Harry Drake flight bow info

[vintage-bears]

I have what I think are Harry Drake flight bows.
Very short static tip aqnd quite heavy.
65# @ 23" for example and 51" static tip to tip
and the other with a metal overdraw is 42 1/2" with amazing tip work.
Trying to load pics but photobucket not cooperating.

Does anyone have pics to show?

.........Philip

[raghorn]

[oldbohntr]

Hey Ron, that bow looks familiar! How are things?

Philip, I've got about 8 Drake Flight bows on the wall, and lots of pics, etc. The heaviest one is marked 80#, but draw length is not indicated.   Most of his flight bows are not marked with his name. Look for wedged tips-that's an indicator.

I will try to take some pics this weekend.
In the meantime, here is one of Harry's last shot-at the '97 nationals.  He died the next night.  

 http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc483/oldbohntr/HarryDrakeslastshot1.jpg

[vintage-bears]

Thank you Ron and Tom.

The 2 bows I have here are very early Drake flight bows. My brother discovered them years ago while collecting bows. He got them from an old fella who told him they were Harry's flight bows.
Both static tipped and the longer one is either Osage or yew with sinew backing and the other shorter one has the diamond weave glass on one side similiar to Bears early glass and what appears to be white glass on belly. This is the shortest one being 42" and the identical metal over draw shelf attached.

Can I ask one of you guys to help post pics if I emailed them to you?

......Philip

[Liquid Amber]

Fasco acquired Drake Archery Company in 1964.  They made the Shark, Firedrake and Hunter-Flight bows.

Harry Drake retained the flight portion of Drake Archery and made his own flight bows under the Drake Archery name.

[oldbohntr]

Yes, Philip send the pics and I'll post them tonight. [email protected]

[vintage-bears]

I emailed them to you Tom.
Thanks very much.

.....Philip

[oldbohntr]

Wow,I don't like the look of the new photobucket. I chose the option to revert to the old one.

 

 

 

 

 

  http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc483/oldbohntr/drake6PL.jpg

[oldbohntr]

Wow, those are different from any Drakes I've seen. It seems that Harry was always unconventional and unafraid to try anything.  A friend who met him several times told me that towards the end of his life he was on a quest to duplicate the recorded feats of the ancient Turks, and whoever else, with bows he made from the same materials and methods they used. He was the flight bow genius of his time, but could never get a flight bow that would match the feats of those ancient archers using their methods.

[vintage-bears]

Tom.
I sent you detailed pics of numbers and such on the bows.
Analyze them and keep in touch.
Thanks again Tom.

......Philip

[2treks]

Cool Stuff Philip

[kuch]

Very Cool !

[oldbohntr]

Here's a coupla interesting flight things.  A Harry Drake foot bow(w/o stirrups)and a picture of him shooting one(can't tell if it's the same bow.) He shot over a mile with a foot bow.  The picture of Drake shows him with an early Turkish recurve flight bow and one of his attempts to match it.  They say it was a real significant task to string one of those little Turkish bows.  And a Charlie Pierson flight bow that likely dates back at least to the 60s) is only 29.5" long tip to tip.  Draw weight is marked 64# @ 24".  It has no wood core in the limbs-looks like two outside layers of glass and one center lam that is black: couldn't be carbon, could it?  Charlie's father was E. Bud Pierson, from Cincinnati, and he was making bows in the fifties and maybe before that.  

   

 

[2treks]

Tom, A bow similar to your foot bow was just on the E,  bay but I can't find the ad now. It was a bow that he shot over 1000yds with.
I really like flight shooting. Thanks for all the pics guys.
CTT

[raghorn]

Tom brought that laminated (Pierson) bow to a shoot here in Colorado several years ago. I tried to talk him into stringing it up, grabbing a flight arrow and shoot it through the chronograph. He said NO, but we had some interesting discussions as to what the speed would be.

[vintage-bears]

Look at this little flight bow when pictured next to a 52" Kodiak Magnum. Amazing!

 

.......Philip

[dkard]

The rests on those bows were made from Pepsodent toothbrushes. They had the right give to be a good flight rest or so my friend has told.  He was a good friend of Harry's. He has several of Harry's bows and arrows.

dave