Can i shoot this Ben Pearson? (and other questions)

[Gibson_es]

First, i hope i am posting in the correct place. if not, i apologize...

I'm pretty close to brand new to archery. I have an old Ben Pearson longbow. 40# draw @ 28". i don't know what its made out of, but it does have backing. It has been unstrung for years according to the guy i purchased it from. it was his grandfathers. he had what he thinks is the original string. i used it to string the bow to check from warps and such. i have not yet shot it because i was afraid, with it being old, that the limbs may need to get used to the tension again, before being placed on more tension and dealing with vibrations and such. i found info on self bows that talks about this a little. but nothing about a bow with backing.

next, the bow string is not parallel with the bow when viewing from the side. i had 1 person tell be this was normal for old bows, they were made like this, and it was called "breasted tiller". once again, i didn't find alot of info on this either. i was hoping someone could enlighten me a bit on this.

also, i have a spot on each limb of the fiberglass bow that is discolored. it looks like its splitting, or "peeling". it wasn't like that when i got it, and i used it a few times just fine. then i picked it up, hear some crackling, like old wood, and seen these marks. i first wasn't going to shoot it. but (and probably stupidly) i did shoot it a couple times to see if it would hold up, it didn't "crackle" anymore. can this be fixed? i will try to post photos when/if possible.

and does anyone have any more info on these bows? i cant find much on either one.

i have questions about arrows as well, but i will save that for later.

These are the two photos i have off hand. there of the ben pearson.

 

 

[slim_grim]

I'd be a little leery if I heard any cracking. You should definitely wear some safety glasses. More pictures would be helpful.

[slim_grim]

Also, breasted tiller was fairly common around the 40's and 50's.

[Gibson_es]

I will see what i can do to add photos of the fiberglass bow tonight when i get home. Thanks so far for the help.

is the wood bow ok to shoot even though its been without tension for who knows how many years? or should i just let it sit for a few days/weeks strung first....