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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Marc B. on January 10, 2013, 08:33:00 AM
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I have been carrying a spare string while hunting for over 20 years and never needed it.
Have you ever needed your spare
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Only at Denton Hill last year, during the 3D shoot, and didn't have one. :knothead: Went to the backup bow instead. Probably should replace that string carrying a backup bow in the woods seems a little stupid in hindsight.
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I will keep carrying mine just in case ;)
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Have never needed one but I always carry one when away from home. Better to have and not need than need and not have.
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I carried one for many years...15+...and never needed it while out hunting. For that matter I have never had a string break on me while shooting for 20+ years of traditional. Maybe it was luck...maybe it is because I use generous amounts of string wax on them...I dont know. I dont carry one now unless I have my haversack but only for that particular bow I am using that season. If I grab a different one for some reason...I will be SOL as I dont want to carry 10 different strings for different types of bow, string materials, weights, etc.
It is a good idea but I guess it is like a spare tire or a handgun.....it is a tool....and you hope you never need to use it but are thankful it is there if you ever have the need. So far I have not had the need...knock on wood.
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I was using my pruning snips to cut through real thick honeysuckle vines (little ones look just like a bow string) and greenbriars when I mistook my bow string for a vine.
I realized the mistake an instant before the final squeeze. Still cut over half of the 14 stands. Only time I've used the step through method..but had to get it unstrung fast and didn't want my head around the tip for a push pull. Had an extra with me.
Now I use the brightest colors I can think of for bow strings.
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had a mate touch his string with a broadhead while nocking an arrow-
he only cut 2 strands, but i put a spare on for him
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I have never had the need for one.....but I always carry 2!! Better safe than sorry!!
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Cut the string right off my bow one time antelope hunting. It can happen.
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Broke one this fall while elk hunting. (no fault of the string...just me) I had an extra one in the pack twisted up perfectly, nock set, and silencers on. I was ready to go within a minute. 1st practice shot was dead on with perfect flight.
The one time you might need it will be worth having it!
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I needed one on two hunts, one broke at the shot on a hog and i cut one with a broad head.
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I Also carry one have for more than 35 years I have NEVER needed one BUT I still carry it . MIGHT never need it but Its there Can be used for a lot of other things also in a PINCH. Almost weighs nothing so its NOT a burden to carry .
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Twenty miles is the farthest away from home that I hunt. So if I broke a string, I would just call it a day and go home for the spare.
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Murphy's Law.
The reason you carry an extra string is so that you won't need it.
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I don't recall ever having to replace one while hunting, but I always carry a spare. Better to be safe than sorry.
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I cut a bow string while hunting on Santa Catalina island in the mid 80's. It would have been a disaster if I wouldn't have had a backup string with me.
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I always have a backup just in case. I have never needed it so far. My dad broke one while target practicing. The broken string somehow went sideways and snapped me on the cheek.
No damage but it stung pretty good (57 lb).
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I have extra ones at the house, but have never carried one on a hunt. I am usually not more than an hour from home though, so I would just call it a day if I broke one. If I ever hunt farther from home I will take at least one.
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Like ISP, I too hunt mostly close to home but in about 60 years of taking a bow to the woods, I have NEVER had a string break or get cut or anything else. I'm not really superstitious BUT I sure hope I haven't jinxed myself LOL. I have never taken an extra string to the best of my memory.
Joe
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I never was in the need on one for sooo long,so i never had an extra one. One year elk hunting in WY I crossed a rocky ravine and my bow hit a sharp rock breaking my ff string.I had lo leave my camp to drive 3 hours to closest archery store,,but they didn't carry one of my size,in Laramie,so I had to drive up to Cheyenne. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: At the end I lost 3 days of elk hunting.Never without a spare string,maybe 2.
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AS a new archer in the 1960's I was hunting santa cruz island when I came upon a large boar. I got close as I could and proceded to shoot right over him. Seeing the arrow hit the ground he bolted straight at me! I quickly drew another arrow and all in one motion cut the string right off my bow. I now carry several strings with me.
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Originally posted by lablover:
Have never needed one but I always carry one when away from home. Better to have and not need than need and not have.
