Trad Gang
Main Boards => Trad History/Collecting => Topic started by: Kituwa on July 31, 2013, 06:13:00 PM
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I have four 59 model Bears now, two Polars,an Alskan, and a Grizzly.Comparing the profiles of them next to each other there are of coarse diffferinces. the Polar and Alaskan are simuler with the Polar have more hook on the recurve while the Grizzly has a strong hook but the limbs come out from the riser almost straight. I am talking about the bows unstrung. I have been shooting one of the polars that is about the same draw weight as the polar and alaskan and cant say that i can tell much difference in the speed, maybe the alaskan is just a touch slower but its so small i cant tell much difference.I was useing the same arrow on all three.From pictures i have seen of unstrung Kodiaks and Kodiak specials from the same year their profile looks more like modern recurves. It almost seems like bear was experimenting around that time with different limb shapes and profiles. Its amazing to me that bows made 54 years ago shoot as well as any bow made today and better than some. I forgot to mention that the limbs on the polar and alaskan are narrower than the grizzly.The Grizzly also is not as quiet as the other two prolly due to the fact that the polar and Alaskans do not have as much contact with the limb tips and string.They all three are very smooth at my 30 inch draw and i did not have to adjust my aim when going from one bow to another even at 30 yards.Hopefully one day i will have the Kodiak and the Special and cub to complete my collection and can compare them too.
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Three amazing and underrated bows. I have all the 59's and love the Grizzly and Kodiak Special.
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I agree with the Kodiak Special. I have a '59 special and it is really a shooter. Bought a '62 K Magnum and a '63 Tamerlane when they were new when I was in high school in the early sixties and they were good shooters too, and would shoot good today. Bear made some pretty amazing bows in the late fifties and early sixties.
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the 62" 1959 Kodiak Special may be the best shooting bow Bear ever produced.
Trap
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I have the 64" model and Im still looking for the 62" model. For those who have one I would prefer around 45# :)
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Those 59 Kodiak Specials are the prettiest bows bear ever made too. I wont even mind one of the longer ones.I figure if the shorter ones shoot so well then the longer ones will be even better.
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I am not sure that Bear archery was consciously experimenting with different shapes and profiles at that time...we have become so conditioned to mass produced items, even when human hands are involved, to be essentially the same that we forget that has not always been the case...Fred Bear had bowyers he trusted back in those days and he simply gave them a lot of leeway on what they produced...fat grips, mildly tapered limbs and big wide tips may have been on the days when the bowyer was not feeling particularly ambitious
DDave
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Dad and I picked up a couple 59s (I believe) the other day. We haven't shot them yet but plan on it. The Special is 66" and 39# the Kodiak is 56" and 48#
(http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s574/caleb_campbell1/DSCN0041_zps19753270.jpg) (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/caleb_campbell1/media/DSCN0041_zps19753270.jpg.html)
(http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s574/caleb_campbell1/DSCN0043_zps2e960b0d.jpg) (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/caleb_campbell1/media/DSCN0043_zps2e960b0d.jpg.html)
(http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s574/caleb_campbell1/DSCN0044_zpscf4e49d1.jpg) (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/caleb_campbell1/media/DSCN0044_zpscf4e49d1.jpg.html)
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Just as an fyi (and I'm no expert by any means), it's been written that the 56" 1959 Kodiak models were meant for shorter draws (26" or less). Hate to see a dandy like that blow up from a 29+ draw. Maybe investigate a little first???
Both look very nice. Great find.
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Thanks for the info Ray, we'll definitely look into that!
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Pa, two very nice bows! %9 is my birth year and why i set a goal to one day own one of each model from that year as my collection.The two you have are the two highest priced ones from 59 and the most beautiful.The 59 special is in my eyes the best looking bear of all times.Your Kodiak in the 56" is i think the hardest to find of all the different lengths.I am not expert on old bears but one thing you need to really check out close if you are going to shoot yours is the tips and tip overlays in particuler.Study them closely and make sure that the overlays are in good shape and are not starting to come up.Check the edges of the bow to be sure not delamination is starting.They are very old and things can happen but if caught they can be fixed easily by the right person and save a great bow.Your look to have a nice finish on them still from what i can see.If they were mine and i was going to hunt them much i may would refinish the backs and belly of the limbs if you can feel those stress lines with your finger nail.If you have any doubts about anything ask people here, there are several that know what is a problem and whats not and what can harm the value on a collectors bow or not.Those are the two that i am lacking. I am on just a small fixed income so i cant just buy one when they come up but with the economy the way it is, they come up for sale for half as much as what i saw them for a cpl years ago. So the prospects of me actually owning one are much better.Thanks for sharing the pics of your fine 59's!
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Thanks for all the insight! We've definitely checked them very closely and they are in very good condition. No delams or precursors that we can see. I'm not sure what my dad has in mind for them for the future, but you never know, they may come up for sale here eventually. We got lucky with finding them in a local "bargain sheet" newspaper and bought them off of the original owner.
