oniedaeagle

and i would also suggest people to look at bowtech if they are buying a new bow...

jmac_or

When a company sees a failure on a product it sells, there should always be extensive failure analysis. Failing limbs is a huge potential safety issue. If there is a manufacturing issue, then it needs to be addressed. If it is a QC issue, then tighten the specs. With the amount of stress these limbs are under on a continuous basis, any failure, whether catastrophic or splintering, would scare the bejezus out of me. I would surely demand more of an explanation then, "we see very few of these." I am not bashing Bowtech, and it does not make sense to bring in other manufacturers to this discussion. The question was asked of Bowtech because there have been a few failures of folks on this board. Percentage wise, it seems somewhat high relative to the number of Bowtech owners on this site. I think a technical explanation of the root cause is not only reasonable, but mandatory.

JMAC

pdq 5oh

DS12616:
That's not what I'm saying at all. But those most "concerned", are those uninvolved. You won't see me demanding explanations when a bow I don't own fails.

I can live with that.

sho-me_bhntr:
That's a tired, old cliché. That thinking would "spoil the barrel" of every manufacturer.
My "those concerned" comment was not aimed at you. At the uninvolved in general. I realize you are considering BowTech in the future. It would be a shame to discount them over a few limbs. That would remove most, if not all, bows from your list of possibilities.

jmac:
Why is that? Why has no one demanded an explanation from any other manufacturer? Surely you don't think no other company has never had a limb failure.

sho-me_bhntr

okay!

yes it would! that's why i would like to have an explaination to the problem. since no one is clear on what is causing this, it may be a bigger problem than what appears. (the tip of the iceberg?) if bowtech says its something in their control and will correct it, i will definately be shooting bowtechs when looking for my next bow purchase...i can see you are brand loyal, there's nothing wrong with that. but, you must recognize my concern for potentially laying down a lot of money for a product that might leave me high and dry when i need it most, or worse, might comprimise my health...

you might be right. with that said, if i find unexplained problems with other manufacturers products, then i probably won't be considering them as well. again, if we can pinpoint the source of the problem and it is corrected, i'm okay with that, whether it be bad batch of limbs, pressing the limbs incorrectly, etc.

and maybe, there have been lots of other threads on these boards about other bow failures...maybe i have just been missing them, i don't know...but i definately recall seeing a few bowtech limb failure threads on the board over the past few weeks and no one seems to know what is causing this...

and poor gutshot (i believe it was) went through something like 4 sets of limbs and i don't recall if he ever found out why...that just bothers me...

rybohunter

I don't follow a lot of bow tech press, but FWIW my buddy has his bowtech at the customer service shop right now because of a cracked limb, with no apparent cause as to why it happened.

JeffB

This is my post for the day..my work computer got fried by a virus, and my work got backed up....



This is my opinion on the whole matter..I am no longer a rep for BowTech..so understand it's solely MY opinion.

Thanks to the internet now, when someone's limb crack we hear all about it..on many different boards sometimes. Before that, barring word of mouth, you didn't hear anything about it.

I know cracked limbs suck, and I feel bad for customers when it happens but the fact of the matter is it happens to every company in this industry. Last year at the shop the LX's were cracking limbs and string suppressor brackets quite regularly (no issues this year) you never saw a "statement" from Mathews... nor Hoyt when they had the big issues with redline limbs or risers getting bent in the press even when using proper techniques (hence the Tri-ax limb pocket), or HCA with their splits splintering, or PSE with the Magnaglass limbs that even after 20 years still have the same issues , or XI’s streamline strings failing at any given moment, etc etc, ad nauseum.

Just for 2004 You didn't see a manufacturers statement about

1) The Outbacks with bad cams, or the entirely wrong cams installed

2) The several hundred Martin Tru-arc cam bows that went out with spacers reversed (that causes cables to pop-over the draw stop..I know from personal experience it isn’t fun and after noting the problem to my friend , they had to rebuild nearly all of the Tru-arc cam bows @ the shop).

3) All the initial PSE NRG cams that had bad string posts that broke off or cut through string end loops and lived up to the “Pull Shoot Explode” moniker they have been given over the years.

And all the other manufacturing problems that happen year in and year out in this industry...when companies are building bows in the 30,000 plus numbers a year like Hoyt, BowTech, Mathews, PSE, etc, defects happen. Companies outsource parts, and machining work...those places have issues at times (Like Gordon with glass) just like every one of us does in our day to day jobs. I can't tell you how F'ed up the company I work for is.

Many issues are not immediately able to be identified. You can test a set of prototype limbs for hundreds of thousands of cycles, but due to all the variations in actual large volume manufacturing, one small little glitch can cause these types of problems in the manufacturing run.

