posted
Nice bow John. I am thinking the same as Andy, lift a corner of the strike plate and peek. Unfortunately that won't tell you if it's a one piece or a multi-piece riser, maybe lift the rug as well? How about removing the camo in the edge of the lower string groove? That is a normal wear area that would be covered by the string plus you could see the glass and tip colors...
I like it for what it is but I would definitely check out what it could be!
Posts: 233 | From: Portland, Oregon | Registered: Dec 2010
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Johnny, Can't you see what is there through some of the wear marks? I can see some of the wood on the corner of the shelf,and some white overlays,and maybe some brown glass thru a paint chip on the limb. But you know better as you have the bow in hand. I just have pics. But as Phil said, acetone and a rag will make the questions go away.
I would leave it tho. I think. now I am curious too!
-------------------- C.A.Deshler
"Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.” Francis Chan http://twotracksbow.com Posts: 4892 | From: Michigan | Registered: Feb 2009
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Chuck- There is some brown wood showing on the edge of the shelf,good observation.The bow appears to have been used a bit as the camo on the grip area where your hand would go seems to be much more shiny,thinner and smooth than other areas of the bow where it is more of a matte look and feel.There are a couple of small chips around the grip overlays where small portions of the glass can barely be seen,and one spot on a string groove on the tip.Very small amounts of the glass are visible and do appear to be sort of a creamy/greenish color much like a '62 would have.There are no areas on the limbs showing the glass color.The brown that you see is areas of brown camo paint under the green paint.Still curious as to the wood in the sight window and limb glass color.I will keep looking with my magnifying glass for more worn and/or thin areas. Now I feel like a detective.I don't think I've ever inspected a bow so closely before as this one.
Posts: 1150 | From: Michigan | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
"....speaking words of wisdom, let it be, let it be..."
Maybe I will start collecting factory camo bows. I find them interesting.
If you do strip it be sure to post pics. It's likely a beautiful piece of wood.
-------------------- Hill Country Bobcat 56" 48# and 40# 1972 Bear Grizzly. 58" 53#
TGMM Family of the Bow
"God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.” - Billy Graham Posts: 1749 | From: Ohio | Registered: Dec 2009
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Hey John, You could always add a leather grip and that would give you a large area to look at, just a thought, Bear did put custom grips on there bows for customers....like that 64 griz I have from Floyd ......Hink
-------------------- A TRUE FRIEND ALWAYS THINKS YOU ARE A GOOD EGG EVEN IF YOU ARE SLIGHTLY CRACKED. Posts: 581 | From: Ida, Michigan | Registered: Jan 2009
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ceme24-That very same Beatles song popped into my mind when I first posted this thread.I guess that would be Paul McCartney's advice if I were to ask him what he would do.LOL Bill- That's a great idea too.I always did like the leather grips on the Kodiaks that came with them.Don't know if I could do a very good job putting one one myself,but I know a few guys that could so that is another option I hadn't thought of.Thanks for the suggestion.
Posts: 1150 | From: Michigan | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
maybe you could be the first to have an MRI done on a bow.that is the only way i can think of finding out without taking off the finish.I would leave it because it is factory paint and it looks awesome.
Posts: 163 | From: new york | Registered: Nov 2010
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I think it's going to drive you crazy, so you may as well just do it. I would. IMO there was nothing really attractive about the factory camo. But, the wood underneath...that's another story. Be sure to show us the results !!
Posts: 677 | From: Nashotah, WI. | Registered: Apr 2007
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John, If it were a solid phenolic riser wouldn't it be a lot heavier bow ?, you should be able to rule that out without touching the paint. I haven't weighed any of mine but they feel heavier.....myself I like the camo, my earliest is Bob Meeker’s K-4 with compass in grip and 3 arrow quiver What ever you do is right. ..have a good weekend and holiday....Hink
-------------------- A TRUE FRIEND ALWAYS THINKS YOU ARE A GOOD EGG EVEN IF YOU ARE SLIGHTLY CRACKED. Posts: 581 | From: Ida, Michigan | Registered: Jan 2009
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Boy- The opinions on stripping or not stripping are pretty equal.I read one post about why I shouldn't strip it and I agree,then I read another one why I SHOULD strip it and agree with that too. I know if I even strip a small portion of the paint,I am going to want to just finish the job and strip it all off. On the other hand,as much as I don't like camo covered bows,this little bugger is actually starting to grow on me.If the camo were even more worn and chipped in spots,or the bow had some holes drilled in it,it would be a whole lot easier for me to just go ahead and do it.Knowing this is the way it came out of Grayling makes it very hard for me to do it.I am still pondering all of the suggestions.Luckily I have still been working long hours so I haven't had time to even consider doing it even if I wanted to.Maybe that's a good thing.
Bill- The bow doesn't feel unusually heavy and going by the small wear mark on the edge of the shelf,I do believe the riser is wood,I'm just curious as to the glass color now and if it is standard glass along with the wood,I would really be interested in knowing why it was camo covered at all.
Posts: 1150 | From: Michigan | Registered: Dec 2003
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Kenny, I actually got rid of the bow before I did anything to it.I was very tempted to remove the paint to see what lied beneath but I just couldn't bring myself to doing it.I knew once I even started removing any of the original factory camo paint then the bow would no longer be factory original.And I am not a bow-refinisher and didn't want to make a mess of a very nice,original Bear bow.It's that ridiculous collector mentality of mine.If the bow wasn't in such nice condition with most all of the factory camo intact as well as the hand written specs,leather arrow plate and rug rest,not to mention the perfect draw weight of 55#,I might have been more inclined to attempt removing it.But I figured if I did remove the paint and it was just a run o' the mill '62 Kodiak Magnum,then it's value would be less than if left alone.So I decided to part with it in it's original condition to fund some other items. When I saw this thread brought back to the top of the forum after so long I thought that perhaps the new owner decided to remove the paint and was showing off the rare,one-of-a-kind Kodiak Magnum that he un-covered.Ah well,maybe if he sees this thread and was brave enough to remove the paint he will tell(and show) all of us,myself included,what lurked beneath.Maybe it's a mate to Phillips black phenolic with brown glass 66/67 Kodiak.That would be just my luck!!! Posts: 1150 | From: Michigan | Registered: Dec 2003
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You guys! They're just bows! Yeah, there might be another one like Philip's out there(I saw that bow and I'm damned envious!) But, it wasn't a Magnum, and I've had those from every year up until about '75. Never found one that I enjoyed shooting. (No offense to anyone who did.) If I couldn't tell any other way, I'd strip a small spot on every camo'd magnum I could find. If it told me something intriguing was under there, I'd go for it. Life is short! Worst case, I'd do a little refinish and sell it to some local who wants a shooter! But, that's just me.
-------------------- Tom Posts: 769 | From: Washington state | Registered: Feb 2005
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Ask yourself one simple question: Is this a collector bow with value (subjective)?
I'm sure most would agree.......nothing significant there. As value is truly subjective, especially in today's market, I would have never asked "the" question.........that ol' girl would have been stripped and, if the wood was pretty nice, already snapped a few photos with her clothes off!!!!
Besides.......Tom said it all in his post above!
Hope the new owner is happy with it (and has peeked under her dress!).
-------------------- TGMM Family of the Bow Compton Traditional Bowhunters
“Only after the last tree has been cut down…the last river has been poisoned…the last fish caught, only then will you find that money cannot be eaten." - Cree Indian Prophesy Posts: 1859 | From: Westchester County, NY | Registered: Oct 2006
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