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Posted: 11/15/2012 6:46:26 AM EDT
[#1]
Point it at the ground and pull the trigger. Not like anyone is going to hear it go off ...
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Posted: 11/15/2012 6:49:42 AM EDT
[#2]
I always just take a target along with and relieve the pressure via shooting.
TAG for any other/better methods, as my father and I were just discussing this the other day. He told me he once tried to do it via the cocking strap and nearly launched his hands 
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Posted: 11/15/2012 6:53:26 AM EDT
[#3]
They have new ones that uncock, but they are CO2 powered, which you wouldn't ask if you had.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 6:55:47 AM EDT
[#4]
Shoot the bolt into a target.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 6:55:49 AM EDT
[#5]
You're going to have to fire it, or be one cock strong mofo, and ride that string home.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 6:56:54 AM EDT
[#6]
By far the safest way is to fire the bolt into a target. I take an old arrow with me to the stand and when I am through hunting, I remove the hunting bolt and shoot the old arrow into a bag of rags that I leave by my stand. To try and "decock" a modern crossbow by any other method is dangerous and you may end up losing several fingers. Another alternative is to use the disposable decocking arrows now made by many companies.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 6:57:32 AM EDT
[#7]
Mine has a cable setup I can use to cock it. I will pull that back and have the cables hold the string and then pull the trigger and then release the force that way. It is still a bit hairy and I prefer to shoot the crossbow if I can but in the woods hunting it is tougher to do at the end of the day.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 6:59:16 AM EDT
[#8]
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:03:38 AM EDT
[#9]
I use a recurve crossbow, which can be decocked with a string.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:04:10 AM EDT
[#10]
One thing's for sure, you can't uncock a woman once she's been cocked.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:05:12 AM EDT
[#11]
As far as I'm concerned you don't decock a crossbow. It has to be fired. They do sell biodegradable bolts just for this reason. If your hunt is done you remove the bolt and replace it with the disposable one and launch it into the bushes.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:07:39 AM EDT
[#12]
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:10:41 AM EDT
[#13]
Quoted:
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. This. The weight of the bolt on the string is minimal anyway. Firing it empty should not hurt it. Just keep your thumbs below the deck like you always do. ETA I was wrong, dry firing is not a good idea |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:15:24 AM EDT
[#14]
I have a crank type cocker for my Excalibur andI just lock it back, pull the trigger and unwind the cocker slowly.
My Tenpoint has the built in cocker and an anti dry fire safety. I slip a dowel under the dry fire safety to hold it back, pull hard on the cocker and have someone pull the trigger and ease it back. If you don't feel the string come back before the trigger is pulled your going to be in for a ride. This is easier done with two people pulling the cocker. Shooting at a target isn't always an option. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:17:53 AM EDT
[#15]
Quoted:
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. You'll crack your limbs and possible destroy your cams when you do this. DONT FUCKING DRY FIRE ANY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT period. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:18:40 AM EDT
[#16]
I have never dry fired mine. I was told not to. At 175lb draw weight I was told the limbs could/would snap.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:18:40 AM EDT
[#17]
I've never had a problem riding the string home. I just grap the string with both hands and pull back as I hit the trigger with my thumb. The trick is pulling it back slightly so the string isn't resting on the release when you pull the trigger with your thumb.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:19:46 AM EDT
[#18]
If you dry fire a bow it will blow up on you. Some recurve crossbows might be able to withstand it a time or two but I wouldn't do it as a matter of course.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:20:31 AM EDT
[#19]
Quoted: Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. It is bad. Trust me. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:22:34 AM EDT
[#20]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. This. The weight of the bolt on the string is minimal anyway. Firing it empty should not hurt it. Just keep your thumbs below the deck like you always do. Oh but it will |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:23:39 AM EDT
[#21]
Quoted:
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Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. You'll crack your limbs and possible destroy your cams when you do this. DONT FUCKING DRY FIRE ANY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT period. ^ This |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:26:32 AM EDT
[#22]
Quoted:
Quoted:
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Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. You'll crack your limbs and possible destroy your cams when you do this. DONT FUCKING DRY FIRE ANY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT period. ^ This Just plain firing doesn't cause the same effects? Face it, arrows and bolts just aren't that heavy, they don't add much resistance to the arms/cams returning. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:28:31 AM EDT
[#23]
Quoted:
Quoted:
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Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. You'll crack your limbs and possible destroy your cams when you do this. DONT FUCKING DRY FIRE ANY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT period. ^ This Just plain firing doesn't cause the same effects? Face it, arrows and bolts just aren't that heavy, they don't add much resistance to the arms/cams returning. A quick google shows plenty of stories of grenaded crossbows, resultant to dry firing. And also a few companies who say you can dry fire them. Ever hit a baseball on the wrong place on a bat, and it vibrates your hands so bad you can't hold on to it? That's what is happening every time you dry fire a crossbow or compound bow. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:29:10 AM EDT
[#24]
OP, just put a crappy bolt on there and shoot it into the ground or a target, problem solved
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:32:10 AM EDT
[#25]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. This. The weight of the bolt on the string is minimal anyway. Firing it empty should not hurt it. Just keep your thumbs below the deck like you always do. Oh but it will Actually, it seems that a cannot physically dry mine. Not on my Jacakal, thanks to Barnetts patented anti-dry fire trigger. http://www.barnettcrossbows.com/crossbow-technologies/anti-dry-fire |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:35:02 AM EDT
[#26]
I know nothing about archery...
