Montgomery Ward Bruin

[AzGreg]

Just found a Montgomery Ward Bruin in 50lbs I picked up yesterday for $20 along with 5 aluminum arrows and 3 Bear razor heads. From what I can tell makers like Bear and Ben Pearson would sell almost completed bows to Montgomery Ward and Sears and such and they would finish them and put there own name on them. The bow looks to be in alright condition but I noticed some very fine cracking in the glass on the back of the bow a little past the fade outs in the working part of the limb. I’d say about a 2 inch section and the cracks are horizontal which I know are the bad kind. They do seem to be very fine. I put on some safety glasses and pulled it back about 20 times and didn’t hear any sounds of any kind. I shot it about 30 times last night and didn’t seem to notice it getting any worse. Any idea how bad this is or if I should shoot it or not? Sorry for posting so many of the same pic but my phone is being weird, the top pic shows the hairline cracks the best. Thanks appreciated.

[Kelly]

That looks to be either a Bear Grizzly or Ben Pearson Hunter made for monkey ward.

Those cracks were very, very common in black glass bows made by Bear, most say it is in the finish they used. Should be no problem to shoot for another 50 years.

[AzGreg]

Thanks Kelly. Ya I’m about 1,500 shots in so far now and nothing seems to be changing so I think I’m good. Really have been loving it. It was $20 well spent. It looks and feels similar to my grizzly but it’s slightly longer and the grip is slightly different as well. I’ve never had a Ben Pearson to compare it to so I’m not sure which one it was molded after.