Have you ever dry shot your bow ??

Madocmike · #1 03-03-2021, 09:11 AM

Not sure whether this topic has reared its ugly head here recently, so thought I'd generate a topic of conversation.
Listen, I've bow hunted since 1977 and owned a bunch of bows over the years and It's happened to me twice. Should never have happened, and both occasions I was simply not paying attention. I was caught up shooting the bull with buddies while shooting. Luckily neither occurrence caused any damage but my point is it can happen. Love to hear if you have a story to share.

Michael.

CNP · #2 03-03-2021, 09:43 AM

20 years ago or so I dry fired a Bow Tech... Tech 29 was the model I think? My wrist took a beating......looked like I tried to slash my wrist. Ended up having to replace both cams. Can't remember the exact cause....other than stupidity.

mindoutside · #3 03-03-2021, 10:39 AM

Does it count if you draw your bow with an arrow nocked but you relax to much and flexes back without shooting the arrow but kind of hurts your shoulder and scares the **** out of you?

Elkster · #4 03-03-2021, 01:35 PM

First bow I got. Bow tech assassin. So excited about it, no arrows yet, out of the box and pulled to full draw, the left off was more than I expected, bow strings cam off cam, cleaned my pants and surveyed the damage. Took it to someone smart( Jimbows in Edmonton) they fixed me up, even gave me some beginner lessons about how to shoot. Didn’t buy bow there but that doesn’t matter to them.

Round 2 with bow tech reign 7. Broadhead must have touched the string, shooting at home and boom. Panic set in as it was a few weeks before elk season hunt. Cleaned pants again and back to jimbows. They ended up getting strings off a bow tech in Calgary and shipping them up to Edmonton. Saved the day again.
Not permanent scars other than pride.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MountainTi · #5 03-03-2021, 02:06 PM

Never dry fired a bow, but about 25ish years ago picked up my PSE compound and drew it back with no arrow in it (luckily). Both limbs broke, I think at the same time, and one stuck into a wall. Was left standing there with the riser in my hand, cables/strings dangling, and a few new pains. Scared me

Madocmike · #6 03-03-2021, 03:31 PM

That would scare the jump'n out of you. I remember 40+ years ago an old bow hunter at the time told me to randomly rub a cotton ball across the limbs. If there were any fine splinters the cotton would catch on it. Something I do whenever I think of it.
Thanks for sharing your story MountainTi.

-Michael

Madocmike · #7 03-03-2021, 03:33 PM

Never dealt with Jimbows in Edmonton. But can testify they're a great bunch in Calgary as well!

brendan's dad · #8 03-03-2021, 03:36 PM

Brand new Prime Alloy. Setting the peep height. Drew without an arrow to confirm peep height and without thinking I just went right into my normal shot sequence. New cams, string and cables... and a peep because I still haven't found it.

Stinky Buffalo · #9 03-03-2021, 03:59 PM

Had the whole family at the range, years ago.

Between getting the kids set up and fiddling with their bows, finding lost arrows and swatting mosquitoes, I finally had a chance to use my bow.

Still not sure how I drew without an arrow loaded - I’m quite religious about that - but in my harried state I shot, and realized a microsecond later that the bow didn’t make the right kind of sound.

Packed the bow up in shame, thanking the Lord that no one was injured.

Took it to Jim Bows, and it was fine. Another thing to be thankful for!

Just something to keep us humble, I suppose, eh?

cody j · #10 03-03-2021, 04:05 PM

I’ve been fortunate enough not to dry fire my bow, but gotta point out to never draw without an arrow. I was in my basement doing some tinkering, I had just drew my bow back and the release failed. Would have been a dry fire if I hadn’t had an arrow on the string. Arrow took a chip out of a cinder block, so I guess always be careful where your pointing your bow too. Would have sucked to have taken a window out

Lefty-Canuck · #11 03-03-2021, 04:48 PM

Thankfully no but I can’t even count as high as the ones I have witnessed. Many of them during competition.... people get so focussed.

LC

shooter12 · #12 03-03-2021, 06:35 PM

I had even worse, bunch of years ago .
The cable was a bit cut by a broadheads that a was silly enough to keep in the same case as a bow(never do it guys).
I took a shot at a grouse and it was a big kaboom...
I ended up up with a pieces of the bow flying apart , but fortunately no injures.
Not a dry fire exactly but would not wish to anyone to see this happening.
S12

Madocmike · #13 03-04-2021, 02:59 PM

Well I just knew I couldn't have been the only one it had happened to!
Thanks for being honest and joining me on the walk of shame ha-ha.

Michael

58thecat · #14 03-04-2021, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MountainTi

Never dry fired a bow, but about 25ish years ago picked up my PSE compound and drew it back with no arrow in it (luckily). Both limbs broke, I think at the same time, and one stuck into a wall. Was left standing there with the riser in my hand, cables/strings dangling, and a few new pains. Scared me

wow..could have imagined the stunned look by you and anyone near....lucky...no dry fires to date but had arrows leave the bow letting down and slipped off finger tab....

tracker · #15 03-04-2021, 04:47 PM

Not a dry fire but result was the same. Mid-day on a muley hunt I decided to shoot a few as I brought along my target bag. I always flex my arrows before sending them but for some reason when I released I heard a loud snap, my string was hanging loose with the back half of the arrow still attached. Top limb was cracked. The front of the arrow hit my truck 40 yards away to the right. To this day I can't figure out what exactly caused this but I'm very glad I was out far from other people and not practicing in my back yard as some on the forum seem to want to do.

