bear or martin?

[bigiron]

which of these would you buy over the other and why? bear grizzly or martin X200.

[michael kavouklis]

I have both and love them equally. It really all depends. I love the Fred Bear bows for nostalgia's sake. Speed wise, I will put the grizzly up against any custom bow that cost 3x the price. Martin's are great bows to. I am currently considering purchasing a Rebel.

[5deer]

the quality and craftsmanship of all the bears make them my picks    

[Rooselk]

If it were me, I'd go with the Martin. As to why, I just think that Martin's are better quality bow than the Bear's. But I'm sure that there are those that will disaree with me on that one.

[tarponnut]

They are both great(Martin and Bear). I love the Bear Grizzly but have not shot the X200, yet.
My favorite bow is my Martin Hatfield T/D.

[myshootinstinks]

I still own the Damon Howatt Coronado that my Dad gave me for a muley hunt in 1972.  It is near identical to Martin's current production x200. I still shoot it occasionally and it is still a good servicable bow.

[freefeet]

My first bow is a X200 35# and i really like it.  I draw it to 30" and it seems very happy with that and i feel very comfortable shooting it at that as well.

Never shot a Bear though so can't make any comparison.

[Stone Knife]

Do yourself a favor and buy a used Grizzly, they shoot just as good today as they did when they were new.  

   
   
   

[Apex Predator]

Martins all day!  They are still built one at a time in the old Howatt plant.  Does anyone know who the bowyers are at Bear?  Bear has some great history, but so does Howatt.  Bear has been under new ownership for a while now.  I haven't shot any new bears, but can highly recommend the Martin line.

[Stone Knife]

I owned a Martin Savannah that was a string eater.

[mcgroundstalker]

I had an old '67 Bear Grizzly that I hope to buy back real soon! Great bow and a quiet shooter for the money.

... mike ...

P.S. Hey Jim! I Can't Wait To Get Her Back!  

[smoke]

I've owned both and while I still have a soft spot in my heart for Bear bows, I'd go with a Martin.  For me, Martins just shoot better . . .and I'm not very impressed with Bear's current service department.

[Swamp Pygmy]

Not an opinion on either specific bow.

But I own a bear and a martin in the exact price range. By the dollar the martin is considerably better manufactured.

Not that there is anything wrong with the bear but there are a few spots glue wasn't perfect on the fade outs, etc. The martin is spotless. Not an imperfection on it except the laquer could've used another coat.

[seabound]

I'd consider both Bear and Martin to be in the same class. Both are nice makes. I've owned a Martin Dreamcatcher and Savannah. Now I own a Bear Royal Safari. I must admit I was more accurate with the Martins, although they were not built nearly as tough as the Bear is. Go to Cabelas and try both makes out.

[Bakes168]

I have not shot Martins, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Bears.
I do think that Bear bows don't have as high quiality finish as they used to. My Bear Montana is a great bow and I love it but at some spots it isn't perfect. Bears may not have as much craftsmanship put into them as they used to, that is the new one's aren't the eye candy that they used to be. But there's no doubt that they are still fast, tough, killing machines (in the right hands of course)    

Bakes

[deermaster1]

martin has amazing customer service.  i have not had any real experience with bears.