Golden Emperor

[arrowwood]

Hi all, just getting back into archery again after not shooting much for twenty years or so.
 
I  got a low-end compound around 1980 and it just never appealed to me. I always loved my Ben Pearson 28# recurve (11th birthday present, still have it), so I when started looking around for bows, an older bow definitely seemed like the way to go to me. There are some great new bows but I just don't have the money they're asking for what I want.

So, long story short, I wound up with this Golden Emperor, and I have a few questions about it. Here's a few pics, hopefully this will work:              

I'm wondering about the hole tapped in the sight window - is that for a plunger of some kind? It doesn't go all the way through. Any thoughts on whether this was added to the bow?

Another thing is, the brace height turns out to be bigger than the 7-7 1/2" listed at the archery archives. The bow is from '64 or '65, which is a few years before the AMO standards came out, if I understand it right. I have no idea where these brace heights were supposed to be measured from.

I'd like to hear people's suggestions for what to use for a shelf or a rest for a bow like this. Normally I'd just stick a bear hair/rug type on, but the arrow shelf seems narrow to me, and it's curved - it's about 3/8" wide and there's a bevel towards the grip.

Looking forward to any help you can provide, thanks.

[AALLFAB]

WOW look at that wood. I see from the tape measure the brace height is 8" and that is a 70" amo bow so 8" even up to 10.5" is not unheard of. All you have to do is twist the string to increase the brace height if you want to. The hole is factory and does not go all the way through but I dont know if there was ever anything sold to go in the hole or if it is just for the adjustable plug you miraculously still have in the bow. I would put a feather rest on it because it would elevate the arrow shaft so you can use the original plunger on the bow.  Jim

[arrowwood]

Originally posted by AALLFAB:
WOW look at that wood

Yeah, it might make it hard to aim!  :D  

Ok, so I guess the plug is a horizontal adjustment? That makes sense with the shape of the shelf. I had a hard time picturing just a stick-on carpet type of rest on it, from the shape.
 I might get another picture of just that part, I didn't know if pictures would enlarge on this forum or not.

[ksbowman]

That is is amazing wood! Very nice looking and I bet it is a nice smooth shooting bow. I've always liked Pearsons.

[Stumpkiller]

Originally posted by arrowwood:


I'm wondering about the hole tapped in the sight window - is that for a plunger of some kind? It doesn't go all the way through. Any thoughts on whether this was added to the bow?

I have no idea where these brace heights were supposed to be measured from.

I'd like to hear people's suggestions for what to use for a shelf or a rest for a bow like this. Normally I'd just stick a bear hair/rug type on, but the arrow shelf seems narrow to me, and it's curved - it's about 3/8" wide and there's a bevel towards the grip.

The threaded insert was for an threaded post under a pad that could be backed in and out for adjustment of center-shot.  (I seem to remember that, anyhow).  Not a true plunger.

The shelf only needs to be as wide as to the center of the arrow.  Everything else is unused.  ;-)  And could contact the fletch in fact.  Curved is good.  The arrow should only contact the shelf at the point right above the deepest grip cut-out.

Fistmele/brace height is measured to the deepest part of the hand grip.  As a rule of thumb it works out top approximately 1/8th of the AMO length for most recurves.

Love the old Pearsons.  I have a low-end model  (Colt) and even that has beautiful wood and is a sweetheart to shoot.

[PAPALAPIN]

A feather rest as Jim suggested may not get you high enough.  A stick on rest such as a Bear weather rest or a Hoyt pro rest is what you need.  Some of these stick on rests have a hole in them that you can place over your adjuster screw.  If you can't find one with a hole, just set the rest plate in the center of the riser with the adjuster behind it.

Nice bow...will make a great shooter.

[arrowwood]

Thanks for the replies.  I may try a a couple different rests and see what works best. I'm curious to see how the insert will come into play (or not).

Anyone know what finish was used on these bows?


I was hoping to get to Lancaster archery this weekend but the dishwasher died, so there goes my archery tackle fund (arrows, quiver, etc.) for a little while. It's going to drive me nuts just looking at it!

[Jack Shanks]

If the dishwasher was your wife my condolences.

[arrowwood]

Thanks, but no, she's alive and kicking, but now I'm the dishwasher, so I gratefully accept your condolences anyway.

I joined the archery club down the street, and the guys there suggested the feather rest or even a modified toothbrush (?) to elevate the arrow, but that might be part of some kind of hazing ritual, so I'm not real sure.


An instructor served a temporary, adjustable nocking point for me, and did a beautiful job. I can just barely turn the seved nocking point on the bow string servings, like a nut on a treaded rod.

At the club, they're steering me towards carbon shafts (Gold Tip Ultralight .600's, for example). 38# bow with 330-something grain arrows (including, say 125 grain field points), approaching nine grains per pound.

 Any opinions on the minimum grains per pound for arrows this old bow?

[arrowwood]

Aallfab, your post about comparing the Golden Knight riser to a Marauder (on another thread) reminded me of comparing the catalog pictures of the different years of the Golden Emperor at the archives site.

'64 on the left, '65 on the right with my '65 in the middle. Notice the flat arrow shelves on the other bows (maybe curved was an option?). The shape and the grips are a little different too. Makes you wonder how much leeway the bowyers had with each piece of wood.

 

[Ralphie]

I think the shelves were sometimes rounded and sometimes flat. At first I thought the shelves were flat by design, than evolved to a roundness, because that worked better, but I may be wrong.I have a '72 Damon Monterey bow has a flat shelf. My 60's Bear Hunter has flat shelf, as well. The flat shelf was tearing up my arrows, because the arrow was making too much contact, for too long on the flat shelf.
I tried the formula of sticking a round toothpick under the shelf rest to raise the point of arrow contact off the shelf. Doing that was a pain. (old adhesive etc. ......)
I decided for both bows to put on a stick on brush rest. Which, worked perfect. I found after an extensive search,a few, new,(old stock), Para-Rests,from the 70's, which have a small brush rest. Stick on and come off without damage to the finish.
Anyway, good luck with your new bow.
(ps......most modern bow supplies stores do not really know traditional bows.) Use arrows with feathers!
Ralph

[hayslope]

That appears to be some SERIOUS Rosewood!  Great looking bow.