alaskan ID

[Gdance]

I have a Bear Alaskan semi-recurve with NC483 on it.  It was my Dad's bow and I also learned on it.  Can anyone tell me based on these numbers what year it was made?

[desertrat49]

Not much if anything can be told a Bear bow's serial# (I've read). Many folks who contribute to this forum have access to old Bear catalogs and can narrow the search down w/ a description or picture. Per a post in a different forum, the semi-recurve Alaskan was made first in '59, but I see it in the '58 catalog as the "Bold successor to the famous Cub". The Alaskan had a dual arrow shelf until it went to center shot in 1961.

[Blackhawk]

Orange colored glass on belly and black glass on back indicates a 1959/60 bow.  Even though the value tends to be rather low, that "Halloween" bow is   :cool:   and shoots very well too.

[Gdance]

Yes, it is two tone orange and black.

[NancyVTAS]

Great shooting bow!!

[TonyW]

'59 was a great year - Kodiak, Grizzly, or Alaskan

[Kituwa]

Tony, it was also a great year for Kituwa,lol.

[Jack Shanks]

The Alaskan was introduced in 1958 and had gray glass front and back that year. The 59/60 with orange and black glass were much the same although the 1960 has a fatter grip. Much like the difference between a 1959 and '60 Grizzly if you compare the two.

[Kituwa]

The 59 Alaskan is almost like a modern reflex deflex longbow. They have sort of narrow limbs and are fun shooting bows.When i just feel like going out my back door to sling a few arrows it is the bow i usually grab.When friends are over and we are out shooting , my alaskan is almost always what they like to shoot too.

[Gdance]

I am having trouble getting it to shoot nice groups and still trying to find the right arrow and set-up.  Keep in mind I have been a compound bow hunter for 30 years, but will hunting with a recurve this year.  A 1966 Bear Grizzly.  Getting back to the Alaskan....the latest arrow I've tried is an Easton Epic ST 500 (29") with a 125g field tip.  I measured the brace height at 7 3/4" and trust me when I say I know nothing about tuning a recurve!  the arrows are basically diving down and to the left into the target. Consistently.  

Any suggestions?

[Gdance]

Factory poundage marked on the bow is 40#.

[Blackhawk]

My guess is the arrow is too stiff.  You could add more weight to the tip, but for your bow, I would grab some 1916 aluminum.  If I had some 1816's, they would probably work well too.

[Gdance]

thanks!

[Kituwa]

My alaskan is 40 pounds too. I use 1916 aluminum and they fly great with it. That 66 grizzly you have is a great hunting bow too and depending on the poundage it may well use the same arrows.

[Gdance]

Thanks, I'll pick some up and try them.  I shoot an Easton full metal jacket 400 out of the Grizzly with a 75g insert and 125g field tip.

[Gdance]

It's 52#.

[Kituwa]

If the 400.s are shooting good from your grizzly then it must be a lot higher poundage than your Alaskan. On recurves you cant always follow the same rules for arrows as you do with a compound though.Your Alaskan is not center cut so it would need a arrow that can bend around the riser more to make up for that.If the 1916's dont quite shoot right then just try heavier or lighter points on it and they will work for you. If your Grizzly is say a 50# then a 2016 or 2018 would be about right in aluminum.For carbons there are a lot of people here that can give better advice than i can because i dont use carbon much. I dont know how much you know about trad hunting yet or if you have someone that is helping you where you live, but for trad bows we usually go more for heavier arrows and points than the compound crowd.Not the super fast flat trajectory thing so much but most of us dont shoot at deer over about 20 to 25 yards.You may be surprized though to find out that we get nice penitration with a 45 or 50 pound bow, often way more than most get with a 70 pound wheel bow.Its really two diffrent types of hunting, not any better than wheel bow shooters, just a diffrent way of going about it.One thing most of us like about trad is that its so simple.Ask plenty of questions in the pow wow section, you will get a lot of help there.

[Gdance]

Thanks for the info!  

The 400's do shoot pretty decent out of the Grizzly which is a 52# bow.  As I get further into this process, I plan to buy some different spined test arrows and tips.  

I'm looking for other challenges as a hunter and I've always loved shooting recurves!  I'm from Michigan so I automatically have a passion for Fred Bear and Bear bows.  

I have taken many deer with my compounds a recurve kill is on my bucket list!  

Thanks again for the help!