How many of you work in manufacturing? If you do, you’ll know this to be true. Machines break, the new guy didn’t do exactly what he was supposed to like the experienced guy does. One of your crew has hangover or a “Friday” attitude and may not be up to snuff that day. Normal things we all see in every workplace environment.

Then consider the fact that part is made by someone else and then shipped in gigantic lots to the end manufacturer (in this case, a Bow company), and then the bows are assembled from these parts.

Just like cars and computers, and anything else we buy there will be a percentage of bad products..it's inevitable. It sucks when it's you, but that is why companies have a warranty...if they built perfect products they wouldn't need to give you a warranty. Thankfully the vast majority of bow companies have very good if not stellar service. Certainly if the same people keep having the same problem over and over again with the same product, then I could see people saying "screw BowTech", but if the company takes care of the prob and the bow remains sound, then I personally don't see it as an issue.

As I said in another thread, if I had to buy a bow based on never having had a problem with limbs (or cams, or bent risers, or incorrectly drilled axles, or improperly installed cable guards, or incorrectly drilled berger button holes, or cock-eyed limb pockets or the myriad of other problems I've had with bows over the years), I wouldn't buy a thing..Not BowTech..Not Mathews..Not Hoyt, Not Darton, Not Martin, Not PSE, not Merlin, Not Golden eagle, not Jennings, not XI, and the list goes on. And any manufacturer or manufacturers rep/shooter/dealer who tells you they've never had issues is a liar…plain and simple.

I have no doubt BT’s warranty work will be exemplary for each of you that have had a problem..I also have no doubt that IF this a problem within their control, i.e. Not a Gordon issue, or a Patton issue, they will fix your bow and re-design as necessary. If it IS an issue with Patton or Gordon, or whomever, you can be damn sure they will be screaming at them to get their $hit straight. And if it’s a lack of education with the dealers, they will implement something to make sure dealers are educated about proper pressing techniques..hell..they came out with their own set of press rollers that work better w/ p-limb bows this year just because of that fact.

I know these folks @ BowTech..I met ALL of them…I can guarantee you that just like people here, they don’t want to see anyone get hurt. They are not some mindless, feeling-less corporate juggernaut who spits on the little people and could care less about you after they get your money (that’s the company I work for ) They are good folks and will make things right. They are not perfect, but they will try thier hardest to resolve problems.

Take that for what you will…

Trushot_archer

I agree with Jeff....Saves me the time of typing all that out

JOE PA

Maybe I haven't been paying attention carefully enough, but the "rash" of Bowtech limb problems seems to number 3 or 4, among how many that people who frequent the boards happen to own. Admittedly a cracked limb is a serious problem, and one the company needs to look at to isolate a cause and possible solution to prevent future problems. Many on here want a solution and explanation yesterday. Hopefully the company will spend enough time to really figure it out properly. If the company holds true to form, they will bend over backwards to make the shooters of the defective bows happy, and in posession of a shootable bow. None of that will be enough to satisfy some people, and certainly they are entitled to their opinion, but then, people with "an axe to grind" rarely seem to need assurance that they are entitled to their opinion.

Jeff B. said a mouthful with his post. Many major manufacturers made bows this year with significant problems that most people seem to have completely forgotten about now that there is a new issue to rant about.

Maybe it is a good thing that there is controversy on the boards again to replace the boredom of the past couple months.[8D]

BTW, I have owned 2 Bowtechs, but don't currently own one. I have no attachment to the company at all, but if I was in the market for a new bow, I would get another one this afternoon.

Kanga

Well said Jeff I totally agree.

I have been shooting Bowtech's now for 3 years and only once have I had to use their customer service and that was the grip delaminated to my surprise a new grip was sent to me express mail.

c903

JeffB has in a reverse sort of way, validated others and my point regarding quality control and product safety issues.

Regardless of who the manufacturer is, if any of their products are having what may be quality control and product safety issues, the company SHOULD be required to investigate the matter and issue a statement of their findings, the steps taken to correct the problem, and any necessary warnings of possible risks of bodily injury to all owners of the product and to the general population of prospective buyers.

It appears that some people believe that historical circumstances that ALL manufacturers have product problems sooner or later, and that low numbers of reported incidents negates any need to be concerned or to want answers. Just how many occurrences is the max tolerant level before anyone is justified to be critical and to ask for answers?

If all these named bow manufacturers were having all the stated problems for the period of time as stated, and no investigation was done by the manufacturer, and no statement of findings were given, and no assurances were given that the a risk has been eliminated, how is it that the responsible manufacturers were able to slide through and just let the problems be quietly phased out, if ever?

Probably why they were able to get away with it, was that too many product owners and dealers just sat back said nothing. Or, by the time the necessary numbers of problems rose to the level as some require, the product problem had been corrected or was now obsolete.