How to aim dry fire your crossbow?
If you have ever dry fired your crossbow, you know it can be
a frightening experience. If you never
have, or don’t even know what it is, this article will help you get a good
understanding of what a dry fire is, what can happen if you do dry fire your
crossbow, and what you can do to help prevent a dry fire from ever happening. Lets first define what a dry fire is. A dry fire is when you cock your crossbow,
pull the trigger, and fire the crossbow without having an arrow loaded. Because there in no arrow for the crossbow to
transfer it’s stored energy too, the crossbow must absorb all of the energy
produced, often resulting in a very loud cracking sound with parts flying
amuck. There is also something called a
partial dry fire, which results from an arrow not being pushed back all the way
into the crossbows trigger mechanism, or from a misaligned half moon nock. Meaning that indent in the nock is not
aligned with the string of the crossbow, causing the string to jump over or
slide under the back of the arrow while only partially delivering its energy to
the arrow. In either case, it is not
good for your crossbow and every precaution should be taken in order to not
allow this to happen.
So what can happen if you do dry fire your crossbow? It can vary from nothing at all, to the strings and cables breaking into pieces, parts of your crossbow breaking, limbs cracking, and at the very worst, causing bodily injury to yourself or others. More often than not at the very least a string will break. But even if it looks like that is all that has happened you need to inspect your crossbow more thoroughly. If you see any broken strands on the string or cables, they will need to be replaced. Often times a limb can crack at the same time. This isn’t always so obvious to see. Sometimes, they break right in half, but other times upon close inspection, you may see just a hair line crack, or just a splinter of lamination peeling up. If you see any of the above signs, you should send your crossbow back to the manufacturer or let your local proshop have a look at it to determine if replacement limbs are necessary. One way to catch even the smallest cracks or splinters on your limbs is to rub a cotton ball over them. You will be able to see the fibers from the cotton get snagged on a problem area if you have one. Check over the cams (or wheels) and axles of your crossbow if it has them. Many times a an axle will bend or one of the lobes used to hold on the string or cables will break off due to the massive amount of energy produced by your crossbow. The riser (the metal part of the crossbow that holds the limbs) should also not be overlooked. Most machined aluminum ones hold up pretty well but some of the cast ones have been know to break after a dry fire. Check for small cracks or broken pieces on the riser. Again, if any are present, do not shoot your crossbow until the manufacturer, or a certified retailer has looked it at. Last give the entire crossbow a once over looking for anything that may look cracked, broken, or out of place. You may find something requiring attention that may not be so obvious.
So now that we know what a dry fire is and what to look for if one happens, lets take a look at how to prevent one from ever happening. The good news is that as crossbow technology advances, more and more crossbow manufacturers are including anti dry fire mechanisms as a standard feature on their crossbows. Think of these as secondary safeties, not allowing the crossbow to fire unless an arrow is present and or is seated correctly. But not all crossbows come equipped with anti dry fire mechanism so you need to take other precautions in order to avoid having a dry fire. Get into a habit of having a shot routine or sequence. That means doing the same thing the same way each time. Of course loading an arrow should be somewhere in the sequence. Use the manufactures recommend minimum arrow weight. Using too light of an arrow can be just like dry firing your crossbow. Make sure your safety is always on until you’re ready to shoot your crossbow. Most manufactures have a safety that automatically engages every time you cock the bow, but not all do. Make sure the safety is in the “safe” position until you are ready to fire your bow. If your bow does call for moon nocks, make sure they are aligned correctly. It seems simple enough, but many times people get distracted, load their crossbow, and forgot to check. I found myself guilty of this one morning while hunting and loaded my arrow in the dark and then after sun up realized that it was indexed wrong.
Well now you know what a dry fire is, what it can do to your crossbow, and some tips on how to prevent it from happening. Just be aware that it can be very serious, but more often than not, it is more embarrassing than anything. Have fun shooting your crossbow, and hopefully, you’ll never get to experience one.
So what can happen if you do dry fire your crossbow? It can vary from nothing at all, to the strings and cables breaking into pieces, parts of your crossbow breaking, limbs cracking, and at the very worst, causing bodily injury to yourself or others. More often than not at the very least a string will break. But even if it looks like that is all that has happened you need to inspect your crossbow more thoroughly. If you see any broken strands on the string or cables, they will need to be replaced. Often times a limb can crack at the same time. This isn’t always so obvious to see. Sometimes, they break right in half, but other times upon close inspection, you may see just a hair line crack, or just a splinter of lamination peeling up. If you see any of the above signs, you should send your crossbow back to the manufacturer or let your local proshop have a look at it to determine if replacement limbs are necessary. One way to catch even the smallest cracks or splinters on your limbs is to rub a cotton ball over them. You will be able to see the fibers from the cotton get snagged on a problem area if you have one. Check over the cams (or wheels) and axles of your crossbow if it has them. Many times a an axle will bend or one of the lobes used to hold on the string or cables will break off due to the massive amount of energy produced by your crossbow. The riser (the metal part of the crossbow that holds the limbs) should also not be overlooked. Most machined aluminum ones hold up pretty well but some of the cast ones have been know to break after a dry fire. Check for small cracks or broken pieces on the riser. Again, if any are present, do not shoot your crossbow until the manufacturer, or a certified retailer has looked it at. Last give the entire crossbow a once over looking for anything that may look cracked, broken, or out of place. You may find something requiring attention that may not be so obvious.
So now that we know what a dry fire is and what to look for if one happens, lets take a look at how to prevent one from ever happening. The good news is that as crossbow technology advances, more and more crossbow manufacturers are including anti dry fire mechanisms as a standard feature on their crossbows. Think of these as secondary safeties, not allowing the crossbow to fire unless an arrow is present and or is seated correctly. But not all crossbows come equipped with anti dry fire mechanism so you need to take other precautions in order to avoid having a dry fire. Get into a habit of having a shot routine or sequence. That means doing the same thing the same way each time. Of course loading an arrow should be somewhere in the sequence. Use the manufactures recommend minimum arrow weight. Using too light of an arrow can be just like dry firing your crossbow. Make sure your safety is always on until you’re ready to shoot your crossbow. Most manufactures have a safety that automatically engages every time you cock the bow, but not all do. Make sure the safety is in the “safe” position until you are ready to fire your bow. If your bow does call for moon nocks, make sure they are aligned correctly. It seems simple enough, but many times people get distracted, load their crossbow, and forgot to check. I found myself guilty of this one morning while hunting and loaded my arrow in the dark and then after sun up realized that it was indexed wrong.
Well now you know what a dry fire is, what it can do to your crossbow, and some tips on how to prevent it from happening. Just be aware that it can be very serious, but more often than not, it is more embarrassing than anything. Have fun shooting your crossbow, and hopefully, you’ll never get to experience one.