There is a more to archery than shooting a bow and arrow; you must know how to do proper maintenance as well. Taking care of your archery bows will ensure years of worry free operations. There are several things to keep an eye on when it comes to your bow, and the bowstring is one of the most often overlooked.

The String

The bowstring joins the two ends of the bow and is responsible for setting your arrow into flight. String is made of many different materials depending on when your bow was manufactured and where. The most common materials include sinew, linen, hemp, rawhide and more. Good bowstring will be strong but flexible and resistant to the elements.

Treating the Bowstring

String wax is a very important accessory for taking care of your archery equipment. A good wax coating helps the string remain waterproof and increases flexibility and as you will recall these are two important qualities of any bowstring. String wax is not very expensive and can be purchased at an archery shop or various online retailers.

How often you wax your archery bows will depend largely on how often you shoot. Naturally, the more you shoot the more often you will need to use your string wax. If you should begin to see any signs fraying or wear, it is definitely time to wax your archery bows.

Other Maintenance Issues

While string wax is an essential part of maintaining your equipment, it is not the only thing you need to keep an eye on. Bowstrings are made of several smaller strings wrapped together in a precise manner, this wrapping can become loose in spots and if left unattended can result in needing to have the bow completely restrung. Before this happens, you can have the bowstring serviced.

Some people have the equipment and ability to do this themselves, however if need be a repair shop can do it for you for a reasonable price. The area around your cams will require a bow press and not everyone has this piece of equipment lying around.

Signs something is wrong

It is easy to tell that you have not used the string wax enough or something else has gone wrong when the string frays or breaks. However, this can take some time depending on the type of string you have. If you would like to service your archery bows before catastrophic failure occurs, you should know some of the typical early signs of a string problem.

When you draw your bow back and the length does not feel quite right, your bowstring may have stretched or is wearing thin in a hidden area. Keep an eye on your draw length so that you know when to have the equipment checked out. Fixing this issue often requires a bow press, so again, you may need to speak to a repair shop.

Erratic arrow flight is another sign that something could be wrong with your bowstring or cams. When you begin noticing a problem, you should have your archery bows checked out. If you wait, many times problems will escalate costing you more money.

Conclusion

String wax can be an archer’s best friend when used appropriately. Archery equipment is expensive and you want to ensure that you get the maximum life span out of each piece, so be proactive. Watch for problems with strings, limbs and cams. Prevention is much better than cure!

Archery Bow String Care

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