Here's the setting: Tim Gillingham, newly appointed 2016 IBO Shooter of the Year and all around archery legend, joins pro hunter and host of Western Extreme, Jim Burnworth, in the Bowtech booth during their LIVE coverage from ATA 2017 show in January.
Jim and Tim, both Bowtech Ambassadors, are having a sit-down discussion covering hunting, tournament shooting and the technical aspects of archery. At one point Jim asks Tim to take everyone through his shot sequence. With Jim's bow in hand, the new Reign 7, Tim starts to talk grip, then form and begins to draw the bow... that's when disaster strikes!
Watch this:
What just happened? Did Tim really just dry fire Jim's bow?!
Yep. Now some of us have been there, whether you admit it or not, but it happened to one of the best in the world on a LIVE TV feed to thousands of viewers! Keep in mind that Tim was using Jim's release and he wasn't familiar with the setting, but excuses aside, it happened and Tim felt horrible.
For those of you that aren't quite sure what happens when you dry fire a compound bow it's usually a catastrophic event. Cams can bend, limbs get cracked and the string and cables almost always snap. If you don't believe us or haven't witnessed it first hand, take a look at the other video at the bottom of this article. What's amazing is that Jim's Reign 7 is unaffected. What's more amazing is that after a 32" full draw dry fire, Tim is able to draw the bow again to finish this demonstration. That's absurd!
Impressive as this is, DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF!
Bowtech revealed the new Reign 6 and 7 in their Smartbow series late last year and claims it is the smoothest, most stable bow they've ever built. After witnessing what should have been a pile of parts on the ground after that dry fire you must wonder if your bow would hold up the same way. Which leads to the question, what bow will you be shooting this spring when turkey and bear tags are in hand?
NOTE: As of publication date Jim Burnworth claims the bow was completely inspected after the event and confirmed it had no damage at all. He's still hunting with the bow today!
NEXT: BOWTECH ANNOUNCES REIGN 6 & 7, NEW FLAGSHIP BOW
