dry fire

[durham hunter]

i was at the range the other day and a guy pulled the trigger but , poof it was a dry fire , what can that do or will do to this bow

[crazyfarmer]

it can crack the limbs.. so have done it and it didnt bother the limbs, but others it usually cracks the first time. I cracked my right limb doing this. Contact excal and they will more than likely get it fixed for free

[Boo]

Run a cotton ball on all surfaces of the limbs paying particular attention to the face. The cotton strands will be grabbed by any splinters. Then whack the guy on the head with his new bow, LOL! What kind of bow is it and what string is it? If all is well I would replace the string.

[KYXbow]

Sad part is......we all do it. Well not really all, but people do dry fire. I did mine the first day I had it. I had it in my head to not dry fire it. I shot probably 30 times and took a break. Went back and shot a dry fire. Couldnt believe it. I barely splintered a limb. I emailed excal with a photo of the limb and they shipped me two new limbs. Hard to beat the excal service. Good people and good products.

[wabi]

A dryfire can damage limbs, as mentioned. It can also bend dissapator bars, and put severe strain on the string.
If the limbs appear to be un-damaged, they are probably fine. If it seem louder the DB's might be bent. In any case I would replace the string and throw the old one away.

[Sopchoppy]

I also did it the first day I had the bow this week. Scared the stuff out of me when I realized what the strange sound was. All I could say was, "OH NO!!! Visually checked the limbs and they were ok. Shot it a few more times after and it shot just as well....Being a rookie, I was too embarrassed to say anything on this forum about it. Would'nt wish it on my worst enemy but it does help to know I'm not the only dufuss who has done this.

[Rich]

When it comes to dryfires there are 3 types of shooters: 1. Those that have dryfired. 2. Those who haven't dryfired yet, but will someday. 3. Those who have and lie about it. It's happened twice to me and both times it was because I was distracted and broke my routine (was messing with the rangefinder). No damage was done either time to my Exocet.

Rich

[Makomachine]

When it comes to dryfires there are 3 types of shooters: 1. Those that have dryfired. 2. Those who haven't dryfired yet, but will someday. 3. Those who have and lie about it. It's happened twice to me and both times it was because I was distracted and broke my routine (was messing with the rangefinder). No damage was done either time to my Exocet.

Rich

I agree 100%. As paranoid as I was I had a dry fire myself when I broke my routine target shooting last season. Thought I was going to throw up...

I would add that there are 4 types of shooters: The last is those that have a xbow that 'won't' dryfire due to safety mechanisms. If I had one 'wish' for the Excal design it would be to add a dryfire safety on their models. It happens too frequently and I am paranoid about carrying my xbow 'unloaded' on my back but cocked as I'm going through the woods. Nothing worse than getting 'brained' by a dryfire as your sneaking through the woods!

[Bill T]

The reason we now ship bows with the dacron "Excel" type of string is simply because we have learned that the greatest likelihood of a dryfire is with new shooters who are out learning and excited about their new crossbow. The dacron string shoots a few FPS slower, but in return it makes a crossbow virtually bulletproof during a dryfire, and no damage will be done if you screw up. What it does is it stretches like a bungee cord on having the limbs slam forward on a dryfire, as opposed to a FFF string that is more like a steel cable. In my testing with a Max last year I could break string loops on occasion, but after many dacron "Excel" dryfires the limbs were fine. Bottom line, if you want the extra speed you'll pay with durability, so leave the dacron string on till you are past the steep part of the learning curve!

[Pydpiper]

There are other benefits to using Dacron that exceed the "training wheels" parts of shooting a crossbow. Dacron is a far quieter (if there is such a thing) shot than FFF. The Dacron will save the wear and tear on the bow and it's accessories as you shoot, it has a bit of elasticity that a good bow needs to keep shooting consistently.
An FFF string is like putting nitrous in a car, it works great for a while but eventually things start getting tired and worn.
As many have said in the past, "an animal is not going to notice 10-12FPS difference"
I only say this because I am ashamed to say I still dryfire after thousands and thousands of shots..

[Boo]

I only say this because I am ashamed to say I still dryfire after thousands and thousands of shots..

And thats why they call you Dryfire Dave.
Dryfire Don[img][img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c220/ ... _lol-1.gif[/img]

[ninepointer]

I've dry fired my crossbow 3 times in 3 years. My last dry fire was this past Friday So far my limbs have taken a lickin' & kept on tickin'!

[Normous]

I have owned and shot my Excals since 1993, at perhaps 500 shots a year. That translates to about 7000 shots, and not one with a dryfire I might add. I was looking at the Exocet at the Sportsman show in 93 and talked to Bill T. for about ten minutes, one of the things he said was "always check to see that you have bolt in the rail before you fired it" Well, that stuck with me since day one and it works well as you can see.

Norm

[awshucks]

Well, while I'll admit to a dry-fire or two, lol, the actual number is kinda embarrasing. But, I did take some 1" masking tape and put it on inside of one limb, [right, cause I'm a lefty] and wrote w/ magic marker "Arrow Dummy" and that has been working rather well for me, none since!!