Are there Takedown Compound Bows?

Question

A recent question got me wondering if there are Takedown Compound Bows. I Googled around and found several longbows, (recurves, etc) that can be taken down for travel. But I did not find any compound bows.

Are there Takedown Compound Bows?

Answer 1

Here's an old video of a Fred Bear Borsalino take-Down compound bow being taken down and put back together. There is also a Fred Bear TRX 32 take-down compound bow on ebay. I didn't see any of these during a quick look at their website, so I wonder if anything like this is currently in production.

Answer 2

While an answer shows that takedown compounds have existed in the past, it's almost certain that they will never return.

Instead, hunting compounds have opted to go for very short ATA(Axle to axle) lengths. This makes for a shorter bow, often 34" or less. Much less awkward than a 64" to 68" recurve.

Modern compound limbs are very highly stressed even when not drawn, much more highly so than recurves, but for largely the same reason. A bow press must be used to relieve that stress before the bow can be disassembled. Bow presses are mostly large benchtop tools that are much less portable than the bow itself.

Even with a portable bow press, the cable and string system is a lot more complex than a recurve. Mistakes in cable routing, or a cable coming loose can easily destroy a bow, so there's substantial risk in reassembling the bow improperly if you don't take the time and have the right tools.

Altogether, takedown compounds are not worth the trouble with modern highly stressed compound designs

Answer 3

Possibly, but I highly doubt it. The thing is that it's not that easy to restring a compound bow and most people would probably pay someone else to do it for them.

Recurve bows are much easier to restring yourself and they do make takedown version of them.

In theory one could do this by simply disassembling a regular compound bow with allen wrenches but it's probably not worth the trouble.