Guest MarylandQDMA Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 my hunting buddy was going thru his parents shed the other day an came accross an old recurve. he has allways wanted to get into shooting a recurve but did not want to drop a few hundred bucks for a bow and not like it or other. any how he asked my if a recurve would be ok after sitting in a shed for years (30+). there is no string so he would have to replace it, but was wondering about the wood. would it weeken in a hot/cold apnessphear (sp). my thought, NO. as long as it was keept in the shed away from sunlight & weather (rain/snow). and still had a good looking varnish on it. it should be fine. a new string and a few wooden arrows he is set! what do you think? Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archerjg Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Re: old recurve I would have it checked out by a pro shop just to be on the safe side even if you don't see anything physically wrong with it. Archerjg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTbowman Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Re: old recurve My fathers recurve sat unstrung for the same amount of time. His was in a gun cabinet so it was not sitting the right way for many years. I took it down for a pro shop to inspect it and it was basically in like-new shape. A few minor scratches but thats it. I had a string made and 6 alum arrows. I am still shooting it today. Well during warmer weather anyways. I plan to take my 1st trad bow deer with it before moving on to newer and better trad bows. A little note. The best varnish or finsihing will not keep out moisture 100%. Just slows it down. Moisture is the worse thing for a wooden bow if its to high or to low in the wood. That and cracks of coarse. LOL Good Luck to your friend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MarylandQDMA Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Re: old recurve [ QUOTE ] took it down for a pro shop to inspect it [/ QUOTE ] What did they do to inspect it. most shops here would take one glance at it and say "looks ok to me". most shops around here don't deal with tad. bows. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Re: old recurve I'd say it would be fine. I have my buddy's old one I'm using as a model for one I'm making, it still functions fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJJ Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: old recurve take it to a pro shop and let them look at for any damage. good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTbowman Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: old recurve [ QUOTE ] What did they do to inspect it. [/ QUOTE ] The shop I took mine too gave it a real good inspection for cracks in the fiberglass, look at the edges for any de-lamination of the limbs and once I had them make a string for it, we tested the poundage at my draw length. VERY slowly to see if anything would start to crack. (listened as well as watched) Other then that it was a quick deal. My bow was pretty much in new condition just real old. Propbably had less then a dozen arrow shot out of it 30 year before and thats it. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: old recurve What comes to mind is to borrow some equipment from a goalie from some hockey team. Put it all on and try to shoot the bow. If it doesn't blow up, it's probably alright. Seriously, there is no real way to determine just from looking at it whether the material has lost any of it's elasticity or if lamination glue has crystallized. There are some obvious external signs of failure that may be present, but as far as the properties internally being altered by extreme adverse conditions, the only way to really find that out is to string it up, close your eyes and pull her back and let an arrow fly. It might be nice if you can con some archery pro into being the tester (better for you), but he can't see inside that material any better than you. Personally I have only seen one recurve actually break and that was kind of a slow motion fold-up. Maybe the guy was just lucky, because I have heard of a lot more violent failures. But I suspect that as long as the bow never encountered dry-fires or other abuse, it is probably ok. I would recommend wearing safety glasses the first time you pull it back ....... seriously. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MarylandQDMA Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Re: old recurve thanks for the feed back, I will let him know what you all said (calling him now). thanks again Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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