how often should you change your bowstring?

[waterninja]

another newbie question. just wondering if you should change your bowstring on some kind of regular basis? the bow i'm using has had the same string for about 40 yrs. (which i find amassing) and still seems in great shape. it looks like quite a complicated process to change, and i would not attempt to try and change it myself. i'm sure that in the last 40 yrs all kinds of advances have been made in bow strings but i haven't heard it mentioned on any archery shows or instructional videos.

[Zuludog]

Short answer is when they are worn out. :) I'm not being a smart azz (honest :)) I've wondered the same thing myself & as far as can tell there is no set answer. Kinda like tires or brakes on a car, the life expectancy is based on usage mostly. I've heard of guys replacing them yearly and I knoe that my G5 bow comes with free strings every two years. So.... If you shoot a lot I'm guessing you should start looking to replace them around the one year mark but if your are a average shooter (whatever that means lol) replace them every second year. If you regularity wax and look after them it will help prolong string life. This is my best educated guess, take it for what it's worth. :)

[shanedapane]

I would say its personal judgement on how the wearing feels. I've got buddies who change out strings when the little hair fibers start appearing. Way too early IMO. I do mine when peeps start twisting, or serving starts sliding easily. I interpret both of these to be signs of my string stretching. I've tried adding twists to my string to correct peep twist but I ended up having to adjust draw length.

I forgot to mention loss to draw weight in there.