A Weekend With Joe Nastke

[Armand]

I spent a weekend at a shoot here in Maine with Joe Nastke from Shooter's Highlands, Joe had a brought a few items from his collection of Bear Archery, wow i was so into the items he had that the gentleman i was shooting with was a little put off by my lack of interest of shooting, Joe had brought a few file sets and a few A-Risers as i was looking at the i noticed the A-Riser had a signature on it and it was sign by Fred himself and it was really special holding that bow knowing that Fred had used this himself, well after the guy finally got me to go shoot a round i came right back to where Joe was and he had a case out with some file sets and two of them were gifts that he was given while hunting and visiting with Glen St. Charles and Frank Scott, the generosity of our founding fathers to give friends items that belonged to them as memories of hunts with them, spread out so far and wide to all of us that get a chance to see them and hold them, well i had brought two of my Bears there to shoot and Joe had dated them for me to 1974 and congratulated me on a lucky find of two unfired bows of that era. After we talked for a while i guess Joe could see that i was about as addicted to the Bear Archery history as anyone he had met so he asked me to follow him to his vehicle and pulled out a gold plated A-Riser Kodiak Anniversary Special Edition marked 7 of 12 and handed the bow to me and told me to go shoot this one and see how i liked that bow, that had me stunned and solidly locked in a state of disbelief, i was standing there holding a gold plated bow that only 12 in the world had been produced, i asked him what he just said because i wasn't sure i had heard it right, Joe laughed and said shoot it, i do, i must of looked like a kid in a candy store with a handful of change, off to the practice butts i went and that was quite a weekend of shooting, to be able to hold items that once belonged to Fred Bear, Frank Scott and Glen St.Charles and now to be shooting a rare piece of Bear History Numbered 7 of 12, i do not know if you are on here Joe but you will always be my fondest memory of shooting traditional archery.

[OldSkoolArcher]

Like I mentioned on the other site, I can't wait to see the pics!!!

[d. ward]

Joe is a great guy bd

[vintage-bears]

Originally posted by Armand:
I spent a weekend at a shoot here in Maine with Joe Nastke from Shooter's Highlands, Joe had a brought a few items from his collection of Bear Archery, wow i was so into the items he had that the gentleman i was shooting with was a little put off by my lack of interest of shooting, Joe had brought a few file sets and a few A-Risers as i was looking at the i noticed the A-Riser had a signature on it and it was sign by Fred himself and it was really special holding that bow knowing that Fred had used this himself, well after the guy finally got me to go shoot a round i came right back to where Joe was and he had a case out with some file sets and two of them were gifts that he was given while hunting and visiting with Glen St. Charles and Frank Scott, the generosity of our founding fathers to give friends items that belonged to them as memories of hunts with them, spread out so far and wide to all of us that get a chance to see them and hold them, well i had brought two of my Bears there to shoot and Joe had dated them for me to 1974 and congratulated me on a lucky find of two unfired bows of that era. After we talked for a while i guess Joe could see that i was about as addicted to the Bear Archery history as anyone he had met so he asked me to follow him to his vehicle and pulled out a gold plated A-Riser Kodiak Anniversary Special Edition marked 7 of 12 and handed the bow to me and told me to go shoot this one and see how i liked that bow, that had me stunned and solidly locked in a state of disbelief, i was standing there holding a gold plated bow that only 12 in the world had been produced, i asked him what he just said because i wasn't sure i had heard it right, Joe laughed and said shoot it, i do, i must of looked like a kid in a candy store with a handful of change, off to the practice butts i went and that was quite a weekend of shooting, to be able to hold items that once belonged to Fred Bear, Frank Scott and Glen St.Charles and now to be shooting a rare piece of Bear History Numbered 7 of 12, i do not know if you are on here Joe but you will always be my fondest memory of shooting traditional archery.

Nice to hear that you were captivated by Fred Bear and his magical bows.
The rabbit hole goes deep and once your hooked.......your HOOKED for life. A great thing!