but... The arrow/bolt may not weigh much, but it's being accelerated to 200 miles an hour in over a foot or two of distance. That's breaking a lot of inertia. Although the bolt may not weigh much, because of the very rapid acceleration to a very high speed, it DOES still provide a lot of resistance to the string. Maybe without that resistance there, the bow gets damaged. Just a theory from someone who's shot a bow about 10 times and a crossbow never. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:36:18 AM EDT
[#27]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. This. The weight of the bolt on the string is minimal anyway. Firing it empty should not hurt it. Just keep your thumbs below the deck like you always do. Oh but it will Does the bolt exert that much pressure on the string to make a difference? I think it's a matter of the transfer of force. If there's no bolt, nowhere for the force to go. I'm not a smart guy though, so I'll wait patiently for Keith_J. 
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:37:58 AM EDT
[#28]
Quoted:
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Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. You'll crack your limbs and possible destroy your cams when you do this. DONT FUCKING DRY FIRE ANY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT period. ^ This Just plain firing doesn't cause the same effects? Face it, arrows and bolts just aren't that heavy, they don't add much resistance to the arms/cams returning. You and _DR don't know what you're talking about, so stop giving bad advice. Empty, you're accelerating roughly half the mass of the string, vs that mass plus the mass of a bolt, which is ~3x the effective string mass. So your mass is now 1/4, meaning your acceleration will be ~4x which means your impulse at the end of stroke will be massive compared to firing with the bolt. I have personally seen two compound bows explode when dry fired ONCE, and those were at 50 and 70lb draw weigh. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:38:14 AM EDT
[#29]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
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Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. You'll crack your limbs and possible destroy your cams when you do this. DONT FUCKING DRY FIRE ANY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT period. ^ This Just plain firing doesn't cause the same effects? Face it, arrows and bolts just aren't that heavy, they don't add much resistance to the arms/cams returning. I used to work in an archery shop. I have seen bows blow apart from dry firing. Cams bend, limbs crack. The bow is basically garbage after a dry fire. Instead of the string focusing this power on an arrow it's is dumping the power in the cams and limbs. The anchors where you guide your arrow knocks fly off, servings rip, string can fray/snap, etc. If you want to dry fire a bow go for it. I would love to see the YouTube video. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:38:53 AM EDT
[#30]
get a decocking bolt or take an old one remove the tip and shoot into the ground works great and is cheap
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:40:23 AM EDT
[#31]
shoot up into the air.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:40:47 AM EDT
[#32]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. This. The weight of the bolt on the string is minimal anyway. Firing it empty should not hurt it. Just keep your thumbs below the deck like you always do. Oh but it will Does the bolt exert that much pressure on the string to make a difference? You'll feel the vibration down as far as your nuts. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:41:33 AM EDT
[#33]
Quoted:
Point it at the ground and pull the trigger. Not like anyone is going to hear it go off ... Yeah, don't do this. 
