early bear static recurve w Aluminum core?

[BostonBowman]

Just saw a 1951 ish static recurve with a mid layer of aircraft aluminum. Ever hear of this before? definitely an early bear, half the serial number missing.

Story goes. A 1950's longbow champ from Rhode Island shot at some events with Fred, he gave the longbow champ this this  bow Bear had made up using scrap aluminum from the war.

Ever seen other early bows made this way? rare? how collectable?

[Pack animal]

Hello BostonBowman
There are a couple great posts here which help identify early Bear bows.  By these guides; the one you mention could be either a 1950-51 Kodiak or a 1949-51 Grizzly, depending on the model of bow glass backing and the belly wood.  These bows are around. I believe they make a great addition to any Bear collection.  From everything I have read...IT IS NOT ADVISABLE TO ATTEMPT TO SHOOT ONE, they have a tendency to delaminate.

[warpedarrow]

I have two of them.  They are easy to spot on the rack because the aluminum takes on a memory and they are curved back instead of angling forward on the limbs.  I also have a Polar that has the aluminum laminate that is not covered by a wood layer.  They are around and collectable.  The bows had serious delamination problems and Fred dropped them pretty quickly from his lineup. I understand that the aluminum laminate design nearly bankrupted the company because of all the bows being returned for replacement.  They are wall hangers only and the price can range from $100 to near $1000 depending on how much someone wants them.  I think that I paid about $250 for the first one and bought the second one for about $100.  The Polar cost me $70. If you want a collection, you need one of these conversation pieces.