Dear Friends,
Should I take the pressure off of my bow limbs during the off season. I had a problem earlier this month with the fletching nipping the side of my bow. I just corrected the problem with a cable guard and carbon arrows.Wow! What a difference.
Chuck

If its a traditional bow (recurve, longbow) yes, a compound I never have but then again I shoot year round. Lots of 3-d shoots during the summer and indoor leagues during the winter.

Thank you. I've heard different responces on this one.
Chuck.

If you shoot it during the off season you don't need to turn the weight down. The other benefit is that you'll sharpen your shooting skills.

I usually don't shoot during the off season and I always turn my limbs down 4 to 5 turns. I oil all the bushings and inspect and wax the string. I figure it has to be better for the limbs to be stored without all that pressure. I use a Mathews bow and API stands.

Said this in the past and state it again now.
You never have to back limb bolts off of a modern compound bow during the off season.
They (limbs) are rated from 130,000 psi to over 200,000psi
They will never be damaged from leaving them strung the way they came.
Shooting too light of an arrow, dry firing, and leaving your bow in extreme heat are the main reasons they are damaged.
Leave the limb bolts alone unless you need to take your bow apart to inspect it after a dry fire.


Sag.

I would generally think that you would want tighten them during off season to get a little stronger and used to pulling the heavier weight. Than when season comes down you can back them down a turn or two again and have an easier pull when you have been sitting around a stand for 3 hours tightening up. Easy to pull a stiff bow when it is 70 degrees or more but when it is 7 degrees and you are cold and tired..Whole different story. A little offseason training on a slightly harder pull bow might do wonders for your strenght. I know it would help me a lot.

I back my limbs down 4 turns each, and put a little sticker paper on it to remind me of such come spring. Come spring when I'm shooting again I simply crank it back up, and check my tiller. Why I do it is becasue I've had past compounds loose strength over a period of 3-4 yrs. If you hang onto your bows 5 yrs or better like myself I think its a good idea. How do I know my bows have weakened? I shoot back to 50 & 60 yds quite often for 3d shoots, and noticed the difference in drop over the yrs. No I do not shoot light arrows for this purpose. I shoot 3d's with the same setup I use for hunting.

if your not shooting your compound over the summer, by all means back it down a little. a little preventive maintenance here may save you some money in the long run. expecially over 5 years. i know the limbs are incredible these days but i like to make sure that the 60# bow im pulling now will be the same 60# bow next season. something as small as taking an allen wrench to your limbs and taking not one minute out of your life to do a little preventive maintenance is well worth it for me.

What off season. The only time I take any weight off my limbs is for hunting season, which is my off-season. I like to shoot a bow. That's why I got one. I shoot on average 4 times a week, even during the winter. During hunting season all the bow does is hang ona bow hook on a tree, so that's when it gets turned down. No sense trying to tear shoulder muscles away from the bone when cold and stiff.