grumley

[stephan barney]

need as mush info as i can get on a grumley t/d i have

[Horney Toad]

Start with some pictures.

[stephan barney]

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=151379;p=2#000016  the pics are here

[Twitko]

I believe more knowledgeable collectors will come later and give You more precise info, but meanwhile accept my humble opinions (and please keep in mind I can be wrong) :-)

Your bow looks like Deerslayer with TakeDown option (more details below). Deerslayer was in production until 1950, when it was replaced by Kodiak. Handwritten “BEAR ARCHERY” was used from 1941 to cca 1948 (there was stamp before and then water decals on the latest production of DS (transition models with biglass/woven backing).

Ad Nels Grumley … note, your bow is marked by BEAR ARCHERY only, without Nels signature. As far as I know (and believe) most bows he made have his signature too (see photo below).

   

Even more, at another thread I found this info :  "… From what I've been told,if Nels didn't make the bow from start to finish,he didn't sign it…  ". It could simply mean he just missed to sign this bow for whatever reason, or this bow was made by another person (Nels Grumley was not only bowyer in BA). Or this bow was made after he left company (in 1948) and before biglass backing was used …

Ad TD locking mechanism - this option is advertised in Bear catalog #20 (1947) As I don’t have older catalogs, I can only assume it was available even before.

Now one interesting detail … If You check picture below (comes from cat #20) you can see your bow has slightly different lock mechanism - your has longer “coupling pin”, while catalog version has smaller “crescent”. Not sure why this difference and what it could mean actually (sooner or later production ?)

   


At last some pictures of TD Deerslayer I have in my collection. It looks quite similar to your one, except locking (crescent). My bow has missing sign/signature at all .. probably removed by later tillering. On the other hand it was signed by Fred in 1983 ...

     
   
   
   

Hope it helps

TW
---- sorry for my English, I do my best :-)

[Wade Phillips]

Hello Stephen,

Your T/D bow is very nice. It is unquestionably a "Bear", however, it is not actually a "Grumley", as it was obviously made after Nels Grumley left Bear Archery. The printed "Bear Archery" is indisputable proof that Nels did not make it as the rounded "A" and other details of the printing characteristics are totally and completely different than any printing by Nels.

I have several "Bear Archery" bows from this era that have the identical printing, none of which were made by Nels Grumley. The fact that Nels did not make them becomes more than obvious when they are compared to numerous bows that Nels actually made and signed. The quality of workmanship and the artistry of the lines are noticeably different to a well trained eye that has spent untold hours examining the details of dozens of the these "Grumley" and "Non-Grumley" bows.

Your bow has the typical pin alignment of Bear's very late 1940s T/D bows. I presently own only  twelve (12) 1940's Bear T/D bows, but have owned and sold several others and examined perhaps a total of more than 36. Among those, there are several variations, with the alignment being the most significant variation. Bear's T/D of the era was a truly work in progress.

Your bow also has the typical lamination configuration, hickory back, yew core and osage belly, as well as the typical green macarta backing that was widely used in this time period, jut before Bear began to use the bi-directional or woven glass back.

Your bow dates from the mid to late 1948. The Deerslayer model was very popular in this period and many of them have survived.

Hope this helps to clear up a few questions.

Best regards, Wade