Shooting in your bows

[Pappy]

I usually keep one hanging around for a few weeks after I have them the way I want them, shooting them from time to time and just stringing and un stringing them and leaving them braces for an hour here and there. Maybe not 100 shots, never counted but several over a period of time. I am hardly ever in a big hurry to put the finishing touches on one. 
 Pappy

[bradsmith2010]

probably not a exact amount that works,,shooting the bow does seem to put a different stress on the bow, and I start shooting mine at about 20 inches as I tiller it out,, so have shot it quite a bit by the time I get to final draw length,, depends on the wood and design 200 arrows may not reveal the final unbraced profile of the bow,, or it might,, thats the thing about wood bows,,, it just depends,, on alot of factors ,, length of  hold,, moisture content etc etc etc,,
but I agree if it is not broke after several 100 shots and the tiller is not shifting,,, probably ok,,,

[simson]

Like Brad said!
I leave mine braced over night and then go like Brad.

[bradsmith2010]

,, leaving a bow braced does seem to settle it in with very low stress,, with no negative effect on the finished bow,,
my elk hunting bow stays strung from morning till night,, and still shooting good after 20 years,,

[ksnow]

I agree with the extended strung times. I have started letting a new bow sit strung for an hour or so for every 6 or so inches I gain in tiller. When I start shooting, I will shoot a couple three arrows, then let it sit while I tinker with something else. Then another couple arrows, and so on for several sessions. In addition to extended strung time, I make darn sure to draw the bow to whatever draw I am at at least 25 times before analyzing the tiller. Sometimes it takes a bit for the wood to settle in. I am definitely not building bows at warp speed, I like to take my time and let the bow come out of the wood.

Kyle

[Del the cat]

I thought this was kinda interesting picture. You can see string isn't straight, it must be vibration. I believe  that there are different stresses shooting then just drawing  bow. Kinda like a sky diving accident. It's not the fall but the sudden stop. I would guess there is also stress involved in getting the arrow started moving.
Bjrogg

It's most likely an artefact of the line scan of the camera.
Be very wary of digital photos of fast moving stuff, unless it's a high speed camera. We all know there is string vibration, but you see some really weird digital shots.
Any viration is mostlikely to be a smooth oscillation like in a guitar string, not a sharp discontinuity.
Del

[bjrogg]

Del I'm sure you are right. I was really surprised this picture was even captured clear enough to see string and arrow on my phone. I'm sure there is a massive amount of distortion, just thought it was a interesting picture.
Bjrogg