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Pa. your kodiak is in the more rare short length and in a very nice hunting draw weight too. Looks to be all original and would need only some glue to put the back plate on good and a new feather rest niether of witch would hurt anything.It does have some stress lines but most bows that old do.Its sad that the way things are right now that it prolly would not bring more than half of what it would have just two or three years ago. Your special is the most common length and weight range and never brought nearly as much as a kodiak anyway.But, you do have two VERY nice bows that are a pleasure to own, both as great shooters and pieces of history.If those are not things that are important to you then there may well be collecters here that would make you trades for other bows that may be bows that would fit your needs better and you would still come out ahead money wise plus the bows would go to someone that will preserve them.The 59's that i look for are ones that need work on them usually. Because for one i am not rich and too because for what i use them for and what they mean to me, it would be a waste to use the better examples of them.It amazes me how many of them are around.After 54 years they are still comeing out from closets and attics in often good shape.Also the prices they sold for new in 1959 were far from what an average person could afford in those days so you wouldnt think there would be that many of them.But, if you look at old magazines from the 50's and 60's, it does look like archery was very populer and more of a family sport than it is now, not so much hunting but things like organized field archery.I wish that type of thing would become populer again, people now days more than ever need sports that are family oriented where the wife and kids are part of it.
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here's a few 59s for your viewing pleasure. Very good year for Bear Archery. Good luck in your quest for obtaining all of the 59 models. Put the word out with as many folks as you can and they'll start showing up.
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa277/DUCK_TRAP/collection005.jpg) (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/DUCK_TRAP/media/collection005.jpg.html)
Trap
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Holy Smokes Trap! What a beautiful display.
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Very nice Trap and they all have strings too! Means you have shot them all more than a few times?
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Yea i can hear trap right now,,,eenie meanie mynee mo,,,lol,,,or maybe its,,,she loves me,,she loves me naught,,,,
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You bet they have strings. As Chuck always says, "meant to be bent"
Thanks Guys, 59s are cool for sure.
Trap
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Probably against "rules" but.....for those interested there is tan and burgundy string on the auction with 8-9 days to go.
Oh yeah......it's still connected to the SWEET leather gripped bow! With feather rest.
No worries. It has been "found" even though miss listed with the proverbial 1953 date.
You can't miss it with a search for that year in recurves.
Nope...not mine and if I wasn't destitute I'd be on the bidders list! I've had a couple as most of you still do.
One with original string in this condition? I have not had.
Sorry if stepping on toes of the thread starter. Not my intention.
God Bless
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Trap can you list at the models from top to bottom? That sure is a cool collection. How many years did it take to get them all?
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slayer, i was wondering the same thing. I can tell the top 5 are 59 Kodiak Specials, the very bottom bow looks to be a 58 Kodiak, the two tight above the 58 look like 59 Kodiaks but the other two kodiaks without leather grips i dont know, they look to be beefier in the grip and sight window. Slayer, have you ever seen a 59 Kodiak special in person or a good close up pic of one? Man those Specials have some beautiful woods in them, i think they are one of the nicest looking bows that bear ever made. I have never shot one but from the way they look and having shot other 59 bears,they have to just be the sweetest shooting bows ever! Most of them are a little longer than we are used to in a recurve but certainly no longer than the average long bow.And another great thing about those Kodiak Specials is that they are very affordable. A 59 KS is the highest bow on my wish list! Someone needs to post some pics of a 59 Grizzly too. They have their own unique wood combo that is quite different than the other 59,s and many people say they are the best shooters of the 59's. My good camera gave up the ghost on me but i will try and get some pics with my cell of some of my 59's today.
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I believe Trap's bows below the Specials are from the bottom up. 58 Kodiak, 59 Kodiak, 60 Kodiak, 61 Kodiak and 62 Kodiak.
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Jack knows his Kodiaks
From the Top
1959 Kodiak Special 70" 50#
1959 Kodiak Special 68" 46#
1959 Kodiak Special 66" 42#
1959 Kodiak Special 64" 50#
1959 Kodiak Special 62" 50#
1962 Kodiak 60" 47#
1961 Kodiak 60" 55#
1960 Kodiak 60" 52#
1959 Kodiak 60" 49# Maple Sight Window
1958 Kodiak 60" 52#
(not pictured but lower on the rack)
1957 Kodiak "white glass" 60" 51#
1957 Kodiak 60" 51#
1956 Kodiak 60" 43#
1955 Kodiak 60" 47#
1954 Kodiak 60" 46# "walnut riser"
I collected all of them in about 4 years
I got pretty good advice early in my collecting days. I was advised to have an idea what I wanted to collect before ever starting.
I collected 60" Kodiaks from years 1954 to 1962. Along the way I came across a 59 Kodiak Special and loved it so I decided to collect all the lengths the KS was offered in 1959. The 59 Kodiak Specials were all very good shooters. Great bows.
All of the 62" Grizzlies are nice shooting bows. The 62" 1959 Grizzly is my favorite Grizzly. Extremely quiet and quick.
My all time favorite Bear recurve is either the 62" 1959 Kodiak Special or the 1960 Kodiak.
Trap
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Nice collection Trap!!
My favorite shooter is still the '59 Grizzly!
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(http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa479/wahya3/1025131346a.jpg) (http://s1199.photobucket.com/user/wahya3/media/1025131346a.jpg.html)