How Long Should I ....

[Dryridge]

I am new to the crossbow game. I have learned some tuning techniques that really helped. Now I was wondering how long it is safe or reasonable to leave one cocked?

Thanks for the help.

[GrumpyTom]

How long can you leave a crossbow cocked will depend on what you have for a bow & what your doing with it.

Lets talk about in hunting situations. With a quality crossbow, you should not have any problem cocking it in the morning (sunrise) and leaving it until the end of hunting for that day. Remembering that a loaded crossbows should always be treated just like you would treat a loaded gun, always pointed in a safe dirrection. There are still some cheap crossbows that I would not trust to leave cocked for 5 minutes, but most bows today are of the quality kind.

Now if your going to want to store it cocked (not loaded, no arrow), I would not recomend you do this, but make sure that you do not store it in a hot place like a trunk of a car in the hot sun. I was taught long ago that mechanical devices are just that, mechanical and human made and could fail. Always treat them like they could (chances are that they will never fail) and you will always be on the safe side and no terrible accidents can happen.

I know you mentioned in an earlier post that you had a horton (a compound), you need to be careful of dryfires as compounds are not forgiving to the dryfire. BUt you should be safe to use this bow from sunup to sundown (cocked all day) and then let it down at the end of the day. This is the safest for all, you and the bow.

Good luck.

[two guns]

I also have a Horton Hunter 200 lb'er. I unload mine right before I get out of the stand. I use a arrow, I have just for unloading it, It has a practice point, and I'll pick me out a target on the ground, and release....that way I'm still practicing and unloading at the same time ......

[awshucks]

A quick word of warning, in some states it's illegal to carry a field point during deer saeason, check your local laws.

[Hotburn76]

I was once told, before I even joined here that the bow has "memory" and leaving it cocked all day would weaken it and it would not shoot the same. I left my old Horton cocked for two days intentionally once and then shot it off a rest at target and it shot just fine. But like Tom said I see no problem leaving a CB cocked all day for a long hunt. But I also see no need to leave it cocked from one day to the next. It did not affect my older Horton, but there is also no logical reason to leave one cocked from one day to the next. I don't think one should ever be left cocked when it is out of your direct access and supervision.

[Dryridge]

About what I thought, Thanks.