In the interest of safety and possibly saving an eye, always use a stringer. Sorry, I don't know how to load pictures here; the rest of the story can be seen in the link below.
Please, no turf wars...this is too important & Lee's pictures hammer it home.
http://www.piratesofarchery.net/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4917
Ouch!! Thanks for the warning Tim. I never thought about loosing an eye while stringing my bow.
Old York Pm SENT
Too Short did a video on setting up longbows and recurves some years back...and even WITH a stringer, he reall drove home that once strung...turn bow tips AWAY from body in case the string wasn't in a limb nock properly...can still do you BAD even with a stringer.
Glad Lee's ok... that was CLOSE!
I know a very good bowyer who retired from bowmaking because he was sued when someone did the same thing....WITH A USED BOW. He didn't even sell the guy the bow and got sued. Be careful out there.
homebru
Ouch is right. HOMEBRU - Another sewer person...hate them
Jer Bear
i'm blind in one eye already....always have to take that extra bit of care!!!!
thanks for the heads up, I'm new to trad and wasn't aware of the danger!!! thank you thank you!!!!
I had a bow pop me a few years back in much the same way. Lucky for me, I had turned my head to the side as I was stringing the bow. My jaw felt like I'd been hit with a hammer.
Be careful, fellas.
This is a very good subject for newbs. I never even thought of this happening. I have a cousin that's only a couple years older and, though unrelated to archery, will spend the rest of life with ZERO peripheral sight from his right eye...from a one-time slip up. Even if the tip misses the actual eyeball it aint all that hard to really mess things up.
(Unrelated sorta, but on the "other" thread welders-flash is mentioned...I'd heard about it but learned that you can get it, or a form of it at least, from enough time on just a cutting torch the hard way.
Any type of visual concentration was impossible for 3 days.)
Be careful, and time for me to get a stringer!
I witnessed a guy get his fore head ripped open then a limb gave while he was doing the ole step thru method to unstring his bow. That was one nasty wound. Jagged fiberglass doing 300MPH and flesh don't mix...at all. Happened in front of his young son and he was driven away in a ambulance.
Get a good stringer, take your time and use it everytime. Nothing in life is 100% proof but keep the odds in your favor. In fact, do yourslf a favor and buy a couple stringers and keep one in your truck/hunting camp,ect where your most likely to need one.
Glad your OK Lee. I should've bought that Foley TD at Denton Hill. Damn bow haunts me now...
Jerry
ttt