ORIGINAL: Dnk

Like any other bow the arrow absorbs the energy. If the arrow isn't there the limbs take the excess energy but they can't dampen the impulse of excess energy. So the limbs and or string say goodbye. Well constructed bows and strings can deal with some but most are at the edge for perfomance reasons. In other words the ultra high performace limbs and strings are made light to perform at max and they don't have enough mass that absorbs the energy.