Hunting trip ruined because of shattered limb...

[Bill T]

I've never heard of a limb self destructing spontaniously like that for any other reason except heat damage. The area where the seperation occured is the first clue, the tip were it failed is the lowest stress area on the entire limb. The other clue is the way it failed at 90 degrees to the fibers in the limb. When heated beyond around 150 degrees the fibres on the inside of the limb are no longer held in place by the softened plastic matrix. As a result they crush together and form a little ridge on the inside surface and there is a crack right to the center point in it's thickness. If you cock the bow after this has occured it will fail in an unpleasant way as seen in camp last week. My educated guess after my years of moose hunting is that that limb tip was leaned on something very close to the wood stove and the tip only reached the temperature required for the limb to fail. This is covered in all of our instructions and would be considered abuse and outside of our warranty obligations, so take a lesson everybody and don't expose your bow to extreme heat in any way.

[JimM]

I just found another reason why I love this bow. Customer Service

[sumner4991]

I just found another reason why I love this bow. Customer Service

I keep trying ways to fully appreciate the customer service at Excalibur . . .yet my efforts have gone unrewarded . . .2 dryfires, one string break, 3 partial dry-fires . . .what will it take to break my Exomax?

[Bill T]

Believe it or not, we've had limbs returned to us with heat damage from the heaters in a pickup truck. Here's how it happens, someone is frozen stiff when they get off stand and throws the crossbow onto the passenger side on the truck with the stirrup downward and the limbs still cocked. They turn on the truck and put the heater on hyperdrive with the heat directed to the floor, directly on the left limb. The heater in some vehicles puts out as much heat as a blow dryer, and the combination of the high stress on the frozen cocked limbs, the high, concentrated heat of the heater, and the fact that fate has placed one limb directly in the flow of hot air, conspire to cause a failure.

[one shot scott]

Its good to hear straight from the "man" regarding this limb failure. Thats why when something like this happens the best thing to do is call excalibur and talk to them. They have seen it all and know alot more about their product then we do!

[Hi5]

I simply won't hunt with a bow when it gets that cold, but, Dang, that's good stuff to know......

[OkXbowHunter]

Believe it or not, we've had limbs returned to us with heat damage from the heaters in a pickup truck. Here's how it happens, someone is frozen stiff when they get off stand and throws the crossbow onto the passenger side on the truck with the stirrup downward and the limbs still cocked. They turn on the truck and put the heater on hyperdrive with the heat directed to the floor, directly on the left limb. The heater in some vehicles puts out as much heat as a blow dryer, and the combination of the high stress on the frozen cocked limbs, the high, concentrated heat of the heater, and the fact that fate has placed one limb directly in the flow of hot air, conspire to cause a failure.

All this info about heat is good to know. I never thought about it to tell you the truth. When I read about avoiding excessive heat, I figured it meant like locked up in a car during a hot Summer day.

So if we were hunting the South or Southwest where the temps can climb into the triple digits during the day, would that pose a problem as well?

[Mister B]

Just a possible cause of string break....I was hunting this weekend and while checking my scope in camp (I was resting the bow on a pillow). The string caught a part of the pillow and made my arrow fall about five feet short of the target. I recrieved the arrow, checked it over to make sure it was still ok but when I checked the aluminum nock it had a sharp-edged chunk bent out of it on the very edge from hitting a rock. Had I shot that arrow, that nock could have easily cut my string. Maybe not all the way, but unnoticed, enough to weaken it to a possible break when under cocked pressure. Check your aluminum nocks carefully for sharp edges, especially if one makes a trip into dirt or grass.

[lupien]

Well I did read in the manual that excessive heat could damage a limb. But i thought it might make the limb weaker therefore losing FPS in your crossbow. I really had no idea that it could actually break the limb...although I assume this happens only when the crossbow is cocked (which mine was)

But, what is excessive heat temperature wise? It would be nice to know...but I assume this temperature could drastically change depending on the condition (ex, heat was applies immediatly after very cold temperatures like Bill explained)

[taureau noir]

I mentionned Monday evening that I had a problem with blade delamination.I went to my dealer and he scrached the paint where those signs were present.It appear that only the paint cracked due to stress.I went back moose hunting.
taureau noir

[DaveShooter]

[quote="Bill T"]Believe it or not, we've had limbs returned to us with heat damage from the heaters in a pickup truck. Here's how it happens, someone is frozen stiff when they get off stand and throws the crossbow onto the passenger side on the truck with the stirrup downward and the limbs still cocked. They turn on the truck and put the heater on hyperdrive with the heat directed to the floor, directly on the left limb. The heater in some vehicles puts out as much heat as a blow dryer, and the combination of the high stress on the frozen cocked limbs, the high, concentrated heat of the heater, and the fact that fate has placed one limb directly in the flow of hot air, conspire to cause a failure.[/quote

[wabi]

Glad to see Bill T.'s response to the heat issue. I've asked several times what the maximum safe temp should be, and never got an answer.
I keep my Phoenix in a (usually) unheated/uncooled building and I have always unstrung it during the summer months when temps can hit over 100°F.
I have 2 friends that do the same for storage, but leave theirs strung. No damage and no change in POI, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[lupien]

Hey guys,

Well i`m glad to say that I just received 2 brand new limbs!! Wow what great service! Thanks again Peter and Bill of course.

Even though my first hunting trip sucked hard at least now I know that this was probably my own fault and I know to keep it away from any heat at all times. So i`m more confidante now that next years hunt should go much better...and I wont be as paranoid anymore of limbs shattering for no reason.

[redeye]

your experience has probably helped quite a few learn not to let their bows get hot in any way.I'm going to make sure of that with mine.I store mine in a cool dry room at around 65 degrees and will never let it get close to a heater.Glad to hear you got new limbs,bet you'll have much better luck from now on.

[strum]

I just found another reason why I love this bow. Customer Service

I keep trying ways to fully appreciate the customer service at Excalibur . . .yet my efforts have gone unrewarded . . .2 dryfires, one string break, 3 partial dry-fires . . .what will it take to break my Exomax?

let me shoot it..lol,,
i broke mine in 2 days but excal fixed it and i was shooting in no time,,realy amazed at the speed of Mr dan miller/