I just dry fired my bow

rideold

WKR
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Aug 17, 2021
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377
Location
Front Range of Colorado
It happens. Get if fixed and move on. I've had it happen twice in my archery life. The first time was an absent minded brain fart of a moment. I was tuning my bow and had been making small adjustments after adjustments and had pulled the bow back to check something (can't even remember what now) and thought "hey, this all looks good" and let the string go. Embarrassing. The second time was a nock that was cracked or something. I don't know what the heck really happened but when I released the string the arrow stayed in place and the string went forward and the cams folded. I was left with a broken bow, an arrow with half a nock and a rather pricey trip to the bow shop.
 
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Fry

Fry

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Feb 1, 2022
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60
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Virginia
How bad was it??? I have always feared doing that and wondered what would happen.
Ill get pics later as i just did it over lunch doing a quick session. I was adjusting my stabilizer that felt loose after just shooting an arrow and just drew back and then CRACK! I thought i hit a tree or something. Then my heart sank and i realized the step I missed: didnt nock my arrow… it bent both my cams so they look like they have one flat square section. Cams and limbs in this supplu shortage… i might as well skip 2022 archery season…
 

Trr15

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Feb 16, 2014
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Wyoming
Hey man - a couple years ago I ordered a Prime CT3. Bare bow showed up at my door, took it out of the box, drew it back with my fingers, was fooling around trying to get a feel for the let off when the string rolled off my finger tips and the damn thing exploded. Strings, cables, done. No damage to the limbs or cams, thankfully. I still get pissed off at myself just thinking about it.
 
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rclouse79

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Dec 10, 2019
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1,919
I made the embarrassing mistake a few years ago right before hunting season. I was able to get by for a couple years with just replacing the cams, but my limb ended up cracking later. It might be worth replacing the cams and limbs for peace of mind.
How I felt after the self inflicted wound to my soul.

1646428483504.png
 

Wyobull

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Feb 19, 2022
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Wild wonderful Wyoming
Ill get pics later as i just did it over lunch doing a quick session. I was adjusting my stabilizer that felt loose after just shooting an arrow and just drew back and then CRACK! I thought i hit a tree or something. Then my heart sank and i realized the step I missed: didnt nock my arrow… it bent both my cams so they look like they have one flat square section. Cams and limbs in this supplu shortage… i might as well skip 2022 archery season…
What bow? parts aren’t as bad as you might think.
 

Jstolte

FNG
Joined
Apr 20, 2020
Messages
29
Dry fired my bow a few months ago for the first time. Luckily the only thing that needed replacing was the bowstring.

I was expecting to be chastised a bit at the shop I took it to but the owner pretty much said that it happens to everyone. He mentioned that it seems to happen the most at competitions, nerves I guess.
 

LONE HUNTER

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Messages
282
Worst case scenario buy and old cheapo off the adds if you can’t get parts for this season. I would hunt with pre 2000 bow before I would miss archery season.
 

Read1t48

WKR
Joined
May 18, 2017
Messages
553
Location
Oregon
My hunting partner dry fired his bow in the middle of a hunt - not on purpose, of course. String needed to be replaced since it came apart in about 3 pieces.. Shredded it. All else was good. He had a back up bow - thank goodness. You guys saying it happens to everyone makes me nervous (knock on wood).
 

Bassman

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 22, 2018
Messages
174
Location
East Coast
I'm not too proud to admit it, happened to me about five years ago. I was screwing around inside with my bow (since I make smart decisions) and accidently let it loose. Crumpled my cams (was shooting a 60# Mathews MR7 at the time), the string was fine. Replaced both cams and still shoot the the bow today as my backup

I'll see if I can dig up a photo.
 
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Fry

Fry

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Feb 1, 2022
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Location
Virginia
Somehow added pics to the reply but those are the two cams. It was a Bowtech revolt. Amazingly only the cams are damaged. The strings and cables look fine and the limbs look fine. But I'm nervous to use the strings and limbs at this point…
 
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