So i have a mathews mq1. I was out shooting with my brother watching and i was distracted and dry fired my bow. I know this is a major no-no. I was so stupid to do it. I live my bow and have put a lot of money and hard work in to it to make it nice. I was shooting normally but i guess i forgot to put an arrow in when I was talking to my brother. I have camo tape covering the entire bow and i dont wanna take it off as i just finished spending 2 days putting it on and sealing it! The only obvious thing that i noticed is a creaking in the cam (lower). Can i still shoot it? Do I have to take the tape off? Is the bow ruined? I need help DESPERATELY!!!!!!!!! Btw i have about 50lbs on it
Strip the tape. It would be better to undo all that work and not have any damage then to have some damage. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Having just dry fired my bow, limb damage was my biggest fear. Personally, I would strip it and be absolutely sure there is no damage. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Dry fire at 50 lbs...once? Personally I wouldn't panic... I would just do a close inspection on the limbs to see if there is anything obvious, and pay close attention to any strange sounds that might come out when you shoot. But, that's just me... I dry fired my PSE at 70lbs once, and managed to shoot hundreds of arrows after that, hunt two more years, kill a moose and two bears with it before splits forced me to change limbs. Good luck....
I wouldn't recommend relying on luck. OP already posted that the cam is making a noise now. There's no sense in risking your personal safety. Take it to a shop and have it checked out. Nobody wants a bow exploding in their face.
This is a crack that developed on another bow I have, a brand new Bear Anarchy after only a couple hundred arrows... I just filed away the split and continue using it. I have replacement limbs and will eventually change them if the crack start to spread, it's not gonna ''explode'' , just need to pay attention. Same for yours.
Used the words ''Good luck'' just as an expression, just like saying ''Cheers''. He also asked to wish him good luck with his dad... and I did. I don't recommend relying on luck, I recommended he made a good inspection on his bow and kept a close look... that's all... Cheers,
PS... Hoyt sells their bows as being able to endure 1000 dry fires.. Do you really think that Mathews (or any other major brand) would be so inferior in their conceptions, design and materials as to be ruined by one single dry fire?? Not likely...
I wouldn't trust luck either on a dry fire.... have the bow checked out....their is no luck concerning dry firing a bow, maybe their is no damage, but its better to safe than sorry
Sorry but I have been around since the inception of compounds (including Hoyts) and have seen first hand what dryfiring a bow can do, some survive it some dont. I wouldn't take that chance, and telling someone not to worry about it when you have not personally laid hands on the bow is just crazy...IMO
Having dry fired a bow before I would certainly remove all the tape and get it to your local pro shop. I looked over my bow several times and was sure that it was in good shape but in just a few seconds my pro pointed out a hairline crack right down the middle of my limb that I never saw. Not worth injuring yourself or someone else by trying to shoot it again or assume that it is alright.
