RE: Can you string a bow without a bowstringer?
I'd been shooting bows for 30 years before I ever heard of a bow stringer. I have to admit that old habits die hard and I don't use a stringer every time. I've been trying real hard to make a stringer my new habit though.
I use the push-pull method bigcountry describes but I do have to add a word of caution. Be sure to not hold your head in direct line with the bow limb, as in watching your hand slide the string into the nocks. Make sure your face is well out of the way if your hand slips and slide the loop in by feel. I make sure as I'm leaning forward to do the deed that my head is leaning even further forward, well out of the danger zone. I personally know one fella who lost an eye when he was stringing a recurve like that and it got away from him. The recurve tip nailed him square in the eye. I've heard of too many others who've been injured the same way.
Never, ever use the step through method. It's okay if it's done correctly, but hardly anyone does it correctly. That stringing technique has killed more bows and twisted more limbs than any other single cause.
It's always safest for you and your bow to use a stringer. Knowing how to string a bow without a stringer is a good thing to have stashed away in the memory chip, but use a stringer.