I have a 62# black widow that was given to me by a cousin that injured his shoulder. It just does not feel like 62#s. I heard that bows will stack up if they are tired.

Older bows I've seen ready to give up the ghost get weaker. Maybe limbs get out of kilter, etc. More "b" instead of "D". String it up & post pix. Get a draw reading.

I agree with Straitera.  If they're losing draw weight that's a sign something is giving out.  Usually damage - as far as I know fiberglass has not been determined to have a lifespan. . . yet.  Never heard of a bow developing additional stack with age.  

Viagra?

If you're consistantly undershooting animals, it's the bows fault. It just doesn't have the carry you thought it should, so it's time for a new one! How's that for an excuse...
  Like stumpkiller stated, I've never heard of fiberglass having a lifespan. I know a guy that has kept his longbow strung since he's owned it, which is around ten years. Now THAT bow seems to be a bit tired as far as cast is concerned. It doesn't, however, seem to be failing structurally. I'd say shoot it till it gives it up.

I keep most of my bows strung most of the time. Occasionally if I am putting them up for six or more months, I unstring them. I have never noticed any bow getting tired. Some of these are 25 years old. Gary

I second sagebrush,I have talked to some bowyers that had bow strung for 20 years,never been shot and they had lost barely a pound,after that much time still good shooters.My own bear kodiak 1955 enough beaten is still a speed demon.

Viagra?   LOL Now that's funny.

I'd get the poundage checked. For it to be losing poundage would indicate a problem in the limbs. It would be worth it to send it back to Black Widow for an evaluation. That's a real quality bow and they at black Widow can give you the best diagnosis.

QuoteOriginally posted by sagebrush:
I keep most of my bows strung most of the time. Occasionally if I am putting them up for six or more months, I unstring them. I have never noticed any bow getting tired. Some of these are 25 years old. Gary

What Gary said....

Unless there's some thing "wrong" with it, they really don't as far as I know.

A self bow would I guess, but I some of the well made one's will last a lifetime of shooting as well.

Never heard the "stacking" thing either...if there was something wrong, i would think it would be weaker...

When one of my bows is tired, I send it to bed....

I will take that tierd old widow off your hands and give it a nice restfull place to live.Think all my bows are over 20 and a couple over 30.

Best to weigh it but, my widow feels lighter at the same MEASURED weight than any of my other bows.Guess it's the smooth way it draws.

Gerald

Hey, I need a new bow(?) Maybe I'll tell my wife, my bow is gettin "tired" and need a new one. Bet she would fall for it???

MY WIDOW 51@28,FEELS LIKE 45,JUST THE WAY IT IS MEANT TO BE SMOOTH,,,,GOOD BOWS...

it will yawn

It will say trade me, sell me.

I can tell when mine are getting tired when the ones on the classifieds start looking real good
 

Had a Pearson Hunter that was strung for 40 years and it never lost anything. It hung in a guys rafters for 38 of those years strung with a linen string. As far as stacking, not anything I have ever seen or heard of. Shawn

Don't reckon it was made out of tired wood do ya?   :D

How long have you had it? Could be it is getting easier for you to pull.

Like a lot of you, I've been shooting many old bows for decades now, along with a few new customs here and there.  My favorite old ones are Widows and Wings from the 60s, and Kodiaks from '54-'64.  When I began shooting many of them again last year after a long layoff, I calibrated my old scale and have weighed at least 75 old bows in the last few months.  And many years ago, I scaled many of them when they came into my collection.  Have no definitive record to rely on, but-with a few exceptions-almost all of them were within a couple of pounds of the weight the bowyer put on them.  Most were at least 20 years old when I got them, and most are 40 or more now.  They're not all strung when stored, of course, but I leave my favorite few strung pretty much over the entire year in which I intend to hunt with them.  

Nothing scientific in this opinion, but my measurements don't support the draw weight changing over time(seems like a limb would have to literally be in the act of failing for it to weaken....and I've never seen a hint of that.  Also, you would think it would then eventually catastrophically fail....but they just never do!

Might be more scientific if a bow were chronographed with the same setup over a long time....but, who would do that?  Not me!

I've got several fine hunting weight BWs from the '60s that still perform right with some of today's real expensive customs.  And they scale almost exactly what the Wilson Bros wrote on the riser.  

If the not overheated or physically stressed, and the wood remains sealed, so moisture can't affect it, I think old bows will remain unchanged indefinitely.  

Now....if you just want a new bow, that's maybe another story you can put together to get it past the little woman!