33 replies to this topic

[mad hunter]

I am looking at new bows for next yr. I think i will be getting one with pistol style grips. Parker has some very nice looking models but i'm wondering if they have still got problems with limb failure or is it mostly due to user error.

[briarpatch]

The answer to your question mainly depends on who you ask.  I own a 2009 Tornado, and have not had a limb issue.  The 2009 models seemed to be more prone than other years.  If you ask Parker, they'll tell you it was most likely user error.  If you ask those who have had limb failures, they will tel you that they did everything the right way.  Three friends of mine also have Tornados....a 2009, a 2010 and a 2011.  One (the 2010) had a limb failure earlier this year.  

Parker's customer service has a very good track record as it pertains to dealing with the failures.  They're warranted for life (to the original owner)...so if it breaks...they will fix it.

[Sherman7057]

Parker service is great. But you still gotta pay for shipping on warranty repairs. That makes me $59.00 in the hole for a bow I've owned 1 year. Yes 1 limb failure was my fault, but neither the last 2 times. Good luck on your purchase.  I did leave a Parker 150#  cocked for 2 weeks. No problem. Seems to me they just have process variables when the limbs are made. I would never try this with my 175# Parker

[mad hunter]

I't definately does not give one a sense of re asurance about their bows. Too bad cause they make some nice looking units. The new concorde is very cool. I'm having my right wrist fused in feb and it wont bend after that so I'm sure I will need to get something with a pistol style grip but not a ton of them to choose from.

[john316]

For what its worth I have had no limb problems with my buckbuster 175...killed two deer so far this season and still have a month left to hunt. I did have to replace the string(serving) but other than that it has performed well.

[rbylo1]

Mad hunter - a lot of decisions to make, and you bring up a good point on considering what ($)customer service really costs you. I went the recurve limb route - KODABOW - very happy with it. Just suggesting you check out the website to help you out on future choices.

[mad hunter]

They have some new bows coming out soon. I'll be interested to see how they look and perform.

[RICKD]

I own a 2011 Tornado and had it out in the woods for most of the shotgun season this year. The temperature varied from cold to warm      (Not real cold this year but below freezing, I think 23 degrees was the coldest)  Although I didn't get a shot at a deer this year my bow was cocked and discharged twice a day without any adverse effects. It was cocked six to seven hours a day in the rain the cold and in the warm weather. I discharged it into a small home made discharge target and it was still as accurate as ever.

I know some of you have had problems with limbs but my Tornado has performed flawlessly.  Without a doubt I would recommend this crossbow to my family and friends. If I did have problems with it I am 100 percent sure that Parker would take care of it at no cost to me.

[xbowguy]

If there are limb failures it’s usually a result of a poor designed limb or a cost issue.  Yes a limb will fail if a user damages the limb or subjects it to dryfires.  Failures under normal use and enough to get noticed are not engineered.  There is a lot of loading in a limb that is not balanced or constrained.  It takes a lot of design and engineering to design a proper limb and it comes at a cost.  Easier to hope and pray and that’s what many manufactures do.  Most limbs are copied from what the other guy does in a vast majority of the cases.

How do you make a better limb?  You usually have to add more money and who wants to do that and miss their price point?  Most manufactures dont!  In the race for performance its really easy to push the material beyond its ability.  When you look at crossbows as a whole, limbs have to be one of the largest problem areas.  As more and more new players enter the market this will continue to grow.

Think about what’s going on.  You’re taking a stick of thousands of single fiberglass strands and holding them together with epoxy, grinding and sanding on them and then asking them to flex and deflect repeatedly and not break or fail!  YUP

It’s not as easy as it looks and needs to be ENGINEERED and honestly most manufactures dont know how to do that or understand it.  I have been doing this for more than two decades and I am still learning how to keep them together.

[Sherman7057]

I'm a shooter not an engineer.  I have one question.Why can't limbs be made from aluminum? There has to be an aluminum that would flex just as well as glass.Kevlar...carbon...steel even.

