1963? Kodiak special

[Xavier]

Just checking if this is '63? Just picked it up.

 
 
 
 

[Horney Toad]

It does look like a 1963 with a bubinga riser.

[Jack Shanks]

I would say 63'. The grip comes out past the limb horns and that was the profile of that year only. I have one as well.

[59Alaskan]

Very nice bow!  I bet it's a pleasure to shoot.

[Xavier]

thanks! it will be a pleasure... once i get a string (don't have one for 63") AND i need arrows now because this is #30 - and all my bows are #40-45. That just reminded me! i need to plug in the data in that awesome spine calculator!

[Kelly]

Humm, thought I had a 1063 Kodiak Special but it doesn't look at all like the one pictured above. Mine has Zebrawood in the handle, light pea green glass and no horns in the handle shape at all. The grip is way forward of the rest of handle, though.

So if this is a 1963 then what do I have, 61 or 62" ?

[Xavier]

Maybe a 61 or 62.

From a post by Wade:
1961 – 1967 Kodiak Specials listed in Bear Catalogs

1961 – 63”, 66”, 69” – Soft Green glass, Zebrawood Riser
1962 – 63”, 66”, 69” – Soft Green glass, Brazilian Rosewood Riser
1963 – 63”, 66”, 69” – White glass, Rosewood Caps, Bubinga Riser, Shelf in front of Caps
1964 – 63”, 66”, 69” – White glass, Rosewood Caps, Bengal Wood Riser, Rounded Sight Window Corner
1965 – ……. 66”, 69” – White glass, Brazilian Rosewood Caps, Brazilian Bubinga Riser, Scalloped Sight Window


Just realized i can probably use my 1916's - just increase the tip to 200gr and that will reduce spine enough.
I love that calculator!

[Kelly]

Guess I have a 1961 then. Cool!

[damascusdave]

You will find that a 63 inch 63 KS is nothing but trouble. The smartest thing you can do is to sell it to me.

DDave

[damascusdave]

This is a 66 inch KS that I only shoot when I am wanting to shoot very well. Otherwise it just sits around gathering dust.

DDave

 

[damascusdave]

Double whammy, too big and out of focus. One of these days I need to spend about 2 weeks sorting out pics and organizing them.

DDave

[Xavier]

63 63 ha ha won't know if it's trouble til I shoot it. I am admiring it though! Need to get a string first.

[damascusdave]

I was coveting a 63 63 in brand new condition that bearbowman had a while back. I just think that would be an ideal length for me with a 30 inch draw. My lucky number is 7 and of course 63 is nine 7's.

He wanted 650 bucks for that bow, which is probably a fair price but more than I was willing to pay. The 63 inch version is a pretty rare bird.

In my opinion the 63 KS is one of the nicest looking bows ever built. Those Brazilian Rosewood riser caps just make the bow unique. The 64 is similar, but somehow to me the routered riser detracts from the overall look.

Mine is not pristine and I thought about refinishing it. Then I realized that those imperfections are really character marks that add to, rather than detract from, the appearance of a bow that is nearly fifty and I decided to just give it a good coat of wax and leave it at that.

DDave

[Xavier]

Thanks for the encouraging words. Yeah I decided pretty quickly that I would not refinish this one, it's in great shape.

[damascusdave]

I was sitting with mine for a while yesterday and realized I should be darn happy to have a nice 66 incher. They may not be the best shooting bow in the world, nor the best looking, but as a combination of the two they have to be a candidate for the best production bow ever built.

Enjoy and thanks for posting and reminding me to be thankful for what I have.

DDave

[damascusdave]

And I just checked and that pristine 63 incher is still available. I would be a fool to let that one get away.

I will make sure to post some pics in this thread if I do end up with it. I will even make sure they are in focus.

DDave