Bow maintenance??
10-18-2010, 02:40 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 4
Bow maintenance??
Just bought my first bow! I’m in the process of sighting it in and becoming comfortable with it. What kind of bow maintenance needs to be done after I shoot with it all day? Bow string wax? Any kind of oiling? Any suggestions would be a huge help! Thanks.
10-18-2010, 04:08 PM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Middletown PA United States
Posts: 3,625
String wax about every 1000 shots or a couple times a year, whichever comes first. People get carried away with the wax. If you're just practicng on targets for now, when you're done put the bow in a case. No maintenance needed. If you have been shooting in the rain then wipe it down with a towel, let it air dry over night, and put it in the case. Probably wouldn't hurt to pull the string back a few inches and snap it just to knock the water off/out of it.
The riser is aluminum that has been dipped, powdercoated or some other process. Weather doesn't affect it. Same goes for the wheels/cams. The limbs are fiberglass so weather doesn't affect them either.
The bolts that attach the sight, rest, and other accessories are usually just steel. Spray them down with a silicon spray if you want. Thay will probably get some surface rust anyway and it won't affect the bow's shootability.
One thing I would do if I were you is remove every screw on the bow one by one and put bowstring wax on the threads. This will help keep them from seizing.
Bows require little to no maintenance from everyday shooting.
Probably the best maintenance you can learn is, once the bow is set up and tuned, measure thing like brace height, A2A, rest position (vertical and horizontal), nocking point height, peep height above nocking point and anything else you can think might be useful. Take an actual measurement of the draw length and use a scale to check what the draw eight is. In both these cases do not rely on guess work. Just because you may have the bow set for a 29" draw doesn't mean that's what it will measure. Just because you have a 70# bow doesn't mean it will weight 70# with the limbs bottomed. Don't trust limb stickers.
Record all these measurements for future maintenance such as string/cable changes.
The riser is aluminum that has been dipped, powdercoated or some other process. Weather doesn't affect it. Same goes for the wheels/cams. The limbs are fiberglass so weather doesn't affect them either.
The bolts that attach the sight, rest, and other accessories are usually just steel. Spray them down with a silicon spray if you want. Thay will probably get some surface rust anyway and it won't affect the bow's shootability.
One thing I would do if I were you is remove every screw on the bow one by one and put bowstring wax on the threads. This will help keep them from seizing.
Bows require little to no maintenance from everyday shooting.
Probably the best maintenance you can learn is, once the bow is set up and tuned, measure thing like brace height, A2A, rest position (vertical and horizontal), nocking point height, peep height above nocking point and anything else you can think might be useful. Take an actual measurement of the draw length and use a scale to check what the draw eight is. In both these cases do not rely on guess work. Just because you may have the bow set for a 29" draw doesn't mean that's what it will measure. Just because you have a 70# bow doesn't mean it will weight 70# with the limbs bottomed. Don't trust limb stickers.
Record all these measurements for future maintenance such as string/cable changes.
10-18-2010, 05:25 PM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Southern Illinois
Posts: 262
10-19-2010, 08:10 AM
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Woollum, Ky.
Posts: 269
Wax the string when it shows sign of wear at the very least. If you can get someone to wax the serving around the cams while you have the bow drawn it would be a good thing to do....IF you can do it safely.
10-19-2010, 10:02 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Middletown PA United States
Posts: 3,625
Flicking might be a better term. That's why I said to only pull back a couple inches. Try it. A couple inches isn't very much. And it sure isn't dry-firing.
