Care and safety

Safety rules for every Oneida

Oneida's own do's and don'ts in plain words: never dry-fire, check your string and cables, keep the limbs clear, use the right arrows and string, and lock the timing system before you draw.

  • Difficulty Easy
  • Time 5 minutes
  • For All Oneida lever bows

Every Oneida. Family-specific steps say so.

All how-to guides

We're still double-checking this guide against how we do it in the shop. If anything doesn't match your bow, stop and text us or call 270-318-2020.

Before you start

  • Read the whole list before your first trip with a bow that's new to you.

Steps

  1. Never dry-fire. It can damage the bow on the spot and seriously hurt you.
  2. Check every arrow and nock first; a cracked nock can break and dry-fire the bow.
  3. Wear safety glasses whenever you handle or shoot the bow.
  4. Check the string, cables and screws before every outing (see 'Check your string and cables').
  5. Keep both outboard limbs clear; a tip hitting a branch mid-shot can damage the timing system.
  6. Shoot at least 6 grains of arrow per pound of draw weight (warranty void under 5); the Kestrel manual follows the ATA minimum.
  7. Never set weight above the bow's limit or modify the bow for more.
  8. Turn both weight bolts the same amount, switching every 2 turns (Kestrel: 1 turn). Cranking one bolt can damage the timing system or, on a Discovery, roll the center slide off its rod.
  9. Lock the timing system before you draw: the slotted-wheel screw on 1980s–90s bows, the hub on a Black Eagle, the orange screw on a Kestrel. (Stealth timing is factory-set; the Discovery has none.)
  10. Never change draw length with a longer or shorter string.
  11. Never draw with draw-length modules missing or wrong. The Stealth insert is required even at 27 in.
  12. Discovery: reset the draw stops before drawing after an axle move, and check the cables sit in all three slides.
  13. Never put a Fast-Flite, Accu-Flite or Omni-Flite string on an H-250, H-500, Tomcat or Tomcat II, Oneida's manuals say (see 'Which string material? H-250, H-500 and Tomcat').
  14. Let down slowly with your bow arm straight, face back and hand clear of the rest. The Kestrel manual says always use a wrist sling.
  15. Never shoot straight up, know what's behind your target, and watch over new shooters.

Tips

  • Keep sharp heads covered; Oneida notes most hunting injuries are self-inflicted and heads cut strings. (Dealer Instructions p.10)