cold

[youngbowyer33]

does the cold affect bows?i keep my bows in my garage where it gets pretty cold especially at winter and now, so should i take them out?

[Dano]

Drastic changes in humidity affect a bow more than temperature. But I wouldn't flex any bow bow till I rubbed it down to warm it up first.

[youngbowyer33]

alright thanks

[mullet]

  I've had Bamboo backed osage bows blow in real cold weather. I believe it is like Dano said, difference in humidity. In winter in Florida we can go from 90% humidity, 85dgs  one day, to a cold front the next  with 35-40%, and cold.

[gmc]

I believe it was Tim Baker that documented in his "bow wood" chapter (tbb four) that a 3.5% rise or fall in wood strength, depending on wood species, can be expected with every 10 degree change in Fahrenheit.

[George Tsoukalas]

Nope but I would store them indoors. Might make them a bit harder to draw when  shooting in cold temps (below 40 F).  I've shot selfbows in below zero temps. That's Fahrenheit.  LOL. You know were Tim lives? He lives in S CA where cold is 60 deg. I just give then about 5 minutes in the cold before I string them. Jawge

[zeNBowyer]

I  wonder  if  the  cold  affects  the glue  in  composites  more  than  humidity,  as  in  very  cold  making the  glue  brittle

[markinengland]

I am not a believer in rubbing your bow to warm it up. The basic science says that you would need to rub a bow an awful lot to make any real change in it's temperatuire. As wood doesn't conduct heat well most of the heat generated will stay on the surface where it almost immediately is lost due to conduction or radiation.

[mullet]

 Zen, I know when I needed to seperate a take down handle I accidently got epoxy in I sprayed it with a can of nitrogen and the epoxy fell apart . I was able to seperate the two pieces easily.

[adb]

Store my babies outside??! No way! Actually, probably OK, but I don't shoot any of my wood bows below freezing. Wood becomes brittle in the cold, and I have some FG bows I use for winter outings.

[sailordad]

now lets think about this for a bit
how much can cold actually affect a wood bow
people have lived in cold claimates as long as man has been arounf
i cant believe people who lived in climates that get cold,like my part of the country,quit hunting in the winter months with their bows.
how would they make meat?
i shoot my selfbows year round outdoors,just gotta be a little more cautious
i string it,then leave it sit for about 5 mins,then part draw several times before i bring to a full draw,then just start letting them fly

[zeNBowyer]

Yeah  Mullet,
   Sounds  about  right:)

[George Tsoukalas]

The only bow I won't shoot in the cold is yew. But only because I've heard the horror stories of others. Jawge

[Del the cat]

I am not a believer in rubbing your bow to warm it up. The basic science says that you would need to rub a bow an awful lot to make any real change in it's temperatuire. As wood doesn't conduct heat well most of the heat generated will stay on the surface where it almost immediately is lost due to conduction or radiation.

Yeah, I'm with you on this...but it does look funny  .
Del

[Dano]

Glenn St Charles, wrote about rubbing his yew bows to warm them up in his book. I don't usually argue with experience.    I'm sure a bow would warm up enough to keep it from exploding. I know when it's cold I don't mind rubbing my hands together.