Recurve bows have been widely used by beginners to hone their archery skills. The craftsmanship on a recurve bow differs from traditional ones but gives more power and flexibility to the user. This type of bow allows an archer to get used to the game by sharpening up their techniques.
That's not all, when you have a recurve bow, it's also crucial to take care of it by unstringing and stringing new strings to keep it in pristine shape. We are here to talk about how to unstring a recurve bow in steps.
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Do You Have To Unstring your Recurve Bow?
Yes, you have to string out a recurve bow frequently to keep it upright. Recurve bows endure a lot of pressure and force, thus you must change the strings to avoid potential archery injuries or damage to the body of strings.
Unstringing can also help to curb all the internal pressure within the bow when you are not using it.
For compound bows, you won't have to change the strings as it is tailormade to stay attached all the time. Whereas, recurve bows are flexible and will give you the upper hand to restring fresh strings very easily. All you need to do is follow a simple guideline to make it happen.
6 Steps To Unstring A Recurve Bow
The only safe way to go about it is to use a bow stringer. You might want to unstring a bow with your hand, but that won't be safe for you. The best way to do it is to know how to work using a bow stringer. You might ask, how to unstring a recurve bow with a stringer? We will discuss it step by step, bear with us.
Step 1: Get A Bow Stringer
The first thing to do is to manage a bow stringer. It is the safest way to unstring recurve bow. A bow stringer is simply a chord that is around 2m in length and can be adjusted manually. Stringers come with a leather saddle and leather pockets on each end. There are two different kinds of stringers available in the market, loop and saddle-bow stringers and dual loop bow stringers. You can get anyone that fits your preference.
Step 2: Attach The Pocket To The Lower Limb
When you have the stringer in your hand, you should start by attaching the pockets to the bow’s lower tip. Make sure the larger pocket fits the lower end and the fitting is accurate and not too loose or tight.
Step 3: Place The Saddle/Other Pocket On The Upper Limb
Applying a similar process, take the spare pocket and place it on the top limb of the bow. If there is a saddle, make sure the loop sits on the upper body. Once you are done affixing both ends, check below the bow nock and let the pad rest on the curve of the bow. Keep in mind the saddle has to be steady, thus you might need to apply a bit of force to latch it on depending on the gear you have.
Step 4: Ground The Chord And Step On It
Well, this process might sound a bit complex and you might ask why it's necessary. The thing is this is the most ideal way to unstring a bow. With your dominant hand hold the center near the top limb of the bow. Keep in mind that the string has to be placed parallel to the floor.
Now you have to place the bow stringer cord to the ground, we are not talking about bowstrings. When it is grounded, place your feet onto the stringer cord and stand firm keeping your feet in shoulder-width distance.
Step 5: Lift The Bow To Loosen The String
Now reach towards the bow and pull it upwards until you are standing again. Doing this will make the string loosen up because the stringer would be working to cut down the excessive tension on the string.
Step 6: Remove The String
When the string is slack, you should be able to detach them using your strong hand. Observe the notches holding the bowstring to the body. You will be able to pull it out from the groove easily if you've followed the previous steps.
Use the same procedure on both ends of the bow to unstring the bow. If you have successfully followed step 6, you are almost done. Now put the bow back on the ground to release the tension and detach the stringer cord as well. Bingo! You can now move on to the next step of restringing a recurve bow.
Final Thoughts
No matter what type of archer you are, an Olympic archer, bowhunter, field archer or anything, it is a must that you know how to unstring a recurve bow. Not only will it keep your bow in top-notch condition, but it will also avoid injuries. You must keep the bow safe and sound. So why wait, start following the guide we provided above and let your archery do the talking.
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