bears with stamped handles?

[Lordswarrior]

i think i've seen a post on this same topic but can't remember where- i've recently picked up a polar and a kodiak that have a star stamped on / under the serial #.  was that done at the factory? were these bows that were returned and refinished or repaired? they are both in very good to excellent shape .

[damascusdave]

There seems to be quite a lot of speculation about what those extra stamps indicate but I am not sure that anyone has a definitive answer...sometimes a bit of mystery in the old bow realm is not such a bad thing...let us know though if either of these bows blows up at full draw so we can be more cautious about what we buy eh

DDave

[Bjorn]

The Bear salesman carried a stamping too in his kit. The stars are typically discounted bows and year end clearance.
The '2's you see on some bows are cosmetic blemishes or defects; I have bows with as many as three '2's. But the blemish or defect is not easy to determine, as it is cosmetic. The'2's were applied in the factory. Anybody have a bow with a star and '2's?

[Dan Cressman]

None with a 2 but I have an outstanding 62 Kodiak mag with a star. No repair, no damage, nothing. I am in the camp that it was stamped by a salesman and not returned for warranty work.

[Babbling Bob]

Have a '62 Kodiak with a star and there appears to be nothing wrong with it. One of the best I have seen or owned in regard to the grain of the Brzillian rosewood.

[trubltrubl]

what about the B stamp

[warpedarrow]

I can't even remember seeing a picture of a B stamp on a old bow.  Is this on a fairly new bow?

[papabear08]

My son has a B on a 1970 type 1 T/D riser previously owned by a well known collector. You'd never know anything was amiss with it.

[trubltrubl]

B stamp on 1970 B riser..beautiful bow....not sure what it means..in very nice condition..I now have a few finish cracks that developed from hunidity change  but was just wondering what the B meant

[jim g]

I think I was told many years ago it was a blemished bow or a second by an employee of Bear Archery, I used to hang around the proshop and museum quite a bit, in fact Fred would sometimes work the proshop on Sunday mornings and would take us up and play any movie we wanted to see.
Neat experience.

[trubltrubl]

thanks..didn't see a blemish on it..but has developed a few cracks in the varnish from humidity change I think....as long as the thin cracks don't let in moisture I  will leave it...love the bow,,,can't miss with it and smooth...