[ELI5] why is dry firing a bow so bad for it? Does the arrow really make that much of a difference in that regard?

Question

[ELI5] why is dry firing a bow so bad for it? Does the arrow really make that much of a difference in that regard?

In: 2366

Answer 1

We don’t ‘fire’ bows at all, that would involve gunpowder. Instead we ‘loose’ an arrow, we let it go. The bow is a simple mechanism to store and release energy. When we have an arrow knocked on the bow, the energy generated by the bow has somewhere to go. It is transferred into the arrow, which self-releases from the bowstring by overcoming the force keeping it there. When we have no arrow knocked and we twang the bow (not dry fire, same reasoning) the energy does not have an opportunity to escape the system. The shock is kept within the limbs and riser, which depending on the age, condition, and type of bow, could damage it.