Is My Recurve Safe to Shoot?

[flyboy214]

I have a Lefty Pittsley Predator Recurve that I bought in 2016. Today before shooting I noticed what looks like a hairline crack in the wood of the riser. It starts near where the bottom limb attaches and continues to about halfway up the palm swell. I tried to take pictures of it but the crack is so small that the camera doesn't pick it up. The bow draws 47# at 28 in.

I shoot this bow all the time. My usual arrow is wooden and between 470 and 550 grains. The bow is 62 inches AMO. I leave it resting horizontally on pegs and un-strug. Brace height is set at the manufacturer recommended length. I haven't abused the bow that I recall. Just shot it a ton over the years.

Looking for advice here. Should I monitor the crack and keep shooting as normal? Do I need to send it off somewhere for repairs?
I usually shoot traditional bows in the off season then switch back to compounds to prepare for hunting.

 

[Kdf22]

Hard to say for sure. What’s a little unusual is that you said it starts where the bottom limb attaches. I think I would call the manufacturer and ask them first before doing any more shooting.

 

[flyboy214]

Unfortunately they are no longer in business or I would have started there.

 

[Ddog]

Try posting a pic with the crack circled or marked somehow. Might be a simple matter of squirting some thin super glue in it.

 

[bbassi]

Is the riser a laminated wood? I have an original Shaffer Silvertip from the early 80s with a laminated riser that had the same thing you are talking about in several areas. It needed refinishing anyway so I went to my local Woodcraft store and got the thinnest CA glue they carried. The wood sucked the glue right into those cracks. a couple applications and the cracks were filled. Once I resprayed the riser I could not find the cracks again. that was probably 7 or 8 years ago and I've shot thousands of arrows from that bow with 3 different sets of limbs and the cracks have not reappeared.

 

[flyboy214]

I live in NM in a super dry area so I will give that a go. I used to polish the bows with a light coat of old English lemon oil and never had issues when I did that.

The rise is laminated with 3 different layers that I can see. The tiny cracks are only in the grip.

 

[flyboy214]

 

[bbassi]

I can't even see the crack you circled, and if it's there it's probably only in the finish as it would be across the grain, not with it. I do see what looks like a crack starting just to the left of the 0 in the serial number and extending down to the point of that wood. It may just be the lighting there but again, it looks like it's going across the grain, not with it so it's likely just in the finish.

 

[flyboy214]

There is also a Crack by the zero but you might be right about the finish being the culprit

 

[smoke]

From the picture it doesn't look bad at all. A crack in the riser is typically a much safer place than a limb crack. You might try applying some super glue to the crack or even wrap it if you are really concerned. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it . . . but with my face, I don't have a whole lot to lose!

 

[inyago]

I would not shoot that bow until a bowyer type had a good look at it.. It may well be opening up
a little more when drawn and the limbs are feeding weight into the riser..

 

[Psnguyen]

Dang it's hard to see a crack in the circle you drew. If it goes across some grains, I'd be really wary of shooting it. Another option is to flow in some CA glue, clamp the grip and see if that holds it together, and after some shooting if it gets cracked or flaking off that might tell you what you need to know

 

[flyboy214]

Thanks for all the input. Based on your advice, I talked to Mr. Gulliksen over at RMS archery and he sent me the following.

Hi Adam,
That is kind of an odd place for a riser to crack. I would keep shooting the bow and keep track of the crack and see if it gets any longer.

For now I will just shoot as normal and keep an eye on it. So far no changes and I shoot about every other day.