Leaving recuves strung

[jvhunter]

Could anyone tell me if it is ok to leave a recurve strung when not in use.
Thanks

[ishoot4thrills]

Try the search feature and you'll see that there are various opinions on this subject.    

As long as it has 'glass lamination in the limbs then it's okay to leave it strung. I leave all 'glass recurves strung.

[Pullonmylimb]

a glass or laminated bow will be fine that way.  I wouldn't do it with a selfbow.

[michigan bill]

I typed in "strung" in the search engine here and searched under PowWow and back on January 11 there was a good thread regarding this topic.
This question borders on asking, "Which is prettier, a sunrise or a sunset?"  It appears that either way is good - for most bows!  I know you wouldn't want to leave a selfbow strung.
Bill

[michigan bill]

Dang, it was January 14 and "snow leopard" started the thread.
Bill

[stagetek]

I'll leave my recurve strung for the duration of the hunt, but unstrung when traveling or stored.

[Covey]

I very seldom unstring my recurve. I try to shoot every day ( that don't alway's get done but..) I just leave it strung and lay it on a flat surface. Havent had any problems yet! Jason

[wheelie]

I unstring mine for the mirr seconds it takes to string and unstring.

[sawtoothscream]

idk for sure. i just unstring mine to be careful. it takes like a second to string it up so might as well

[Ron Roehrick]

Most bows with damage is the result of improper stringing and unstringing, always use a bow stringer its the safest for the bow and the person. I think the old step thru method has resulted in alot of twisted limbs on recuves in the past and the push pull method has resulted in lost eye sight. Always you a quality bow stringer on recurves.

[FerretWYO]

I have two recurves that have been strung for years. It won't hurt them to be strung. As mentioned though care must be taken when laying them down persay. I always hang mine freely by the sting or set them so there is nothing touching the limbs.

[kawika b]

Short answer.... it's okay.

Long answer... yes it's okay but as long as stored properly (see Ferret's post above).

[OkKeith]

In cool or cold months, when I am shooting (or hunting) nearly every day, I will leave it in the truck strung.

I would NEVER leave a strung bow in the truck in even mildly warm weather. The inside of that truck can get well above the temps of the hot-boxes or heat presses that are used to build the bows. Delamination is much too likely to risk.

I don't leave them strung in the house because they are too hard to store that way. If I kept every bow I own strung in the house, I would need 3 times the amount of storage space. I have a long row of pegs that I hang my bows verticaly from.

I know many folks leave their's strung all the time, some for years and years. I can understand that there may be very little damage, but it is simply against ALL the laws of physics to assume that there is none. I have even heard that some custom manufacturers recomend leaving them strung. That's fine. I'm not gonna do it, especially with my older bows. I doubt the glass 45-50 years ago was as good as the stuff these days anyway.

It's not difficult or time consuming to take the 30 seconds it requires to use a a good stringer and slip the top loop off the limb-tip.

Long story short... do what you like and what works best for you but think about why your doing it and what the eventual consequences might be.

OkKeith

[TDHunter]

I've seen recurves so warped from leaving them strung in different temperatures that the string would barely stay on. If you like them unstring them, it doesn't take much effort

[bowhunter3762]

i unstring my wood bows and my ilf bows i leave strung

[JEFF B]

if it were me i would unstring it. you know the old saying if its strung its working if ya dont belive me just take a knife to the string. i unstring my Bows all the time un till i take it off the wall and go Hunting or go shooting at the club.

[kawika b]

Comparing the slight, if any (and we're talking years here), performance loss of storing a recurve strung PROPERLY, to the potential risk of twisting a limb when stringing it... given the amount of times a bow would be strung and unstrung... odds favor leaving them strung. Hence the reason some bowyers recommend leaving them strung... although I'm sure they'd love to sell someone a new set of limbs.

[Warchild]

Why chance it? Unstring it!

[ishoot4thrills]

Why chance it? Leave it strung!

[wheelie]

Looks about 50/50. And the answer is........? LOL