My bow has been sitting in its case in the closet since last year and im starting to get a itch to shoot it what should i do as far as maintenance goes before i start slinging arrows down range? i ask becuse its was bought new last year and it wasnt cheap , i hunted with a 60$ walmart bow for 6years and i might of waxed the string 5times but im trying to take better care of this one ..any advise would be great

 

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Honestly, I'm no bow expert but unless you tortured it last season and never cleaned it or took care of it at all, there's no maintenance I know of just for taking it out of the case and shooting it during the off-season. New strings and cables if they're wore out enough.

 

I assume it's a compound bow. If so, check all yor accessories and make sure they are still tight. Check your string for fraying and give it a coat of string wax. Check the serving to see if it looks like it is comming apart. If so, you either need to get it reserved or get a new string. Check your cables for wear spots. You shouldn't have any. If you do, check your wheels or cams for nicks and burs.
If the bow is only a year old, there shouldn't be anything mechanicaly wrong with it unless you have dropped it or run over it.

The best way to know is to shoot it. If it shoots straight you should be ok.

 

Thanks for the reply .. yes its a fred bear split limb solo cam ... i looked it over and waxed the string ,it shot awsome , my first 6shots 4 hit bullseye at 20yds i even shot the knock off 1 of my arrows so its still on time ...

 

Nice shooting. Do you ever shoot competition?

 

Ive always had a intrest in trying competition but im really not much good past 40yds b,cuz i got no where i can practice any more then that

 

There are different types of competition. League shooting is at 20 yards and you shoot either a 1 spot or 5 spot target depending on how good you shoot. A 1 spot is a single round target numbered 1-5. A 5 spot is 5 smaller targets numbered 4-5. If you shoot all your arrows in a small group in the center of the target you would want to shoot the 5 spot to save on arrows.
There is also the Vegs target which has 3 spots numbered 1-10. It too is shot at 20 yards.
3D shoots are either indoor or outdoor. The indoor shoots rarely have a shot that is over 40 yards. Most shots are between 15 - 30 yards. Outdoor 3D shoots are about the same except you may have a shot or 2 out to 50 yards, but most are about 20. They try and keep it as realistic as possible. Who takes shots at 50 yards on a regular basis.
There is also the outdoor match where you shoot at the big round targets and those shots could be out to 75 yards. I forget what they are called, but they are more like olympic type shooting.

A lot of guys are scared to go to competitions because they think they aren't good enough, but once you go to one you will be hooked.

 

Starky pretty much covered all of the main points to cover when dusting off your bow for the upcoming season. Just take a look where the cables contact the wheels or cams for wear and just make sure that everything is tight and working smoothly. If you are in doubt about anything you find, now would be the time to take it to a pro-shop and have it checked out. Better now than the week before season opens.

As for the competation, you may want to check the catagories they offer. I was at a 3D shoot and because I used a release and sights, I was placed in the "Unlimited" class. This meant that I was going head to head against light weight target bows with 3" stabilizers. You can compete but it's hard when they are pulling MUCH less weight each time. Hunting setups are a lot different than target setups. (For the record, I was in third place until the last five or six guys finished. I didn't stick around to see where I finished.)

 

Starky and Slash covered just about everything. One thing you might want to consider is where you store your bow. Try to keep it in the house where the temperature is regulated. Also, make sure everything is lubricated. Hate to have a squeak show up[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] while trying to draw on that big buck[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]


If you have a chance to shoot in competition, give it a try. It really helps you get in tune with your bow for hunting season. Don't worry about what others are shooting, like Slash said, it's hard to compete with guys set up for competion. But, the rewards with all that shooting is priceless[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]