Archers sometimes make mistakes, no matter if they are pros or beginners. One of these mistakes is dry firing a compound bow.
Dry firing is a critical mistake every archer should avoid. Nobody dry-fires a compound bow on purpose; this always happens accidentally. It is better to understand and learn how to avoid dry firing.
This article contains detailed information about how a dry fire can damage your bow and the effects of dry firing a compound bow. Scroll through the end of this article to gain complete insight into what dry firing is and how you can avoid a dry fire.
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What is a Dry Fire?
Dry fire is also called dry loosing, and it can happen to anyone, including pro archers. When you draw back the string and release it without an arrow nocked inside it, it causes a dry bow fire. Dry fire can happen to any bow, including; a crossbow, compound bow, and any other bow.
Dry fire can also happen accidentally when you have the arrow knocked but leave the bowstring or your finger slip on the string. It can also happen to some experienced archers, so don’t worry about it. Check your bow for any signs of damage, and try not to do it again.
Sometimes, beginners don’t even know the meaning of dry firing a compound bow, and when they experience one, they ruin their bows. If you understand dry firing a compound bow, you can avoid the mistake causing it.
Dry firing is loud and scary and draws the attention of everyone around you, making you embarrassed. If you dry fire a compound bow, you will not only hear a huge twang, but you can also damage your bow badly. Dry firing can ruin your compound bow and damage it permanently.
What Causes a Dry Fire?
To avoid dry fire, you need to learn the mechanics behind how to shoot a bow and understand which rolls cables through cams to bend the bow’s limbs. Draw weight also decides the force stored in the limbs. When the archer releases the bowstring, the bow’s limbs return to resting; the kinetic energy stored in the limbs is converted into flight. If all this happens without an error, you will hear a little twang when your arrow is released from your bow and reaches the target.
Another situation is when your arrow absorbs all the energy, does not go anywhere, and remains back at the bow; this causes dry fire. Your arrow cannot absorb the energy, and when it is brought back into the bow’s limbs, it passes to every part of the bow, and you hear a loud sound of the brutal release of energy. This release of energy can damage your bow and send its parts flying in different directions.
Effects Of Dry Firing A Compound Bow
Compound bows are likely to become more damaged than other crossbows and longbows because they have extra moving weight and more significant energy stored in them that can cause damage. Bow technicians also call a backfire an explosion.
The bows selling in the market these days are solid and rigid and do not cause more harm to you, but they can cause the cams to bend. The dry firing also depends upon the bow design; the draw stop can crack the limb by hitting it when dry-fired.
Archers usually dry fire a firearm to gain practice and become familiar with the weapon family; a bow does not work this way. When a dry bow fires, the bow’s string faces a huge vibration when you release the bow. Archers like to avoid this vibration because this is the leading cause of your bow’s damage. This vibration is a little, but if a dry bow fires, it causes it to vibrate excessively and wreck the bow.
Does Dry Firing a Compound Bow Ruin It
You must be wondering if dry firing a compound bow is terrible. The extent of damage to your crossbow depends mainly upon how higher you draw the bow. When you dry-fire a crossbow, it does not cause much damage to the bow, but if a compound bow dry-fires, most parts of the bow are ruined, including; bent cams, splintered bow limbs, warped cam tracks, broken bowstring, and derailed bowstring.
If the damage only happens to your derailed string, you can consider yourself lucky. This damage is minor, while a dry fire can completely ruin your compound bow due to the excessive vibration.
Dry firing in a compound, recurve, or longbow can cause a literal explosion, and the most damage is occurred to your compound bow because of its excessive design and more energetic parts. Dry fire leaves the plastic and wood components of your flying into the air, tightly coiled string lashes back to your face and the metal pieces become shrapnel.
What To Do After Dry Firing a Compound Bow?
After you hear a loud explosion when you leave the bowstring without a nocked arrow, do not shoot with this bow again and take it to a technician. Professional archers can inspect it properly and tell you what is wrong with your bow.
You can take it to a compound bow shop; they have various tools and expertise to fix the issue. Your bow may survive a dry fire in a few days, but if you pull the strings again, you might end up seeing the parts of the bow flying in the air.
When the cam is bent, you might not be able to spot it because it is a tiny spot in the cam that tells you it will fall apart. Even if the bow looks fine after a dry fire, do not shoot with it again before inspection from a professional archer.
When you take your bow to the archer shop, tell him everything without getting embarrassed about your mistake and ask him to do a full inspection. If the weight of your bow is vast, you might feel a little more damage than expected due to the increased draw weight.
How Can You Prevent a Dry Fire?
Archery is not as complicated as some think it is. It just requires a little bit of your time to give you some practice and to make you a pro in this skill. If you have a full grip on your bow and you make sure your arrow is nocked perfectly inside the arrow, and you know when you can release your bow, you will prevent your bow from dry firing.
When you know that your bow has dry-fired, you can look for some steps to prevent you from this the next time. If you are new to archery, adopt techniques to nock the arrow first before releasing the bow string. You can also get to the experienced archers and ask them to give you some tips. Do not give your bow to someone inexperienced who does not know archery and can dry fire your bow.
Check your arrows more often to ensure the nocks are not damaged, and double-check your arrow to see if it has nocked perfectly before you lose the string. Your nocks can get damaged if you hit them at something hard during hunting. It would help if you inspected your bows thoroughly before you shoot with them the next time.
Do not use light arrows; ensure the arrow quality is good enough. You should also avoid building up shoulder strength by drawing the bow. Building up shoulder strength can be possible if you practice with your bows regularly, and this practice ensures you are not on the range.
Can A Compound Bow Survive a Dry Fire?
Surviving of a compound depends upon the quality of the bow. Many new bows have been introduced and are available in the market after trying and testing them many times by technicians to measure their ability to fall apart. If you buy a new compound bow from the market and you dry fire it, check your bow thoroughly before shooting with it again.
What Is Partial Dry Fire Compound Bow?
A complete dry fire occurs when the arrow has adhered to the nocks, and you pull the string without noticing the nocks of the arrow; a partial dry fire occurs when the arrow has not adhered to the nocks fully, and you draw it quickly. This way, a compound bow can partially dry fire.
Will Dry Firing a Bow Once Ruin It?
Yes, there is a good chance that dry firing a bow once can ruin it completely. Is dry firing a compound bow bad? It depends upon the quality of the bow and the weight stored in the bow’s limbs. If the bow is heavy, it might end up falling apart quickly; if it is lightweight, it might also stay intact.