[Cossack]

The so called limb problems are not endemic to Parker. Most "spontaneous  premature  bow disassembles" are cause by partial dryfires when arrow isn't seated to string properly OR lightly made bows that attempt to achieve the-seemingly-magical 400 fps. Parker makes a great product, with one of the best warranties and customer support reputations in the business. The generalized 'limb problems' are just that and unwarrented IMO.

[Sherman7057]

it's obvious some of you have never had limb issues.all I'm saying is...I expect and only except quality when I pay top dollar for a bow. I am not rich and can't afford to keep shipping my bow all over. Counting the days until I buy a quality Excalibur. I took my "great service "buckbuster hunting this season..the piece of junk broke (limbs)during my hunt. ..a hunt that I  took vacation for. If only you Parker lovers could look beyond customer service and truly evaluate overall bow quality,then we could truly have an unbiased ducussion about Parker limb failure.

[robertyb]

My left limb also broke while fulled cocked on a hunt. I assure you that it had never had a partial dryfire or any other type dryfire either. The bow had about 50 shots on it when the limb failed. Parker was very good about replacing it but as stated above the shipping to them came out of my pocket.

[mad hunter]

Ya the cost of shipping is bad, but having it happen during a hunting season you waited all year for is unaceptable. If a company doesnt want to spend the money engineering a bow to stand up to the stress it will be placed under than why bother making them.I know if I had a limb failure during hunting season no amount of customer service would satisfy.

[Deerhunter34]

I can assure you that mine was a limb failure.  No broken strings or cable, no bent cam, no other damage of any kind.  I watched the limb fold over slowly while cocked in my stand.  I am glad for those that have never had that happen.  Mine did during hunting season. Parker's service was great and had me back out in a few days.  My original post has details.  Unfortunately as much as I love the bow, I wince at every little noise wondering if it is going to do it again.  Parker would fix that.  But that hasn't stopped me from considering the purchase of something else that I have confidence in.  Maybe another brand, maybe another model of Parker with a better rep for keeping its limbs.  That remains to be played out.  So far so good with my new front end.  If it stays together I will eventually get over it and be thrilled with the service and warranty.  If it happens again I will most likely make a change.  There is nothing wrong with brand loyalty.  That's what makes businesses successful.  However, don't be so quick to blame the user because your favorite brand had a failure.  Again, I love my Parker, but it failed, not me. But yet to some it seems that we have to prove ourselves over the product.

[Sherman7057]

I'm happy the majority of my crossbow brothers  understand my beliefs on quality. Good luck hunting, guys and gals!

[FuzzyFultz]

Wow, I never knew this. I have researched for weeks and never came across one negative review, or complaint of broken limbs. I just ordered a Parker Cyclone today .......... Was looking at other brands to. But, maybe I messed up. Live and learn. I hope I do not have these problems. Thanks for your truthful posts and comments here. I wished I would have come across this site earlier.

[tc scout]

It simply amazes me the number of people who want to blame the shooter for limb failures.
Dry fires,arrow not seated, wrong nocks, hat on backwards. Give me a Break.

Edited by tc scout, 23 December 2011 - 12:10 AM.

[Jeffhunt]

tc scout, on 23 December 2011 - 12:07 AM, said:

It simply amazes me the number of people who want to blame the shooter for limb failures.
Dry fires,arrow not seated, wrong nocks, hat on backwards. Give me a Break.

Me too!

[xbowguy]

My insight was not geared at all exclusively to Parker but the limb, its technology and the industry as a whole.  

Being responsible for more than a half million crossbows in the market I have seen it all.  Its not a shooter issue at all though it can be.  Mostly it comes down to the material and how it's asked to perform.  As with anything there is always the possibility of defective material.  No one is trying to make bad limbs as it does have a huge cost associated with replacement no matter how wonderful how your service may be.  In this industry bad or poorly designed limbs dont get you far.

Aluminum has no Elasticity