In archery, a dry shot is a shot without an arrow.
When a blank shot is fired with a bow or crossbow, the bow energy is not diverted from the string via the arrow, but transferred directly to the bow itself.
This will cause damage to the bow’s limbs.
Depending on the stability and design of the limbs, they can also break and the archer and bystanders can be injured by the breaking parts.
A dead shot occurs when the bowstring is released at full draw without an arrow, but also when the arrow nock bursts upon release and the string shoots forward without accelerating the arrow. The same serious result can occur if the bowstring breaks at full draw.
When an arrow is fired "normally," a large portion of the energy stored in the bow is transferred to the arrow. If the arrow is missing, all of the energy must be "processed" in the bow.
With powerful bows, shooting arrows that are too light can have the same negative effects as a blank shot.
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