Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

I bumped into a couple of caribou hunters last night, and one of them had their arm gaurd get caught in the idler wheel of his bow and when he pulled it back, the string came off. They didn' t have a bow press, so I told them they could come over and use mine. They were tightening up the press, and getting fairly close to being able to put the string and cable back on, and the cable of the bow press broke! It busted both limbs right off the riser of the bow, and send parts flying. We couldn' t tell what happened until we noticed the cable of the bow press broken in half.

I' ve used them before with no problems, not sure what happened here. I bought it from Cabela' s, and they will replace it for free, and we will send in an explenation, pictures and the bill from the archery shop, and hopefully they will take care of us. The two guys are the poster children of cabelas. They have a camp with two cabela' s outfitter tents, a cabelas three burner stove, and tons of other stuff, so we let them know that when we called so they would be more prone to help. It sounds like they are going to make it right though.

His bow was a High Country " The Bow" He thinks it was built in 1997. He' s taking it back to the shop in North Pole to either get it fixed or replaced, but he' s going to have to use his long bow for the rest of his hunt.

Serious bummer for those guys. Anybody else have a bad experience with a bow press?

RE: Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

Jerry.
On another board I go to there was a long thread about that press.
Some of the guys had exactly the same problen with it one guy almost lost part of his hand when the cable let go.

I did have one but after I read that thread I put it in the rubbish bin I am not going to risk that sort of injury.

Hope you get things sorted out and a real bummer about the bow.

RE: Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

I had the cable break on mine, but I' m not sure how. I believe that the cable is rated for something like 1700 or 2000 lbs. No damage to my bow, and Bowmaster replaced it free of charge. I don' t quite understand how it could blow up the limbs, though. It only pulls in a short distance, much less tthan when drawing the bow. I' ll be curious to hear the details and the outcome.
Charlie

RE: Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

I read on another forum that a guy' s portable bow press cable snapped...the cable slashed the guy' s jugular....he bled to death.

RE: Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

You guys are scaring the crap out of me. Bled to death...Hand ripped off...I' ve had a bowmaster press for about 5 years with no problems to report. The way it' s built, I can' t figure out how this can happen. Maybe I should trash this thing, but it seems so well built...

RE: Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

I thought about getting the BowMaster 6 years back....just never got around to it. Now I' m thinking twice about it.

RE: Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

I used one to change the string & cable on my bow over the summer. I started out holding the bow in my lap but thought better of it. Now I' ll definitely be keeping that thing away from that particular region.

RE: Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

I' m not sure if the limbs broke because of the style of bow, or the hard impact it took when the cable broke. The bolts that hold the limbs on gave way, and the limbs popped off, they did not break. There were two little greased bearing in each limb where it attached to the riser and they went flying as well.

His bow was completely flat when the string was off and limbs were on. There was very little arch to the limbs when we were cranking it down. We had the bow braced up on a cooler, and nobody got hit by the bow or any parts when it went at least. Scary to know it could of been a lot worse!

I think I' ll go ahead and get it replaced instead of a refund though. I' m sure that this isn' t common with this press, and the insurance of having it on a remote hunt would be worth the very slight risk in my opinion.

Is there a better brand out there?

RE: Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

I' ve had a Bowmaster for several years and have had no bad experiences with it. However, whenever I have to use a portable press, the pucker factor is way up the scale! I can' t stand the things but, unfortunately, they' re indispensible with today' s bow designs. One of the STUPIDEST things manufacturers have done is taking away the capability of completely relaxing a bow by simply backing out the limb bolts.

I' m sure the shops love the business though.

RE: Bow Master Bow Press Cable Breaks, Blows Up A Bow!!!
 

I still do the relaxed limb bolt, wrestle the bow on the carpet method:D. Still works for me but not nearly as easy as it used to be!