Winter is Coming!
And I’ve just got into archery for a few months. I am confused. I am confused about whether my bow will work in winter or not. By far, I’ve no clear answer to this question.
I googled various search strings in quest of curiosity, hoping to get a clear answer to the question.
Result? Cluttered information on various sites. Who loves to research so deeply for getting a simple answer?
No worry! I Will answer those that I have learned from that process in a nice little post.
Here you go!
Do Bow Works In Cold Weather? Below freezing temperature, a bow doesn’t perform like the normal temperature. Stiffer string and peep sight rotation lower the performance. However, using a quality bow with a proper setup perfectly adjusts the performance.
You may be surprised to think about the answer. But now you are going to know clearly.
Keep reading.
Table of Contents
- What Affects Bow Performace?
- What To Do In Cold Weather?
- Will Crossbow Work In Cold Weather
- Is There Any Effect On Crossbow Speed Due To Cold Weather?
- Do Compound Bow Works On Cold Whether?
- Do Traditional Bow Works On Cold Weather?
- 5 Winter Archery Tips
- Conclusion
What Affects Bow Performace?
Let’s get right straight to the point.
If we can determine which parts help the most in shooting, we can easily assess those parts’ impact in cold weather.
Most Important Parts Of Bow Helps In Shooting Directly
- Bowstring
- Cams
- Riser
- Limbs (Compound Bow)
- Peep Sight (Compound Bow)
Now, Let’s see how these parts act upon cold weather.
Bowstring
The bowstring helps draw a bow, which is by far the most essential function in the shooting process.
The material used in bowstrings is prone to be affected by temperature.
At different temperatures, it shows slightly different characteristics.
High temperatures make the bowstring a little bit of stretch. And you know the rest of what will happen if the strings become stretched.
The stretched string will not be capable of storing sufficient potential energy. Undoubtedly that will impact faster and more accurate shooting.
The main parts…
What will be happening in cold weather?
Generally speaking, in just cold weather, you can shoot your bow just like a usual way.
But below zero degrees or below the freezing temperature, you will notice a slight fall in performance.
Why?
Because below freezing temperature, the bowstring becomes stiffer due to cold. The stiffer bowstring can prevent accurate shooting in many ways. For instance, it’s hard to draw stiffer strings, and more importantly, after releasing the string, it can’t produce as much energy as expected.
If you’re more interested in bowstring material, how it works, and how much its lifespan might be, check here.
Cams
A camshaft is a mechanical part attached to a compound bow to increase the efficiency of shooting. It not only helps with shooting with minimum effort but also helps in faster and more accurate shooting.
Thankfully the material used in the camshaft is not sensitive to temperature.
Limbs
Bow limbs are one of the vital parts of the bow. Through reflexing or removal, the limbs help to store potential energy, which pushes the arrow.
Bow limbs are made of composite materials. So be sure that it will not be affected by temperature.
Peep Sight
What is Peep sight? Peep sight a small hollow circle device that helps at aiming. It is installed on the string in tandem with a bow sight. Peep sight facilitates bow sight to sharpen the vision field.
Since the peep sight is attached to the bowstring, the extreme cold can create problems in many ways. One of them is the positioning of a peep sight. A stiffer bowstring might rotate peep sight and which is undoubtedly a huge problem.
What To Do In Cold Weather?
First, I want to assure you that cold weather is not a concerning issue at all.
At best, below freezing temperature, you might notice a slightly worse performance.
Noting more!
But if you want to stay safe over the risk, you needn’t follow many tips. You just have to make sure one thing.
And that is you have a quality bow and before you go out in the cold, wax bowstring and cables.
That’s it. If the bow and parts like string are standard enough, you shouldn’t have to worry about it.
Will Crossbow Work In Cold Weather
Below freezing, temperature crossbow string might be stiffer and may change the position of a peep sight. If ice accumulates in the trigger due to extreme cold, you may encounter problems with shooting.
Is There Any Effect On Crossbow Speed Due To Cold Weather?
In cold weather, the arrows drop quickly. I’ve calculated that, below freezing temperature, the crossbow arrow speed will be decreased by 3fps.
Do Compound Bow Works On Cold Whether?
Then you should question does temperature affects the compound bow?
Guess the answer!
Yes, I just mentioned it above. As long as strings and peep sight have the same answer applies to all.
The peep sight is one of the crucial parts of the compound bow. And all types of bows require a string.
That said, the compound bow might show performance declining at extremely low temperatures.
Don’t mistake. Only the performance issue might be noticeable under freezing temperatures.
Do Traditional Bow Works On Cold Weather?
Surprisingly, the traditional bow works best in cold weather. As the conventional bow does not have mechanical complexity, it works fine under cold weather.
5 Winter Archery Tips
- The first tip would be about your bow. Make sure you have got a qualitative bow.
- Secondly, make sure your bow has the best type of string.
- Before going out in the cold, wax your bow and cords so that they can’t dry.
- Wear a suitable suit and take the necessary equipment.
- Practice in cold weather.
Conclusion
Do Bow Works In Cold Weather?
Here’s a little recap.
Cold weather doesn’t have any significant effect on the bow. You will face no issue while shooting in cold weather unless it is frigid. However, the impact of cold weather is not that much to worry about.
If you make sure your bow and its components are standard enough, you are ready to go.
