need help stringing recurve!

[SCbowhntr]

Hey y'all,
I'm totally new to recurves but I recently got one for a steal so I thought I'd try it out. The problem is that I finally got the bow unstrung by kind of pushing the bottom limb down on the carpeted floor until I got the top off, but a friend told me he heard this is bad for the bow and can warp the limbs. A kind of "string" thing came with the bow that the guy selling the bow said is used to unstring the bow but neither he or I could figure out how to use it. The device looks similar to the Selway Archery bow unstringer that Cabelas sells. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
WK

[LBR]

If what you have is a bow stringer, it's easy to use, but have your friend handy just in case you get stuck with the string half on/half off.

One end will have a cup--this goes on the tip of the bottom limb. The other end will either have a smaller cup, or a rubber boot.

Slide the top loop of the string down the limb a few inches, and put the bottom loop in the string grooves. Be sure it's lined up with the center of the limb. Put the larger cup on the bottom limb tip, and the small cup on the top. If it has a boot, put the top limb through the loop and lay the boot behind the top loop that you slid down the limb. Push the top loop, with the boot behind it, as far towards the top as it will go.

This should leave plenty of slack in the cord that attaches the cup to the other cup/boot. Put your feet on the cord, about shoulder width apart. Hold the bow by the grip and pull straight up--this will bend the limbs and allow you to slide the top loop into the string groove. You may need both hands the first few times, and the friend will be real handy here. Be absolutely sure the string is in the grooves properly and is lined up with the center of the limbs on both ends before you let down. Once you let down, double check both ends to be sure the string is properly seated. To un-string, do the same thing in reverse.

Hope this helps.

Chad

[lamb1647]

Take the bow and bow stringer to an archery shop and have them show you how to do it. You can hurt yourself or damage the bow if you attempt to do it without knowing what you are doing. I would say take it to Budro at The Archery Shop, but he is located in Summerville, SC. I would suggest you look in the Yellow Pages under Archery Stores and look for an indication of a shop that is Traditional oriented or at the very least mentions Traditional equipment., if available

Bill