Bear's with x poundage

[tuscarawasbowman]

Hello all,
          I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of the things bear archery did and why so I hope you guys can help. My question is what's the deal with the X after the poundage? I know it is to indicate the bow is heavier than what is marked but if Bear knew the bows were not the listed weight why didn't they put the actual weight on the bow? Did they not figure it out till after the they marked it? Thanks

[59Alaskan]

I am not sure.  It's an interesting point, but I know Pearson did the same thing.

[Bjorn]

The poundage was marked under the leather wrap or under the side wall. When the specs were written the bow was weighed again for the 'official' weight. The scale person often had his initial included in the specs. As 'B' and we can only guess what that stands for?    

[MJB]

What Bjorn said. I think the B stands for Fred Bear shot the bow LOL.

[tuscarawasbowman]

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks guys.  

[Migra Bill]

the x after the poundage is a plus 1. The x before the poundage is a minus 1.

45x is 46 pounds

xx50 is 48 pounds.

[Jack Shanks]

Bill,

 While Pearson and other Manufactures marked their bows in this manner I'm not sure that Bear did? I have never owned a Bear with more than one X before or after the weight. To my knowledge the X before simply meant less weight than marked on the handle and X after more. It could be a couple pounds either way. I had one Kodiak Magnum that was marked 7# heavier under the rest than lettered on the handle.

Regards,

Jack

[C Kerley]

I have a Super Grizzly marked 50X# and it shows 52# under the plate.  

To add a twist to it all, I also have a '65 Kodiak marked 47#, a '68 Super Kodiak marked 47#, and a '66 Kodiak marked 48#.  And they're marked that way both on the side of the bow and under the plate.

[tuscarawasbowman]

C KERLEY- That's also what I was wondering as I too have seen bows that are marked exact weights that aren't "round" numbers. I wonder if it was just dependant on who was working that day as to whether it got an X or exact pounds?

[stagetek]

My understanding is that if the x is before the number, it is less than the marked poundage. If it is after it is more. I think it's about a lb. or two either way.

[Hobow]

I believe that the confusion stems from changing AMO standards.  AMO standards state that a manufacturer has the option to mark his bows at the actual draw weight at 28" or to use the 'X' rating.  Initially AMO valued the 'X' as a 2 pound increment for weights that weren't a multiple of 5#'s.  This worked fine as all poundages were covered;

40#
XX45# = 41#
40X#  = 42#
X45#  = 43#
40XX# = 44#
45#

Then the AMO changed the usage of the X to a range of weight;

39-40-41# = 40#
42-43#    = 40X
44-45-46  = 45#
and so on.

The exact date of the change I am unsure of but current AMO standards are still listed as the last scale above.

Because the manufacturer has always had the option to mark true draw weight per AMO standards also explains why Pearson used the X system of rating before Bear opted to.

Another interesting bit is that the AMO states to use the above markings "especially on hunting models and middle and low end bows."

So technically everyone above is correct depending on what year of AMO standards you are dealing with...

[d. ward]

I think they did because it looked pretty cool bd

[wadde]

I have a kodiak magnum marked X-45#. I know all makers did it including Bear and it was quite common.

[TonyW]

My Bear Super Grizzly was marked "40X" on the riser. The dealer told me it was a 45 pounder. Always took him at his word, but I began collecting used bows with Xs that seemed to code 2 pounds. Thirty years later, I replaced the strike plate, and see the handwritten "45."

I think the X suffix means "more" and the X prefix means less. It could be 40.9 pounds or 37.8 pounds, doubt if it ever was any exact number.

[wadde]

What I have found with the different makers is the X usually means one pound more or less depending on if it is before or after the poundage. X45 would be 44 pounds and 45X would be 46 pounds. They all did this including Bear. I have bows with multiple X's before and after the poundage by all the makers. I have some with as many as three X's before the poundage or after. Example XXX47# which is a 44# bow. It is usually pretty consistent that one X equals one pound.

[BrokenArrows]

I've seen older bows marked w (+) and (-) too. As in "-50" or "50+" or "+50+" ... things that make ya go hmmmm?

[Xavier]

Since someone brought up mismarked poundage.
I have a Pearson gamester 1970 marked 54" -and it's actually 56". Anyone seen mismarked length?

[tuscarawasbowman]

Took the strikeplate off my 50X grizzly, had to see for myself. It is listed 50X just like the riser.