30 year old Fiberglass Bow - Functional or Dangerous

[SJJ]

I have a youth bow from the mid-1970's that I had when I was a kid. It is made of fiberglass and has hung on a bow rack (that I made in shop) for the past 25 years unused. Now, my kids are interested in shooting and I am wondering: Is this old bow still usable? Or is it dangerous? That is, is the old fiberglass likely to shatter or break and cause an injury if the bow is shot?

I would like to string it up and let the kids shoot it a bit to see if they are interested in getting into archery, in which case I would go out and buy them new bows. But I don't want to use the bow if the fiberglass has weakened with age and might cause an injury.

Thanks.

[fabsroman]

SJJ,

I missed your location on your first post in Scatterguns. It is nice to see another person on here from Maryland. What part of the state are you in? We have the Eastern Shore covered by Skeet and I am out in the "city" portion of Germantown right up I-270. Every once in a while we have other people from Maryland chime in on here, but not too often.

Wish I could give you some advice about the fiberglass bow, but I have no idea. If I were in your shoes and decided to let my kids shoot it, I would try it myself first because I would rather it blow up on me than my kids.

[DaMadman]

I am not by any means advising you to take it off the wall and let your kids use it, (legality talking here )

But I wouldn't hesitate to use it or let my son use it.

My uncle had one that hung on the wall in his basement for at least 20 years and we played with it as kids all the time

[SJJ]

Thanks for the thoughts. I also have figured that I should shoot the bow myself a dozen or so time before I let the kids try. I figure that if it stands up to my harder tugging, then it should be fine for the kids.

Fabsroman - I am from the same area in Maryland as you. I live south of Germantown over near Laytonsville. By the way, I did get my shotgun and now I am looking for a good place to get some basic instruction in how to use it safely and effectively. I will put an post on this over in "Scatterguns." (I don't want to annoy the bow hunters with an off-topic post.)

SJJ

[Steverino]

Welcome SJJ,


You will be hard pressed to find a more friendly and knowledgable group than the folks here at HC. I began bowhunting three years ago and have received countless advice from some good people on this forum-much has been invaluable to me in the field along with some hard-learned lessons that only come from personal experience.

With that being said, obviously you do not want a hard-lesson on a bow that you are uncertain of. You did not mention as to where specifically the bow was stored and as to what conditions were present in storage. (High heat/humidity-attic or fluctuating temps from a garage etc.)

If the bow was exposed to a variety of varying climate changes, I personally would shy away from using it as older fiberglass (my experience on this is admittedly from fishing rods-not bows) exposed to the elements many times can have microscopic cracks that do not show signs of wear until under stress (like having a 45" muskie on a fifteen year old flippin stick that was stored in the garage)

If the bow was stored in a steady climate, I would re-string it and have at. Just my .02. Another suggestion is to bring the bow into a bowshop and have it checked out and set-up for your kids.

[buckhunter]

I'm starting to get back into archery and have a old Lynn built around 1980 or so. Had it checked last week and said it was fine. Like most you shoot it first

[hatracked]

Its a good idea to inspect it thouroughly before stringing it. Inspect again after it is strung and as other have suggested shoot it yourself then repeat the inspection process. I own several 30 + year old bows many of which are glass limbed. They shoot as good as the day they came from the factory.

What you want to look for is small cracks or dings in the limbs that might result in a crack. As has also been said alot of these hairline cracks dont show themselves until the limbs are stressed . You also want to look for limb laminate separation. That shouldnt be an issue in the bow you describe as it is a solid glass limb.

You will also want to inspect the tips and make sure the string nocks ( the notched point at which the string actually attaches to the limb)are still in good shape not chipped or cracked.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Don't forget about the draw length...never overdraw the draw length or you can even overstress even a new bow and have it blow up on you.
Have it checked out at the local bow shop by all means.