Help with Bow ID

[BDann]

I was given this bow about 10 years ago by a man named Fred Hurd.  He was involved with the startup of Wing Archery, and hunted with Bob Lee back in the day.  It was really cool hearing about his hunting adventures, and he took his first bear with this bow.  

Check it out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any ideas what this is?  I've always thought that perhaps it is a Wing prototype, but I have no idea.

[Blackhawk]

I found this...

"A lifelong archer, Bob Lee formed Wing Archery Supplies Company in 1951 with the help of friend and partner Fred Hurd. Initially Bob ran Wing out of Fred's garage shop in Houston but eventually was able to buy him out and move into the suburbs where Bob began to turn out first-rate custom bows."

I see this is a Houston-made bow, but not sure when he moved to Jacksonville, TX.  That's a very nice looking piece of history you have.

I think I would email Rob Lee (with those pics) and see if he can provide some more info.

[BDann]

Thanks for the info!  Where did you find that quote?

[BDann]

I dug around on the internet for a few minutes and found this photo of Fred with Bob Lee.

 

Fred Hurd was a great guy, full of awesome hunting stories.  He was the one responsible for my love of traditional archery.

[zepnut]

As Lon said ....nice piece of history.

[BDann]

Fred used to tell me stories of he and Bob Lee hunting alligators with their bows from canoes in the Houston area.  I remember seeing a photo from Bob's website of him holding an alligator in a canoe, and Fred is in the back with a paddle.  Fred also started the Houston Canoe Club, and competed in the first Texas Water Safari.  He was a really cool guy to talk with.

[Blackhawk]

Brian, the quote I posted was found on the Archery Hall of Fame site regarding Bob Lee's entry into the HOF.  I think I just googled "bob lee fred hurd archery"...or something like that.

Let us know if you get a reply from the Lee family about the bow.

[Larry m]

Is there a Root Archery connection somewhere. The glue up and riser design is very similar to the early 50's Root bows!!??
Any idea what the specs are.... amo, #'s, etc...

Nice Bow!!

[BDann]

It is possible that the bow isn't a Wing.  I'm not sure how early Bob started making bows.  He could have just put a Wing Archery sticker on it.  I looked at some photos of the Root recurves, and there is a similarity.  

There are no specs anywhere on the bow, but it is fairly short, maybe 58" or 60".

I would love to know what this thing is.

Would I be better off having this bow cleaned up and refinished or should I leave it as is?

[Larry m]

It seems everyone has a different perspective when it comes to refinishing....
I myself would just clean it up a bit and leave it as it is..... A little careful rubbing and polishing will go a long way!

There are some very knowledgeable Wing Collectors and Archery Historians that frequent this site that hopefully could help you out.

Neat piece of Archery History!!!

[Bjorn]

I would leave the bow as is-it is in great shape now and has some irreplaceable patina. Nice history-email Bob Lee.
A number of bows looked like that in the 50's. I would have guessed Corky Anderson, perhaps. Numerous bowyers in the San Diego area laid up risers like that; many were  influenced by Harry Drake at the time.

[Larry m]

  !!! Good appreciated info.....

Really like that rounded limb tip and overlay.....

[Ted Fry]

I would bet that is a Frank Eicholtz bow , looks like maybe a Venus or Neptune model, but as Bjorn stated there were many bowyers of that era making similar bow styles.