ORIGINAL: BGfisher

It depends on what you mean by wear. If you mean that it has some fuzzies showing maybe all you need is to wax the string, or wax it more often. 50 shots a week is not a lot of shooting by any means. When I'm practicng for hunting, target, and 3D I might put 300 shots a week through a bow and I still find it necessary to replace my strings every two to three years.

I don't know why, but maybe because I care for my equipment I rarely if ever wax my strings. Maybe once a year, but only to prepare them for hunting where I find it necessary to prepare them for inclement weather. My 3D bow I never wax the strings. There is usually enough already in it (notice I did not say ON it) that all I have to do is rub it fairly vigorously and create a little heat to move the wax around within the strands.

Now, all that being said, I am a firm believer in replacing the factory strings as soon as I get a bow. A good set of strings are not totally necessary as they don't last longer. What they will do is NOT CREEP over time so the bow, once tuned, will stay in tune till it's time to replace them. Might sound a little anal, but there is little that ticks me off more than having to keep twisting the strings to keep everything in spec just because of having inferior strings from the factory.

I don't think there is a time period for replacement dependent on the amount of shots put through a bow. I've had strings last for over 20,000 shots and still appeared to be in good shape. One of the prime culprits that is bad for strings is grit and dirt. This is where I think many guys get too carried away with waxing. Dirt and grit will adhere to wax and cause premature fraying and wear. If you can pinch your string between thumb and index finger and rub along it and feel excess wax then there is too much on it.