OP, load it with a bolt and fire it into a tree. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:41:52 AM EDT
[#34]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. This. The weight of the bolt on the string is minimal anyway. Firing it empty should not hurt it. Just keep your thumbs below the deck like you always do. Oh but it will Does the bolt exert that much pressure on the string to make a difference? I think it's a matter of the transfer of force. If there's no bolt, nowhere for the force to go. I'm not a smart guy though, so I'll wait patiently for Keith_J. Looks like they have a mechanism in place on my jackal that prevents dry firing, made just for noobs like me, appararently. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:41:54 AM EDT
[#35]
Quoted:
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Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. You'll crack your limbs and possible destroy your cams when you do this. DONT FUCKING DRY FIRE ANY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT period. Holy shit. Dry firing, firing bolts in to trees. We have all kinds of fucking fail in this thread. There are decocking rigs out there that utilize strong straps. Most crossbow guys I know make them out of 1" webbing. Put pressure on the string, trip the trigger, slowly let it down. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:41:56 AM EDT
[#36]
Quoted:
shoot up into the air. Ala Grown Ups?
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:43:08 AM EDT
[#37]
Quoted:
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. Because you could blow the cams up, or crack a limb.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:43:28 AM EDT
[#38]
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:45:00 AM EDT
[#39]
While on a tread mill?
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:46:44 AM EDT
[#40]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. You'll crack your limbs and possible destroy your cams when you do this. DONT FUCKING DRY FIRE ANY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT period. This is worth quoting again. ETA: Post 4473... FUCK the ATF and BHO!
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:47:49 AM EDT
[#41]
Quoted:
Shoot the bolt into a target. This. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 7:52:58 AM EDT
[#42]
There is a LOT of force being transmitted to that bolt or arrow. Try flinging an arrow to 200-300+ fps with your hands and you begin to get an idea of how much energy that arrow is taking from the string and transmitting downrange. With no arrow, that energy has no where to go but back into the limbs.
When I was in my teens, I had a 60lb draw compound bow with a wooden riser and fiberglass limbs. I made the mistake of letting a family friend look at it. Of course he thought it would be cool to draw it, and then dramatically dry fire it. As I recoiled in horror, expecting the bow to blow apart, I did manage to catch the look on his face - sheer pain. The energy that should have been transmitted to an arrow went back into the limbs, through the riser, and right into his left hand. He was shaking his hand and trying to get the feeling back into it for about 5 minutes. I was surprised that bow didn't suffer any noticeable damage. I never tried shooting it again though, and got rid of it a few months later. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 8:08:14 AM EDT
[#43]
The energy that would have been imparted to the arrow or bolt is absorbed by the bow or xbow when dry fired. That's why it's hard on them. You're talking 60-80 ft lbs of energy. Most modern bows can take one or two fuck ups without much damage. Some you can dry fire all day but its not a wise practice.
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Posted: 11/15/2012 8:28:10 AM EDT
[#44]
Quoted:
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Why not dry fire? I don't understand why this is bad. You'll crack your limbs and possible destroy your cams when you do this. DONT FUCKING DRY FIRE ANY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT period. ^ This Just plain firing doesn't cause the same effects? Face it, arrows and bolts just aren't that heavy, they don't add much resistance to the arms/cams returning. Of course they do, what are you smoking? |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 8:38:15 AM EDT
[#45]
A dry fired compound bow sounds like a firecracker going off.
I've seen them come completely apart. Crack limbs. And on one it broke the cable slide and that one the guy let it go from about half draw.. Basically the string slaps the riser. Which typically includes the back of your hand. That is why it usually hurts to do it. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 8:44:03 AM EDT
[#46]
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Shoot the bolt into a target. This. Yep go buy a small portable target. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 8:45:02 AM EDT
[#47]
I was going to post on how to do this, but this will help instead of a long drawn out reply.
http://hunting.about.com/od/arch/ss/how_to_decock_a_crossbow.htm |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 9:25:26 AM EDT
[#48]
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Posted: 11/15/2012 9:30:01 AM EDT
[#49]
Quoted:
You're going to have to fire it, or be one cock strong mofo, and ride that string home. I've done that a few times. It's uncomfortable. This was with a Horton 150 (or 125, I forget which) compound crossbow. You gotta be ready for it.
Much better to bring a junk bolt and shoot it into the ground or whatever. |
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Posted: 11/15/2012 9:32:31 AM EDT
[#50]
I use a small target called a "Discharge Target". It's used for this specific purpose.
You'll destroy the limbs, cams, stuff by releasing a crossbow or compound bow without an arrow in it. The arrow creates enough resistance to prevent any damage. |
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