How long strung??

[Badger]

   I made my brother in law a red cedar bow while I was in Mississippi. I came back two years later and the bow was still strung, needless to say the string was no longer taught and the bow had taken a full 6 inches of set. I leave mine braced as long as I need to but no more or no less. Steve

[aznboi3644]

Left my 48" red oak shorty strung for a couple days...I just plain forgot about it being in the back seat of my car...when I finally realized it I ran out and unstrung it quickly...I measured the follow to see the damage...but none had occured...still the same set.

[Little John]

I also left a 64" 45# sinue backed osage bow strung for several days laying with some arrows,bracer and glove on some hay bales in our barn. I knew I had left it there but don't know why it was braced as I never leave them that way. Any way when I noticed it was strung and undid it it had lost a bit of reflex but after a few days it seems to have the original profile and I just weighed it and it still has the same draw weight. I don't recomend what I did but happy I seem to have gotten away with it. Probably depends on heat and humidity. In hunting situations I always am strung up from shooting light till too dark to shoot with no ill effects, probably also depends on your bow design.      Kenneth

[Grunt]

I usually leave a bow I'm working on a low brace while I go have lunch or for an hour or so. I'm thinking it helps stretch the fibers and helps in the break in stage. Once finished I only string her up when I want to be ready to shoot.

[gpw]

   After final tillering , I routinely leave my bows strung overnight before attempting to shoot it ...  FWIW , it does seem to help ...  For hunting /shooting I just leave it strung for as long as I'm in the woods ... once unstrung , they all seem to straighten back out in a few hours...
  Giant PIA to keep stringing and unstringing ... 
  Here comes a Turkey, wait, let me string my bow ...   

[sailordad]

for me it all depends
if i plan on sittng in my blind and not leaving it
i string it when i see a the critter i am after and unstring it when hes gone
if i am walking and stalking then its strung the whole time

[El Destructo]

When I am building a Bow...I leave it strung at a Low Brace to do all of my Scraping...once the Bow is finished and I have strung it with a new String...I will twist the String to get the Proper Brace...and leave it strung for 24 hours or so...this does two things for Me....it stretches the String out...and it reminds the wood that it is now  a Bow...and how to bend.... ....in either a Hunting or 3-D Target Shoot situation...my Bows stay strung until We are done shooting...does more harm than good to bend and relax a Bow like that....I bet the Native Americans did this every time they went Hunting....or went to War...well lets unstring the Bow and give it a break...there is no Game or Enemy around.....not.......

[gpw]

QUOTE: "i string it when i see a the critter i am after and unstring it when hes gone"    question is , does the critter see you    

[sailordad]

gpw, read my post again

" if i plan on sitting in my BLIND and not leaving it i string it when i see the critter i am after and ustring it when he goes"
i have yet to be busted while stringing a bow in my blind.i hunt alot of filed edges and they are several hundreds of yards across
when a critter comes in the open i see them long before they even notice the blind
sometimes the bow will stay strung for several hours while they are in the field in front of me,sometimes its just a few minutes
either way,if i am in my ground blind i only string it when its needed and unstring it right after its no longer needed
hunting in te open is differant,like i said before
if i am walking/stalking then its strung the whole time

[gpw]

  I'll be VERY careful to read your posts thoroughly and Exactly in the future ... you bet !!! 

 You not a Lawyer huh ??   hahahaha

[rmjames]

"That means I'm not the only wood bow guy within 100 miles I'm in Bartow not too far from Louisville.Ronnie"

Yeah Ronnie, there are others out there--I know a couple from down around Vidailia and there are a few more around Augusta, I just don't think they do the computer thing too much. Did you happen to attend the Appling Archers shoot this year?
rick

[Hillbilly]

I'm the same as most everbody else- if a bow won't stand up to being strung several hours at a time while hunting, I don't want it. I unstring mine when I'm done hunting, 3D shooting, or whatever I'm doing. If I stop hunting for a few hours in the middle of the day I'll unstring it. I am careful to not leave a strung bow in really hot direct sun or in a parked car if I can help it-I think heat and stress together is a  good way to get a bunch of string follow.