NCC · #16 03-06-2021, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cody j

I’ve been fortunate enough not to dry fire my bow, but gotta point out to never draw without an arrow. I was in my basement doing some tinkering, I had just drew my bow back and the release failed. Would have been a dry fire if I hadn’t had an arrow on the string. Arrow took a chip out of a cinder block, so I guess always be careful where your pointing your bow too. Would have sucked to have taken a window out

I had a similar experience with a release failing. Stuck an arrow in a $2500 tractor tire and hit myself in the nose when the release let go at about 2/3 draw. I won’t pull a bow with a release unless it has an arrow mounted. I’m also very conscious of where my arrow is pointed while drawing.

Coiloil37 · #17 03-06-2021, 05:02 PM

Personally the closest I’ve ever been was in the mid 90’s when I accidentally touched the string with my broadhead. No damage to the bow but I needed a new string.
I was shooting with a buddy once at work and he showed the bow to another guy who drew it back and let it go without an arrow on the string. That was a bowtech guardian and the limbs were cracked.
A few years later my wife was shooting her carbon element beside me and she drew back, the nock came off the string and she didn’t notice. On the shot I heard it didn’t sound right, looked and saw the arrow drop to the ground and realised what had happened. Maybe not exactly HOW it happened but I know the nock wasn’t broken and she didn’t shoot the arrow so she messed something up. No damage to the Hoyt.

3blade · #18 03-06-2021, 06:10 PM

No - but a thread like this saved me...had to check clearance on something or other, remembered the advice about NOT drawing without an arrow...drew back with an arrow on the string but no point installed, slipped on the let down, BOOM arrow punches into the freshly painted wall. I was not popular that day, but it could have been much worse. Don’t draw without an arrow, and don’t point it at anything you don’t want to shoot.

Braggcreekdean · #19 03-26-2021, 09:50 PM

The D-loop broke on my Mathews Chill R at peak draw weight. I was using a medium priced carbon arrow, it broke into 3 pieces and couldn't have gone further than 10 ft. The strings and cables all came off the cams but there was no other damage. I felt very fortunate one of those arrow segments did not go through a body part. I have a new respect for the amount of stored energy in a compound bow. Cheers.

jcrayford · #20 03-27-2021, 09:46 AM

Early 2000's (2003 maybe?) and I'm down visiting my brother. We both bowhunt and tried to get my Dad into before he passed and bought him a low poundage bow. After he passed, we agreed to pass the bow to my niece (who was in the room at the time).

Anyway, Captain Smarty Pants (me) picked up the light weight bow that was set low (+- 28 lbs) and yanked it back to see how long the DL could be. got settled into my normal anchor and couldn't see through the peep. Was holding it with 3 fingers and thought I'll just rotate the string a little bit with my fingertips.

The next sound was a combined gun-shot like from the bow going off as the string slipped through my fingers, and the sound of 4 jaws hitting the floor (my brother, his wife, my niece and myself). This was all quickly followed by a forehead slap and a "D'Oh!".

Checked the bow over, no damage (likely due to the low draw weight?) but it was the only one in my +26 years so far. But you never know - another could be just around the corner lurking to strike again.

I try not to pull my bow for any reason without an arrow. Because the War Department would get activated if I punched an arrow through walls, I'll only load and draw in the basement or outside. If in the basement, there's a Block target that I'm pointed towards.

J.

bowhunter9841 · #21 03-29-2021, 09:29 PM

I have come close a few times at 3-d shoots. Luckily my buddies caught me half way through my draw with no arrow nocked. Saved my butt!!

Ian426 · #22 05-03-2023, 10:31 AM

Every once in a while a thread like this needs to be resurrected. Help each other learn from each other.

Was shooting with my oldest son at home. Shot a few good groups. Had one close enough that an arrow shot through the fletching of another arrow. Second oldest came outside to see how we were doing. I had locked my thumb release to the D loop with arrow in hand. Second son wanted to see the shot-through fletching. *shot process interruption* I set down the arrow in my hand to pick up the other one to show him without taking the release off or setting down the bow. Then thanks to the distraction never nocked the arrow I was going to shoot. Somehow never caught on I had no arrow, just pulled and shot. Clip-on stand flew off, string derailed, and sight got knocked loose. Boys went to look for the arrow I never shot while I tried to figure out what broke/went wrong. Then counted and realized all my arrows were still there. *commence sinking feeling*

Careful inspection shows no signs of issue with cam and limbs. Seemed like stabilizer, sight, stand took most of the shock. Field pressed it and got it restrung and a careful slow pull still felt smooth. Still thought got it professionally inspected to make sure before firing again.

Counted my lucky stars on that one. No damage or injury by some miracle. Also glad it was an old bow just practicing, but nonetheless a very good lesson for the kids about focus and process and distractions and what can happen.

Needless to say, step by step shot process changed after that.

3blade · #23 05-04-2023, 07:13 PM

No kidding

I was catching up on the to-do list a couple months ago, had practice arrows to refletch. Did it in the morning. Let the glue dry till the afternoon, picked them up with the sun now shining on them…all three had hairline cracks. One was far enough down that it almost certainly would have gone through my arm when it broke

Check your gear and keep your mind on the task at hand.

DirtShooter · #24 05-05-2023, 09:05 AM

Almost did it once. Got distracted talking to my buddy and thought I nocked an arrow because I started pulling back and he noticed no arrow and told me to stop.