X2
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Never needed one, but always have a couple spares, shot it with silencers and nock point just in case.
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Broadheads and strings dont play well together so I always carry an extra string in my pack....... Have only needed it once after just nicking a string but it saved a day of hunting..........
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I suspect the "need" to carry an extra is somewhat dependent on the type of hunting you do. If it is in the "back forty" you can always walk back to the house, I suppose.
But if you are up in the mountains, on a elk hunt for example, a busted string could make for a long - useless - walk.
And yeah, I carry one - now :-) I actually had a knife get bumped and fall perfectly on my string when getting ready to hunt...long drive back to camp. Always have one in the quiver now.
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Needed one with an accidental errant movement with a broadhead. Not sure why we would not carry an extra- they take up virtually no space. I have had an extra wrapped in plastic and taped to my quiver for 25 years (of course replaced the spare a few times in those years).
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I always thought the same thing. till last year when I was at Ray hammonds. I had a group of hogs skirt around me so I took off running with the arrow in one hand and bow in the other. well the feather end of the arrow caught something and the broadhead hit the string and snip went the string. It was a long walk back to the truck when you have pigs in front of you and no bow. lol .
So it is always good to have an extra.
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One slip with a broadhead and what never happened before, just ruined your hunt.
I always carry one.
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Never while hunting.... have at a 3D shoot once... so I always have an extra in my pack...
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Have always carried an extra string and wax in the pocket of my quiver. If I don't have a quiver I'll have a spare in my pocket. Have never needed it, but why have to end a hunt just to go get a string. Seems like a waste of time for something which is no burden to carry but can ruin your day if you don't have it.
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I cut one strand of a string with a broadhead. I just went home and made another. One other time I was crossing a stone wall and the string seemed to just touch one of the rocks and whamo....it broke. Went home and made another. Now I carry a spare which is usually the last sting I had on the bow before I make a new one in August prior to hunting season.
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why would you not carry one? they weigh nothing and they take up zero room yet a string is a vital part of the bow. without it you have a club.
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Always have one. Cut two of them before.
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never needed to use a spare bowstring, would never hunt without one.
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Never needed one before. That said, I'm going to start carrying a spare when I head to the woods.
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I have never needed it, but I always carry one.
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Yes I have used my spare....day before the opening day Colo elk, taking practice shots, I broke my string. It wore smooth thru at a contact point in the limb tip string notch. I had a spare and gladly put it on. I checked my bow for damage and didn't see any but never got a shot
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it's also *extremely* important to setup and shoot in a new spare string. before hunting, and during practice/roving, i'll even swap the strings from time to time to make sure they both work the same.
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Can't say as I've ever had a string fail, but I did touch one with a broadhead once (when I was 16 some 50 years ago). String separated so fast it was almost like the bow blew up. Spent the rest of a Sunday morning trying to find a new string to fit my bow. 50 years ago, you couldn't find bow strings just anywhere. I've been carrying a spare ever since.
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To me, it's like buying a snow blower. If I never have to use it, it's money well spent and space well taken up.
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Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
it's also *extremely* important to setup and shoot in a new spare string. before hunting, and during practice/roving, i'll even swap the strings from time to time to make sure they both work the same.
A few weeks before hunting season I'll often take the string off I've been shooting all summer and put it in the pack then.
Lots of good stories in this thread guys, Thanks
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I've never needed one in the field but I've ALWAYS carried one with me. I consider a spare string to be essential equipment in my hunting kit.
Mike
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I also carry a bow stringer now.
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Always carried one in my day pack the first ten year I hunted with a traditional bow. Went on a still stalk whitetail hunt down the road a mile thinking all I needed was my knife and tags. You guessed it, I leaned the bow against a tree while glassing several deer that were moving in my direction and then proceeded to drop an arrow. Of course the broadhead hit the string and cut through it. It is amazing how efficient a file sharpened Magnus is. Five minutes later the deer walked past me at 15 yards.
Guess I am a slow learner, still always have one in the pack, but seldom carry the day pack to my whitetail stands. However, I am more careful with the arrow.
