From a marketing standpoint, the Minuteman and '76'ers were price point bows....entry level takedowns. 76'ers were introduced in the '73 catalog and Minuteman's in the '74 catalog. Both bows were initially offered with two length's of riser...simply referred to as long and short.
The Minuteman's main distinction was it's fiberglass and maple laminated limbs whereas the 76'ers had solid fiberglass limbs. I have a left-hand Minuteman...the only one I've ever seen, but both bows were offered in left and right hand. The 76'er was a popular bow for bowfishing as they were practically bullet proof. There wasn't much one could do to harm it. The cast magnesium risers accepted the same plastic grips as did the more expensive mag handled takedown.
By the '77 catalog the bows were still offered but the names changed to Bearcat Takedown, 76'er Takedown Hunter, and the long risered Minuteman became the Victor Tigercat. The '78 catalog shows a Bearcat Takedown Hunter, Bearcat Takedown and Bear Target Takedown. Can't tell you when they were discontinued.
My LH Minutehand is only a 40lb bow, but I do not experience any handshock with it. I had to increase it's brace height to 8" to quite it down a little. Mine has a 1L grip handle on it, but a lot of them have no plastic grip handle and
perhaps that's the reason you're feelig handshock...
Tom I.