TAC Elite Blows UP

[altonsvnnh]

gun)I am absolutely amazed and totally disappointed in the start up performance of my TAC Elite. My 37 year old son was sighting in my brand new never used Elite today after reading all instructions and following them to the letter. He fired two arrows with no issues and the Elite exploded on the third arrow. The bow string apparently failed due to a cam failure immediately upon firing the third arrow which, by the way, went true to the target. The string injured his right thumb by splitting the finger nail in half. His hand was on the upper forearm grip and the front of the Elite was resting on a tripod. There were no obstructions in the path of the bow string. This happened at our hunt camp about mid day after the early opening hunt. The bow is totally unusable now with a destroyed cam system. BRAND NEW!!!!! I believe that I will be returning this fine expensive product!!!! Not a happy camper.

 

[Derek M.]

That is bad news for sure. Do yourself a favor and buy the best on the market. Get an Excalibur. Thank me later.

 

[OkieBowie]

He fired two arrows with no issues and the Elite exploded on the third arrow. The bow string apparently failed due to a cam failure immediately upon firing ...

Can you post some pictures of now destroyed TAC Elite, possibly an overall picture, then a few close up pictures of damaged area/parts?

It is beginning to look like their is a manufacturing problem with TAC Elite, whether it is design or production or both. There have been a few failures of TAC 15s, but nothing like what is being reported on TAC Elite.

 

[altonsvnnh]

Please see the attached photos for damage to the new Tac Elite.

 

[altonsvnnh]

Does anyone have a tech support e-mail address for PSE? I have found phone numbers but no e-mail address. I am absolutely amazed that they don't have an e-mail address listed on their site for tech support. My crossbow season looks like a complete loss right now. So much for that!!

 

[Mike K/NJ]

Altonsvnnh, Its a good thing your son wasn't seriously hurt. I don't think PSE has an email for tech support. They may have one for dealers but not the general public. Don't expect too much if you contact them yourself, I did and it was a waste of time. Your probably better off going through your dealer. I hope you get this all worked out in time to salvage some of your season.

 

[altonsvnnh]

Mike K/NJ,

Thank you for your reply and concern. I hope PSE understands "product liability" and their absolute responsibility to provide safe equipment to their customers. This incident could have been far worse for my son.

 

[OkieBowie]

That is some damage. Thanks for posting the pictures.
And I am glad your son was not seriously hurt. Still, I bet his finger is throbbing.

From the pictures it looks like one side of the Cam caved inward or collapsed, allowing cable to come out of grove, which led to string snapping.

 

[OkieBowie]

Looking at the pictures some more...
It almost looks like the string weights slid towards Cam to point the string weights were partially wrapped onto Cam, which might explain collapse of Cam.

Posting the pictures of damage may be helpful to others, in that anybody else experiencing a similar failure can compare their TAC damage to yours. If we start seeing nearly identical TAC damage upon failure, it should make finding the cause and getting a fix quicker and easier. If nothing else, people seeing similar damage will know they are not alone.

 

[altonsvnnh]

OkieBowie,

How do we get PSE technical support to look at this site and see the ongoing conversations? I would certainly think and hope that someone in their tech department is following this conversation. Again, it amazes me that they don't have a technical support e-mail address for direct customer input. Thanks for your input.

 

[OkieBowie]

How do we get PSE technical support to look at this site and see the ongoing conversations?

You might send PSE a snail mail letter suggesting they keep up with this particular forum of Len Backus' LRH Online Mag.

Understand, even if PSE tech support does start following this forum (or already is doing so) chances are they will not post here or respond. Most companies have strict policies against such activities. One reason is risk of employee giving out advice that leaves the company liable, under legal doctrine of "Respondeat superior".

I imagine the best route is to get PSE TAC dealers to visit this site. They would be free to post and respond (with Len Backus approval), along with asking questions to gather information. Being they deal with numerous PSE TACs, they are most likely to be the ones that connect the dots on a given problem. They would also have PSE employee contact information. A few might even have direct ear of PSE management.

 

[altonsvnnh]

Contacted PSE warranty support today. I am sending them the pictures and then the bow. Will see what happens.

 

[LawShark]

I too was injured when mine broke during crank back. Then there was the trigger failure that would send an arrow flying while cranking it. then there was the cam failure. I returned mine. Was mad to say the least since i waited 10 months to get his bow

 

[altonsvnnh]

Do you have any pictures of your bow that you can post?