Joe is an old friend, great guy and an avid Bear enthusiast.
Frank Scott was a dear friend of mine and was hunting with me at my farm here in NY shortly before he passed away. I invited Joe and introduced him to Frank. He signed lot's of things for us. He was quite a guy.
Glenn St.Charles was a great man as well. Very approachable and always willing to share stories. He was always willing to sign things.
The 12 A risers you mention were Repro's using leftover Signature bow hardware that Bear had left in the vaults. I believe 3Rivers archery commisioned them being made between 2001-2003, don't remember exactly.
They are very nice indeed.....

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Once you get pulled into the world of ( BEAR )
its all over ,that being said its oh so fun.
 ,,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,,

[Armand]

we are kinda in a not so good area up here in Maine to find a lot of vintage pieces, i don't believe it was as popular around here as other places, i do scour every pawn and antique store and ask at every yard sale i stop at, i am hooked and people tell me i am crazy, but i don't drink, i hate the taste of most of it and the stuff i like cost to much so if i am going to be a addict i am going to be a bear addict

[vintage-bears]

Armand, Joe is also a Bear dealer and now on their pro staff and he can hook you up with the new bear t/d. I have seen them and they are very nice. The quality is very good. The fit and finish is great....philip

[Armand]

Originally posted by vintage-bears:
Armand, Joe is also a Bear dealer and now on their pro staff and he can hook you up with the new bear t/d. I have seen them and they are very nice. The quality is very good. The fit and finish is great....philip

We have already exchanged the phone numbers for the moment i get the funds tucked away without my better half figuring out what i am up to, i need to get selling some of the stuff i have tucked away, i used to run a archery shop and was part owner in a comic book and baseball card shop,I got paid off in product when it closed last time i did a count i had about 10g's in books packed away, so if i can move them out i will be  sitting fat and happy and will really start building my own little collection of items to pass on to my grand baby's, the economy is so crappy up here where i live that it is a slow process, i have one grandson already and my son hasn't even start to reproduce yet so i figure i will have a few and that is going to be the excuse i need to build a collection, I am glad that the good stuff comes slow enough that i can usually find something i don't need when the time comes to buy a nice piece.

[d. ward]

OK I got to say this I know I know it kills us to hear this about our self.I hate it but.......you are addicted my friend you are addicted big time and you have man-ed up and said hey my name is Armand and I have an addiction.You are a real man sir.
I got addicted long ago to vintage bear archery tackle and there is no turning back now for guy's like us.There is no cure to this addiction.The one's that think they get cured are only cured for a short time.They all come back they can't live without it you gotta have it.......geezus I love it bd

[vintage-bears]

Donnie, I have to admit that I am cured! I am not addicted anymore. I'm fine. I don't even think about it really. I don't need this old junk. Who cares about old bear bows? Not me. You can buy a new bow with a warranty. Who needs these old relics? Not me. Why? Because I don't need them. I'm fine. They only cost me money. Who needs the aggravation of chasing them too? Not me. I'm fine. All the variations and models and condition and weight...Who the hell needs that. Not me.
I'm fine
I'm fine
I'm fine
I'm fine
I'm fine
I'm fine
I'm fine
I'm fine
I'm fine
I'm fine
I'm fine
Not that I care,because I don't, but Fred Bear loved dry fly fishing as much as bowhunting.
Nevermind.   I'm fine.
Vintage-Bears...What a silly screen name! But I'm fine.......philip

PS: I found a beauty recently! A 55# 60" Kodiak Deluxe.......Somebody HELP ME!

[d. ward]

Hey Phil I got a mint condition unshot 1969 Bear Super Kodiak 60" 55#'s for my wife the other day.........god I'am gonna miss her bd

[Armand]

I just love the reaction on some of my friends faces when i bring out a piece to shoot and tell them hey check this out it's a 1975, they kinda look at me and say "whats a matter you couldn't fine anything newer than that", wow they really don't get it

[vintage-bears]