Bow making "click" sound...

[clasley]

I have a Reflex Bighorn compound bow that I got brand new only 2 years ago.  When I took my bow out this spring to start practicing for the fall, I noticed my bow will make either a seiries of quick clicks as I pull the string back almost to full draw, or just one loud click or snap...  This doesnt sound good at all, and i'm wondering if anyone might know whats causing this.  Thanks

[Robert]

If it was dry and hot for a period of time, you could have some delamination in a limb.  Not pretty if it blows up on you.  If in doubt, take it to a good shop to have checked thoroughly.  I am no expert with bows, but I wouldn't draw that until you are sure what is going on.

[willis5]

Listen to Robert

[clasley]

a couple buddies of mine and I looked at the bow last night..  turns out the clicking sound is the string poping off the cam a little bit when the string goes into full draw.  Either my string or cam is messed up...  Is the cam something that is easy to replace?  Went to the Reflex sight and basically, my bow no longer exists..  I guess I'll just take it to Shooters Service tonight, and I hope they dont charge me an arm and a leg to fix it.

[Tony D]

Cams are relatively easy to replace if you've got the equipment, but they aren't cheap!  The advice to take it to a pro shop is very sound.

[01magnatec]

the way the archery industry is moving today, yes your bow is basically non-existant.....but don't worry because mine is too!!  

and i'll second the fact that cams aren't cheap!!!
if they replace the cams, tell them to also put on a nice new string!!!

[Thomas Krupinski]

Have you put the bow in a press and taken the cam(s) off and examined all of the parts to see if the cam is turning straight?  Might be some other parts that are worn or ?

A place to look for old parts is the free classifieds section on ArcheryTalk.com.

http://www.archerytalk.com

Good luck with the cams

[clasley]

Well the shooters service place was closed so I went down to Cabela's in Dundee where I had bought the bow.  First off the guy looked at me like I was an idiot for even bringing in the bow [probebly the most unfriendly guy ive ever met in retail]..  He said I was overdrawing the bow? thats why it was clicking.  So he tightned the poundage 10 more pounds, and well, now I dont overdraw.  It doesnt really seem right to me, but at least its not clicking anymore.   I've never put the bow on a press before, or done anything really at all too it..  Just got into bow hunting 2 years ago [pure rifle hunter prior to that]  So its all still real new to me.  Don't want to tweak anything and screw something up hehehe.

[Thomas Krupinski]

Sorry, but I am not familar with those bows and how they are configured.  The whole purpose for the bow press is to tension the limbs like you are drawing to enable you to slip off the string, remove cams, wheels or axles, and to get in and perform maintenance.

I would imagine that the fellow at Cabelas was probably correct and maybe you string or something had moved or stretched and you were now overdrawing.  I have no idea on that.

But I keep one of those little cable type bow presses in my archey tackle box along with my Arizona EZFletch.  Invaluable in hunting camp when something happens to someone's bow and it needs to be dissassembled, like when it gets garbage in the cam grove or starts getting dry on the cam or wheel axle.  Another thing that you may find very handy to get is an exploded drawing of the parts on your bow.  Once you take it apart it helps to know the order and sequence to put it back together over a sleeping bag under a propane lantern.

Good luck learing about your bow.

[clasley]

I guess this is going to be a good year for me to learn more about my bow, and really the bow in general..  Seriously I had no idea that you could overdraw a bow, I always thought you were supposed to pull it back until you couldnt anymore [not like I was even forcing it to go back further either.  It felt like It wanted to keep going back so I kept pulling, and.. CLICK.. out pops the string]

I'll probebly look into a portable bow press and start tinkering with caution.   How well do those cable type bow presses work?

[Thomas Krupinski]

My friends and I have the Bowmasters, cable press.  They take up very little space, about the size of a deck of cards, and easily fit in a tackle box.

It's easy to slip on the limbs and although it has a T handle for tightning, we just put a ratchet wrench socket on the 5/8 hex bolt head and it compresses the bow limbs very quickly.

It works perfectly for everything I have ever had to do to my bow and will save your hunt if your are back in a ways.

[01magnatec]

that seems a little odd. Why if you were overdrawing it did he put an extra 10 pounds on it?  Why didn't he just measure to find your draw length and fix it that way?  If I were you, i'd get a second opinion.
Maybe i'm wrong, but draw length would be the first thing i would point at.

I mean sure, its not clicking anymore but thats because its heavier to pull back.   can someone explain this to me?!?!

on a side note, what is your letoff? And are you new to archery?
I guess you now know that you have a soft wall!!! :lol:

[clasley]

hey 01magnatec, yeah im a newbie to archery alright, just got into archery 2 years ago, and really havnt done anything except shoot targets, but I plan to bow hunt deer this season..  gun hunting is a little too easy, need a new challenge ;-)

Anyway I took my bow up north this weekend to shoot a little..  And well, after about 20 shots, I pulled back one more time, and it made that clicking sound again, and then my cam broke.  Aaaarrrrrrg!!!  I have lost my faith completely in the staff in the archery department at Cabelas!  Now I have a bigger problem..  

Yeah thats a good question why the guy didnt just increase the draw on the bow..  However, I bought the bow when I was 22, figured I was done growing at that point... dont know how I could suddenly outgrow my bow??  I'm thinking that the guys at Cabelas didnt set me up right in the first place...

[willis5]

Could the cam have been crooked? sometimes the camsare not perfectly perpendicular to the axle. This causes the string to slip and puts unneeded sideways torque on the cam. Cranking it up would increase the torque... making it easier to break? maybe. This could be the culprit, so always check that as well.

[01magnatec]

that sounds like a good reason for it breaking willis.
But can anyone here tell me a reason why what i said would be wrong?  I know there are a lot of people here that have been shooting a lot longer than me and have much more knowledge.