Longbow exploded

[chaosbat]

Hi All
I am new to this forum and relitivley new to archery.
I decided to take the plunge and bought a longbow made of lemonwood,purple heart,and hickory.55lb at 28"
Its my first long bow and i was really excited about shooting it for the first time.
I went along to the club night and was doing really well on the targets, when after about 2 doz arrows the thing exploded about one foot below the handle.
I was last up to shoot so i was being watched by most of the club which was embaressing.
I have only had the bow a week so quickly got on the the phone to the maker who was really appologetic and has offered to replace the bow.
The only problem apart from the 5 week wait is that i am now paronoid about it happening again. I have a long draw about 29-30" but was told the bow was tillered to 32". It exploded at about 27-28" it has i must admit put me off a bit. potentially £200 worth of fire wood. How can i avoid this happening in future and get over my paranoyer

[Huffy]

There is some good advice on Pip Bickerstaffes site about longbow care.

Bickerstaffe Bows Website

I hope that may give you some advice.

Best wishes, Mark

[Little Miss Purple]

welcome aboard

I'm sure the more experienced stick people will inform you better... but IMHO, a stick can break at any time... maybe dependant on the maker of course but who really knows the strength of the wood they are using.

As for the paranoia... I'm sure none of the archers at your club thought you broke it, its like falling off a horse though.... you just need to get back on.

[pHz]

welcome to the forum chaosbat

the obvious answer is to forget all about that twigchucking rubbish and get yourself a proper bow !

slainte rob

[alanesq]

Hello chaosbat,

Dont worry this is half the fun with longbows ;-)
Proper wooden bows are not consistant, safe and reliable - they are much more interesting than that ;-)

They can go at any time really but when new is when its most likely as its never been shot before
Its often said that a longbow at full draw is 95 percent broken - it doesnt take much to push it past that last 5 percent

Its a real pain having to wait for the replacement I know, but good news its under warranty (thats the important thing - make sure you have a years guarantee with a bow when you buy it)

[wingate_52]

I have been on the shooting line 3 times when longbows have broken. I find it distressing, the manufacture of the bow, getting arrows that spine, working out distances and sighting markers ,experiencing hot weather when the power fades. That's longbows for you.

[reckless]

bows break nothing new there trad bows break more often, sure your gonna be getting another from the maker, and after that you can bet you will want another and so on, welcome to the addiction that is archery.
dont sweat a broken bow #### happens just get another and have at it.

[steve58]

They fairly often seem to go on the lower limb, every time I have seen this happen that's where it has been, or is that just coincidence and not a pattern?

Anyway, how many of us have a second bow for just in case this happens in the middle of an important shoot?

And while I think of it, is a bamboo backed bow less likely to fail in this way?

[jb.68]

My first longbow was supposedly made for me. It broke on me three times in total. The last time, I had it repaired and now it just sits in the garage on the wall. Nice looking bow but too short for my draw and there fore not made for me as I was told.

So I know all about being paranoid about exploding bows.
What I did was to go see Pip Bickerstaffe and get a decent one. Since then I have moved up in weight but still went back to Pip to get the bow.

I'm afraid that there are no guarantees with wood as it is a natural material.
So the best you can do is to go to someone who really knows the materials that they are working with.

[chaosbat]

I got the longbow from yewtree archery - Keith Rayner. Having picked up the bow personally and met him i no he is a very genuine guy. I did a bit of homework on the net and he appears to have a good reputation. He was very understanding and offered to make a replacement without and moments hesitation at all.
Has anyone else got a Kieth Rayner bow and if so what do you make of them, Bearing in mind im a complete novice with a pile of firewood at the moment ?