with a towel to prevent water damage. Rub the string regularly with an approved bowstring wax to keep it from drying out and fraying. Store your bow in a cool dry location when it is not in use, it is best to store your bow lying flat, as standing up will cause unbalanced strain against the lower limb and will cause it to twist. Keep your bow out of hot areas like the boot of cars as this will weaken the epoxy and lead to delaminations, or limb twist. This is especially the case if the bow is strung and in a hot environment. While it is ok to store a modern traditional bow strung, for the longevity of your bow we recommend that you store it unstrung, especially if it is awhile between shooting. This also prevents others from coming along and dry firing or misusing your bow.

Keep an eye of for cracks in any part of your bow. The most common place for cracks to occur is in the front fiberglass face of the limbs, this particular position is common, these may be small stress cracks in the fiberglass, we recommend it is checked by a professional, however, it is often a sign of aging and may not be an immdediate concern. Cracks that occur within the laminations of the limb or riser are normally of immediate concern, as are lateral cracks running perpendicular to the length of the limb. Should you find one such crack, immediately stop using the bow, destring it and contact us.

The string is an expendable expense in archery and most archers have several spare. Your string has protective servings at each end and the centre and these are designed to protect the main part of the string from wear. These can easily be replaced, however, due to the time associated with doing so it may be cheaper to replace the whole string.

Only use fastflight strings on a bow designed specifically for use with them. This requires reinforced limb tips that can handle the smaller diameter and increased strain associated with a faster, less forgiving string. Although your bow will be faster to shoot with such a string, it does decrease the life span of you bow limbs, so you may want to consider what kind of string you want for you bow.

All arrows should be inspected prior to shooting at the beginning of each shooting session. To inspect a carbon arrow first visually inspect all aspects, looking for defects in the carbon such as nicks or splinters, then flex the arrow and repeat this process looking for weak of detached sections of carbon, rotate the arrow 25 degrees and repeat the process until the entire diameter of the shaft has been inspected. It is ok to use a reasonable amount of force when flexing your arrow as it is preferable to have it snap in your hands than while shooting. We recommend wearing safety equipment including gloves and safety glasses to perform this procedure, and also while stringing a bow. Next move on to inspect the nock and make sure that it is crack free, and aligned correctly. We advise against the use of any solvents such as acetone on the carbon shafts which some people use to remove residual glue. This weakens the shaft and nock, which can have serious ramifications.