What is shoulder fatigue in bows?
Fatigue of the shoulders of the bow
When using an onion, it is essential to store it because its service life is significantly reduced if the onion is mishandled. By turning a blind eye to taking care of the weapon, the shooter exposes his bow to the danger of early wear or breakage. To reduce the likelihood of onion breakage, you need to pay close attention to its storage.
The most prone to breaking part of the bow is its shoulders. This place is the most loaded in the entire bow design. Transferring colossal loads, the shoulders quickly get tired, which leads to a decrease in the shot’s effectiveness. The bow shoulder base often breaks for beginners since an inexperienced shooter does not know how to store and take care of his weapon correctly.
For shooters who have a too longbow for themselves, the likelihood of shoulder fatigue when shooting is lower since the bowstring is not fully pulled, but the efficiency is significantly reduced. With constant shooting, any weapon is subject to wear and tear, but its lifespan largely depends on the bow’s storage. Keeping the bow taut at all times will not lead to anything good. It is important to note that shoulder fatigue occurs only with classic bow types.
Signs of shoulder wear
The first sign of shoulder fatigue is that the string tension is low. If you notice that the bow is losing its speed and long-range abilities, you need to think about how competently the storage of weapons is carried out. Also, the bowel’s fatigue often leads to delamination of the base of the shoulder, after which the use of the weapon becomes impossible. Fatigue of the shoulders will quickly lead to bow breakage since this element is responsible for the process of pulling the arrow. Due to improper storage and use, the shoulders of the bow arch and the gluing of the shoulders’ base are delaminated.
Causes of shoulder fatigue
The main reason for rapid shoulder wear is inadequate storage of the bow. The shoulders of the bow are under constant pressure since the shot’s strength depends on the elasticity and degree of tension of the bowstring. During the use of the weapon, the bowstring is pulled by the physical efforts of the shooter. The energy transmitted is responsible for the shot’s force, but this factor affects the shoulders since this part of the bow bends when the bowstring is pulled. The fatigue of the shoulders is because they get used to constant tension, thereby weakening and deforming. When the shoulders wear out, there is a significant reduction in bow performance, but shoulder fatigue can be avoided if the weapon is stored and used wisely.
Proper storage and use of onions
The life of the archer depends on how carefully the archer takes care of his weapon. To prevent rapid wear of the shoulders during storage, it is necessary to loosen them by unscrewing the tension settings’ bolts. The bolts are unscrewed counterclockwise; it is enough to make about four turns to release the tension as much as possible.
Having made such manipulations, the shooter reduces to zero the likelihood that the bow will get used to constant tension. The shoulders of the bow, which is stored in a relaxed position, do not experience constant stress from the strong pull, which significantly increases the weapon’s operational life.
Onion storage rules
Shoulder fatigue occurs due to the illiterate handling of the bow. To prevent breakage or rapid wear of the weapon, you should adhere to a certain number of rules:
- Backward bending of the bow is not allowed. By bending the bow to the other side, you can break or deform the weapon, after which it becomes impossible to use it.
- Storage is carried out in a dry and cool place, not exposed to direct sunlight or heating devices.
- Do not pull and lower the bowstring tightly without an arrow because an excessive shock load will occur on the shoulders and bowstring at the moment of firing, which will inevitably lead to rapid wear or breakage.
- Using an arrow that is too long can lead to breakage, as the shooter has to stretch the bow to an unexpected length.
- Too long pulling the bow will quickly lead to shoulder fatigue since the entire load transmitted by the shooter is applied to this part of the bow.
- In the event of a long break in the bow’s use, it is not recommended to stretch the bowstring at full strength right away. It is best to pull with a gradual increase in force over the first 300 shots.
Thus, by adhering to the instructions given above for storing and using the bow, you will keep your weapon in good condition for a long time.
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