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I began bowhunting in the 60's and never carried a spare...and never needed one.
About 10 years ago, I began carrying a spare string AND a stringer...and still have not needed it.
I will continue the habit.
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ON my caribou hunt my bowstring got caught on a nail as I was walking out the door of the camp and cut three of the strands. I was lucky and had two strings set up just for such an emergency. If not for that string my hunt would have been done.
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I managed to cut one with my machete this season. I was 12 miles from my truck in a canoe.
I had an extra string and killed two hogs with it the next day.
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Dropped my bow chasing elk once and the malipie rocks cut the string.Glad there was a spare in my pack.
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Since mid 70s I always carry one in my fanny pack - and when on a hunt away from home I take 2 back up strings for 2 bows. We shoot in new strings every year for all the bows we use and rotate that used strings as the first back up. Never needed these but good to have I have had bows and strings blow up while shooting in my yard so any of these could have happened in the field. Surprised to see the number of guys cutting strings on rocks - more reason to stay the course and carry back up. Way back the only time I heard of a string breaking was when a guy accidentally hit it with a broadhead in the dark. On group hunts I bring a back of leftover strings with my sharpening equipment and have given away a few strings through the years.
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Had to use the spare this past fall on day 6 of a 7day backpack hunt. I noticed 3 or 4 frayed strands on the string and sat down and made the swap. I have no idea how it happened.
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I have been to some of the most remote areas of the world to hunt, including the back country of Africa and Australia, which often means the space and weight limitations are severe. Taking two bows is often difficult to manage, so I normally only take one bow on those remote hunts. I prefer to have a longbow when I have only one bow along, because the limbs are thicker, less subject to damage from striking an object or twisting a limb, and easier to string or unstring without a stringer. I have scratched, dinged and dented longbows before, but I have never broken one so it could not be used.
However, I ALWAYS take extra strings. As pointed out by others, strings can fail from wear, abrasion, cuts, and unknown reasons. They are inexpensive, compact and very light. Why would anyone NOT have a spare string handy on a hunt? I agree that a spare string is best when completely set up with the same silencers and nock point height as the primary string, but I'm not one to get too excited about exactly how well it is shot in. Just make sure you have a way to accurately measure brace height and to string and unstring the bow so you can make brace height adjustments, and you will be fine. I like to have a bow square and stringer in camp, but my blunt tipped practice arrow with length marks on the shaft carried in my quiver will work for brace height, and I can string my longbow without a stringer if I have to, so I can twist my string to keep the brace height right. Besides, a bow string can be used for many other purposes in a pinch.
Allan
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I had one break while sitting on a table next to my buddy's RV heater exhaust port. Didn't hurt the bow just the string. Am more careful now about where I place my bow. Glad I had a spare string with me.
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I cut one in two with a broadhead once stalking elk. After a 2 mile walk out and a 50 mile drive home to buy one, I never leave home without a spare now!!
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what's missing from your survey is hunt time. hunting 5 times a year without a string failure is lots different than hunting 35 times a year with a string failure. ;)
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Im never that far from home .
If I went out of town or state then I would.
Im never more than 4 miles from my house.
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Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
what's missing from your survey is hunt time. hunting 5 times a year without a string failure is lots different than hunting 35 times a year with a string failure. ;)
Good point!
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always thinking about carrying one
always forget it
:knothead:
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Ain't needed it yet, but always have one handy. Same as insurance on my truck, haven't needed it, don't want to need it and not have it handy.
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Went bowfishing once and got to my spot and set my bow down (on some rocks) and it was severed instantly. Packed up and went home.
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They don't weigh much. I always carried one but this thread asks me why not 3. Could always use some stout string in a pinch.
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I hardly ever used to carry an extra string but for the last two years I have and guess what. This year on a hunt trip in Oct. my dog chewed thru mine. Scared the heck out of him. He was after my beaver ball silencers. Sure was glad I had a extra string. You only lose a little time tuning it whereas without one you lose all your hunting time.
Which would you rather do, not hunt or lose an hour to tune new string?
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Never had to use a spare string but always needed one. Just knowing you have one gives you peace of mind and helps you relax a little more.