What does it mean that the brothers’ bows lose their springs? Hamblin suggests:
Bows are delicate weapons that need special care and constant attention. Both medieval and modern archers recognized this fact. To lose its “spring” probably means that the bow had lost some of its elasticity and thereby its strength and efficiency. Longman describes this problem: “All bows will lose both cast [range] and strength if shot with many days running, and they will not recover if overshot.… Even in one day a bow will sometimes go down one or two pounds,… hot weather especially affecting them.” Most likely, this is precisely what happened to the bows of Nephi’s brothers. The change in climate, the hot weather, and continual hunting progressively weakened the elasticity and draw weight (“springs”) of their bows to the point that the bows had insufficient range and penetrating power for effective hunting.
When the bow loses its springs it does not break, as did Nephi’s bow. Rather it becomes less effective. The largest animals available (hence those that could feed the most people) are also the fastest. Range and penetrating power would be important. A bow that had lost its springs could still kill smaller animals, but even for those the hunter would have to get closer. The smaller the game, the greater the number required to supply the family. The loss of the springs in the bows not only removed the weapon with which food was procured but reduced the number of effective hunters who could provide. It was very definitely a difficult circumstance.