The recurve bow remains a natural model for archers and recurve bow hunting gets more love by experienced hunters as it does not involve any complicated tuning or assembling work. However, if you own a recurve bow that comes apart in pieces, you will need to remove the string every time you are ready to store it away.
All takedown recurve bows must have the string detached when you are folding them up. We are assuming you don’t know how to remove the string that is why you landed on this page today. Nothing to fret! We will explain how you can do it in simple steps.
Stringing a bow is an essential skill for recurve bow owners. Moreover, when you store away the bow after folding, removing the string will elongate the life of your weapon. For stringing and unstringing, you will need a specialised tool called the bow-stringer. You can buy it from an archery shop, and it will be a silent companion in ensuring the long run of your recurve bow and the string.
Yes, there are other ways of stringing the bow, but bow manufacturers and archery shops recommend the bow-stringer as it is safe and does not cause any damage risk.
What is bow-stringer?
A bow-stringer is a device that helps string or unstring the recurve bow without causing any discomfort or risk of injury. You may be able to do the job without this assistance, but then, why take a chance?
What’s easier is that you can buy the right bow stringer from an archery shop, and they can guide you about using it. You may find a variety of this device at any local sports or archery shop, but they all have one job, and they all are reasonably easy to use. The purpose of a bow-stringer is to flex the bow so that you can slide string into place. It looks like a long elastic string with two pockets on both ends. Let’s jump in to see how you can use it to get ready for some arrow shooting.
As we mentioned earlier, there are many variations of this simple tool, but we will discuss the most popular ones: The two favourite types of bow-stringers. One is the saddle stringer, and the other is the end to end stringer. Either one of them is good and will make the task at hand easy for you.
Using an end-to-end stringer
If you have a takedown recurve bow, then assemble it first. On your recurve bow, you can see the grooves for the strings on both the top and bottom limb. You take the bowstring that has two loops on each end. The bigger loop is for the top leg, so slide it through and onto the bow limb.
Move this loop a few inches down and now take your end-to-end stringer and place the bigger pocket on the top limb end. Place the other pocket on the other limb tip as well. Now lower your bow and put your feet on the stringer. As you pull up the bow slightly, both ends of the bow will curve down, reducing the length between both limb ends. You can slide the string onto the other limb and adjust the loops between the grooves. Your string is tightly stretched, and the recurve bow is complete! You can remove the feet from the stringer, and remove it from the bow. Voila! In a minute, your recurve bow is all ready for the action.
Saddle stringer
To string your bow, you need to assemble it first to get the weapon ready. Now hold your recurve bow horizontally and string one end through. One loop of the bowstring is slightly more prominent, and you will be stringing this side first.
On the top limb, slide the string in and move it a few inches down so that you can string the other end quickly. Once you have the bowstring looped through on both the limbs, take the saddle stringer in one hand. Hold your recurve from the riser while it remains horizontal.
The saddle stringer has a saddle end and a pocket end. You will put the saddle end through the top limb, while your feet are placed on the middle of the stringer. If you can imagine this, the recurve bow is horizontal in your hand, with limbs curving downwards.
The stringer is on the ground, and you place both your feet in the middle. Now one end of this stringer will go through the top limb, like a saddle. As your feet hold down the stringer, you will now place the pocket end on the lower limb end. Pull up the riser and easily slide the bowstring through the grooves.
Once your recurve bow looks fine, remove the stringer from both the limbs. Once you are done, check that the bowstring is placed between the grooves properly. If the string is not in place, it can cause injury!
Once in place, shoot away and enjoy the archery or hunting round. A simple string-like tool can save time and make the job easier.
Like recurve and compounds bows, all archery accessories are sturdy and will last a long time. You will be surprised at how easy the stringer is to use, while it saves time so you can spend more time enjoying the sport!
Featured image: Vince Fleming/Unsplash
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