Vintage 1953 Fred bear Longbow/help (pics)

[Gunnar Mullins]

So i posted a topic a few days ago about another bow i had received.. and today, i got a call from the same person saying that they had found another bow and they wanted me to have it.. So i go to pick it up, and to my PLEASANT surprise it was a Bear Cub longbow. It has a green top, the belly is gray and it has a 35# draw and is 60" long. I looked it over and it has a crack in the wood/fiber glass, on the lower limb (picture of it below) it had a string with it, but i didnt trust it so itook the string off my 60" recurve and put it on this longbow and shot it ( i wanted to use a string with silencers so less vibrations would damage the crack) I shot about ten arrows through it and it shot great. Smooth draw and seemed like plenty of power for small game.
I would just like some info on this bow. It has the bear logo and says Grayling, Michigan. but then it under that it says 'Canada' with the date 1953. is this a good find, or somewhat average? does it have any monetary value? (although i dont wanna sell it)
were there a lot of these in production? any special info would be appreciated...
It hasnt been strung or shot for 25 or more years, just stored in an attic


Oh and for the crack, I mixed up a little bit of clear epoxy and smoothed it over it well.. Its drying right now, and i plan on sanding down the excess the day after tommorrow... If all goes well i plan on taking this beautiful piece of history on a nice little squirrel hunt next week  


And last but not least, i only have my easton 2216' which come out to about 550 grains including the field tip.. these are fitted for my 50# recurves.. what arrows would be properly spined for this longbow? (and i only want to stick with easton aluminums, i dont want any kind of carbon..)

Thanks a lot guys!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[Gunnar Mullins]

oh and under the bear cub logo it says 'glass powered' which i thought was interesting

[Jack Shanks]

Gunnar,

 Your cub is a 1962 I believe. The 1953 you are looking at is the patent date.It is found on all Bear bows manufactured between 1953-1972. As far as value? Check the big auction site for something similiar but I'm thinking $50-$150 for a really nice one in hunting weight.

[jcar315]

Here is the Cub page out of the 1962 Bear catalog.

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[Gunnar Mullins]

thanks a lot for the info guys!!

[mahantango]

I've got a '62 Cub thats 42# and it shoots well with 1816 with 100 gr. points. Nice little bows!