How to String a Recurve Bow

Quick answer

A bow stringer is a cord with a pocket or saddle at each end. It holds the limbs flexed so your hands are free to move the string. The short version:

• Small loop in the bottom groove, large loop loose on the top limb.
• Stringer pocket over the bottom tip, pocket or saddle on the top limb.
• Step on the cord, lift the riser, slide the large loop into the top groove.
• Lower the bow, remove the stringer, check both loops and the brace height.

Need to take the string off instead? Read how to unstring a recurve bow. Choosing your first recurve? The start archery hub and the bows hub cover bow length, draw weight, and what to buy with it.

What do you need to string a recurve bow?

The bow, a string that fits it, and a stringer. Nothing else.

A bow stringer

A double pocket stringer has a cup at each end that slips over each limb tip. A pocket and saddle stringer has a cup for the bottom tip and a flat rubber block that sits on the face of the upper limb below the tip. Both work on nearly every recurve. Takedown makers usually ship the pocket and saddle type. A stringer costs less than a replacement limb, so buy one with the bow.

The right string, larger loop on top

A recurve string has two loops of different sizes. The larger loop goes on the upper limb so it can slide down the limb while you string and unstring. The smaller loop goes on the lower limb and stays in its groove. A recurve string is normally 3 to 4 inches shorter than the bow's marked AMO length, so a 68 inch bow usually takes a 64 or 65 inch string. Check the maker's spec, because a few bows run outside that rule. The recurve string measuring guide shows how to check an old string, and the bow length guide explains where the AMO length comes from if your riser has no label.

Which limb is the top limb?

Takedown limbs are usually marked "upper" and "lower" near the limb bolt, and the draw weight sticker is normally on the lower limb. On a one-piece bow, hold it as if to shoot: the arrow shelf sits above the grip, so the limb above the shelf is the upper limb. Sight and stabilizer bushings also sit on the upper half of the riser.

How to string a recurve bow with a stringer

These steps assume a pocket and saddle stringer. With a double pocket stringer, the top pocket goes over the top tip, above the string loop, instead of the saddle resting on the limb face.

How do you know a recurve is strung correctly?

Do these four checks every time you string the bow.

• Both loops are fully seated. Each loop sits in the groove on both edges of the tip. A loop on one edge only can jump off at full draw.
• The string runs down the center of both limbs. Hold the bow at arm's length, string toward you, and sight from tip to tip. The string should track down the middle of each limb and through the center of the riser. If it sits to one side, the loop is off center or the limb is twisted.
• The string is on the belly side. The tips curve away from you and the string lies on the side facing you. A recurve strung backwards bends the limbs the wrong way and can crack them.
• Brace height is in the maker's range. Measure from the deepest part of the grip to the string. Use the table below as a starting point.

If the string sits off center and the loops are seated, do not shoot. Unstring and lay each limb on a flat surface to look for twist. A shop can usually correct a mild twist.

How to check brace height and twist the string

Brace height is the distance from the string to the pivot point of the grip on a strung bow at rest. Too low and the string slaps your forearm and the bow is noisy. Too high and the bow feels stiff and loses a little speed. Measure it with a bow square or a tape held against the grip.

Typical starting ranges for modern recurves. Confirm the range in your bow's manual or on the maker's spec sheet.

To change brace height you twist the string. Unstring the bow, take the top loop off the limb, and add twists in the direction the string is already twisted. More twists shorten the string and raise brace height. Fewer twists lower it. A few twists move it about an eighth of an inch, so restring and measure after every three to five. If you need more than about 20 to 25 twists to reach the range, the string is too long. If you cannot get down into the range with the twists removed, it is too short. The recurve bow size chart shows which bow length fits your draw length, and the string follows from that. A new string stretches over the first hundred or so arrows, so expect to add a twist or two.

Can you string a recurve bow without a stringer?

Yes, and it is how most twisted limbs and a fair number of facial injuries happen. Hand methods load the limb through one edge, which can twist it, and a twisted limb throws arrows off line and can fail. Your face is also close to a limb tip under load, and a slipped loop lets that tip spring back at you. Many recurve warranties exclude damage from stringing without a stringer. If you have to, these are the two methods.

Step-through method

Seat the small loop in the bottom groove. With the string toward you, step through between the string and the riser with one leg. Hook the lower limb across the front of your ankle with the tip outside your foot, and rest the riser against the back of your thigh. Pull the upper limb tip toward you with your bow hand while your other hand slides the large loop into the groove. Pull straight along the limb, never sideways. Sideways force is what twists limbs.

Push-pull method

Seat the small loop. Brace the lower tip against the inside of your foot on the floor. Pull the riser toward you with one hand while the other pushes the upper tip away and slides the loop into place. Your face is directly above the tip in this method, which is why many coaches refuse to teach it.

A hand method is a reasonable emergency choice for a bow of roughly 30 pounds or less, or a cheap fiberglass youth bow. For laminated or carbon limbs, or any bow you care about, buy a stringer.

Stringing a takedown recurve vs a one-piece recurve

The stringer steps are the same. The difference is what comes before them.

• Takedown: fit the limbs first. Bolt-down limbs slide onto the limb bolt and alignment pin and tighten until the limb sits flat on the pad; ILF limbs push into the dovetail until the detent clicks. Upper limb on the upper end of the riser. Check neither limb rocks side to side, then string. Sighting down the string is also your limb alignment check, and it should be repeated whenever you turn the limb bolts. The draw weight guide explains how limb bolts change the number on the scale.
• One-piece: no assembly, so the only decision is which end is up. One-piece bows are more often wood, and those should be unstrung after every session. Some traditional bows have a groove only on the tip, so seat the top loop with care.

How often should you string and unstring a recurve?

String it when you shoot and unstring it when you are done for the day, unless you shoot again tomorrow. Modern limbs with fiberglass or carbon over a wood or foam core can stay strung for days or weeks without measurable loss. Wood limbs and self bows take a set, meaning they lose draw weight and cast if left braced, so they come off the string after every session. Every stringing cycle is also a small chance to nick a loop or twist a limb, so do not cycle the bow more than the day needs. Unstring for travel, for storage longer than a couple of weeks, and before the bow goes in a hot car. The unstringing guide has a strung versus unstrung storage table by limb type.

After stringing, do not draw and let go to "test" the bow. Releasing with no arrow is a dry fire, which sends the limbs' full energy into the bow instead of an arrow. The dry fire guide explains why this cracks limbs on any bow type. Nock an arrow and shoot into a target, or draw and let down slowly.

Common recurve stringing mistakes

Most of these show up on the first shot, which is why the four checks above come before the first arrow.

Related guides

Once the bow is strung, these guides cover the next things a new recurve archer runs into.

References

These sources support the guidance on this page.

• Hoyt owner's manuals (recurve setup, brace height, and limb care)
• Wikipedia: Recurve bow
• Wikipedia: Bowstring
• USA Archery safety resources
• World Archery: equipment overview