Here this should be a big help.
http://www.stickbow.com/FEATURES/COLLECTING/beararchery/index.CFM How To Date Bear Bows A very common question from beginning Bear bow collectors is how to determine the age of a bow. There are many features and changes applied by Bear over the years which will help you in determining your bows model year.
Note - A great deal of the credit for the following information is due to Mr. Al Reader of North Haledon, New Jersey. Al has studied Bear Archery for many, many years and is considered by everyone as the King of Information regarding Bear Archery collecting.
First, if your bow is all wood, meaning that there is no laminations of any kind, then your bow had to be made before the mass production beginning in 1949. If your all wood bow has a stamp which says "Bear Products" in some form, then it had to be before the early-mid forties. If your all-wood bow says "Bear Archery", then it had to be manufactured after the early-mid forties and before 1949. Wooden bows with a small "Running Bear" decal can be dated to 1948.
Another way is to look for a leather grip. All Bear bows had leather grips from those first Grumley’s in the late 30’s until 1959. In 1959, the Kodiak Special dropped the leather grip, and in 1961 the Kodiak followed suit. The Grizzly kept the leather grip until 1964.
Yet another way to help determine the age of your bow is to look for a coin type medallion in the riser. Beginning in 1959, all Bear bows had a coin medallion of one type or another. The coin was copper in 1959, then changed to Aluminum in 1960-61, and Pewter in 1962. Brass coins were used in 1963-1970, and nickel-silver in 1971-72. The coins were all flush with the wood until 1972. Then in late 1972 it was raised above the surface of the bow. These raised medallions came in both gold and chrome covered plastic and are still used in todays Bear bows.
Note - Using the medallions for dating bows is not an absolute rule with Bear bows, as sometimes the plant would just throw medallions in a bin and the bow maker would reach in and grab medallions which may have been from a year or two earlier.
Place of Manufacture
In 1978, a strike at the Bear plant in Grayling, MI forced a move of all manufacturing and offices to Gainesville, Florida. If your bow says Gainesville on it, then you know that it was made after this move.
Topic: Bear Kodiak Hunter (Read 341 times)
