Bow blew up last night.

[Joshk358]

"Blow up" might be a little bit of an inflammatory way to describe it, but it sure felt like it. The string slapped the ever living crap out of the back of my bowhand. String snapped right at the nock point. Granted, these strings had about 3 yrs worth of shooting on them, but didn't show any unusual wear in that area. I think my RX1 is fine other than that. 1st time in 35 years of archery that has happened to me. Found a set of GAS strings and cables on sale, so trying them out. ABA was pretty crazy expensive these days...so giving GAS a shot.

 

[doncarpenter]

Any idea how it happened? Broken nock, nock not seated fully, or string stop loose or not properly aligned?

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[Joshk358]

Not real sure. I was thinking back about the shot and nothing really comes to mind. Only thing I can think of is the string was just worn more than it was showing?

 

[Jakeb]

Make sure you look over those limbs real good. Take some cotton and rub down them to look for any splinters.

 

[Joshk358]

yeah, already looked the limbs over.

 

[Beendare]

Let me guess, you're serving was worn down right at the nokking point- grin

Under the serving at the nok point is where they typically can break due to wear.

If you re-serve when your serving looks worn, you can spot any wear on the string

 

[Marble]

Let me guess, you're serving was worn down right at the nokking point- grin

Under the serving at the nok point is where they typically can break due to wear.

If you re-serve when your serving looks worn, you can spot any wear on the string

This and a broken nock is what I was thinking.

If the arrow was recovered, I'm curious of what condition it will be in.

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[Alpineelk]

I've seen some separate the serving and start cutting the string on sharp turns. Where the cable goes around a mod. Had a cheapskate friend that happened to and he just kept shooting. I warned him but he didn't listen. One day it broke on the shot. Luckily he and his bow wer ok.

 

[CMF]

had about 3 yrs worth of shooting on them, but didn't show any unusual wear in that area.

I usually change after 2 years of shooting, especially if I have any decent hunt lined up.

 

[Joshk358]

Let me guess, you're serving was worn down right at the nokking point- grin

Under the serving at the nok point is where they typically can break due to wear.

If you re-serve when your serving looks worn, you can spot any wear on the string

No noticeable wear. But that would make sense with where it broke. I was thinking along those lines as well after playing the shot through my mind.

 

[Joshk358]

This and a broken nock is what I was thinking.

If the arrow was recovered, I'm curious of what condition it will be in.

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arrow actually hit right where I was aiming. No nock damage.

 

[Joshk358]

I usually change after 2 years of shooting, especially if I have any decent hunt lined up.

I was leaning towards changing them out this year before that happened because of that exact reason. Bison hunt this fall.

 

[Billy Goat]

Over tightening a d loop will separate the serving. Won't notice because its under the knot.

But repeated cycling can damage string bundle fibers when they aren't protected by the serving from the d loop. Should have shown up with peep rotation. Normally a few fibers will get cut, loading remaining fibers more. Serving helps to hold it together for a while, but will get string creep and that will normally rotate the peep.

 

[Joshk358]

Over tightening a d loop will separate the serving. Won't notice because its under the knot.

But repeated cycling can damage string bundle fibers when they aren't protected by the serving from the d loop. Should have shown up with peep rotation. Normally a few fibers will get cut, loading remaining fibers more. Serving helps to hold it together for a while, but will get string creep and that will normally rotate the peep.

Now, you have hit the nail on the head I do believe. My peep had started to rotate just a couple/few weeks ago and I didn't think a whole lot about it. I'd just tweek it a bit to line it back up after a few shots. Thank you for the insight. That all comes together now.

 

[Billy Goat]

Now, you have hit the nail on the head I do believe. My peep had started to rotate just a couple/few weeks ago and I didn't think a whole lot about it. I'd just tweek it a bit to line it back up after a few shots. Thank you for the insight. That all comes together now.

I never use d-loop pliers. You can put way too much tension in that knot and cause damage.

But yes, if you start to notice peep rotation, thats from string creep. Things are moving, need to replace ASAP.

 

[Joshk358]

I never use d-loop pliers. You can put way too much tension in that knot and cause damage.

But yes, if you start to notice peep rotation, thats from string creep. Things are moving, need to replace ASAP.

appreciate the help on that.

 

[Elkhntr08]

Too tight of a nock can cause issues also and it’s something that most archers never check. That and pinch from a D loop that’s tied too close to the nock can cause the strands of the string to break under the serving and you’ll never know it.

 

[5MilesBack]

About 8 years ago I bought a new string set because it had been about 3 years and probably 30k arrows through the bow. It was sitting on my work bench ready to be changed out. But I had a 3D shoot coming up and decided to keep the bow the way it was (shooting good), and planned on replacing it after that shoot.

The day before the shoot I shot a couple arrows, and on arrow three I drew back. About an inch from full draw, the bow just exploded. I'm standing there holding my bow arm fully out wondering what the heck just happened. My 38" ATA bow now looks like a 65" ATA bow, and parts and pieces are scattered around me. I don't think it helped that I was shooting arrows for max speed, so super lightweight arrows with my 32.5" draw at 70lbs. The arrow was laying around me in 5 pieces.

My right forearm had a gash in it and blood was pooling on the ground. I laid the bow down, stepped away, went inside and bandaged my arm, and then spent the next several minutes assessing what had happened.

Based on all the evidence, it appeared that a yoke loop broke......and as soon as that happened, everything twisted and turned and then blew apart in a millisecond. Because of the twisting, the lone yoke still attached broke a piece of limb off, shot it down, and that's what sliced my arm open. Of course the other string yoke loop was torn in two. It bend the cams, broke and/or splintered limbs, and I never did find the cable slide. It also stripped out the threads on the top limb bolt. It was a mess.

I still have that bow, and it still shoots great.......after rebuilding it another time after a d-loop broke on my draw board. It stripped out the bottom threads on the limb bolt that time. Both times I took it over to Ritchie at High Tech Customs rifle builder (some of you guys might know him). I wanted those new riser threads and holes EXACT. He drilled them, tapped them, and put helicoils in, and they've held great now for several years. It's now my Frankenbow, and a backup.......mostly just because it has a limb splinter and PSE stopped making those limbs.

Hopefully you can get your bow back to shooting well. Good luck.

 

[Joshk358]

Wow, that sounds waaay worse than what happened to me. My bow appears to be good, other than the strings and cables. Got it on the press, pulled those off and checked it out. Looks good. Currently waiting on my new cables/string to show up.

 

[Beendare]

@5MilesBack, I've wrapped those yokes to protect them in the past...and may have to start doing it again. Those skimpy yokes always bugged me.

String Serving. I don't change my strings as often as I probably should but I do re-serve once a year. which helps keep them in good shape. You guys that shoot a lot should probably be re-serving twice a year. It's cheap insurance and those string sets get expensive.

Next time you are at a shoot, take a look at other shooters' serving at the nok location....so many are worn it's surprising we don't see more of these breaking.