'63 Tamerlane (first year they were made).
Bought new and received it in January after I ordered in December of '62 so it had superb fine grained rosewood as it was one of the first out of the factory. Traded for a take-down when I got out of the Navy in '70, so my wife reminds me.
However, I would not shoot it much now if I found it. Just look at it everyday as it was some super duper really beautiful bow. The others I saw at the field archery tournaments later that year were not as good looking as mine in regard to the wood grain, color and interesting grain patterns. When they put those side plates on them in '64, Bear did no favors to the design of their most beautiful bows. I thought the side plates were ugly, and evidently so does many other people as the '63's are sought more now. Like the old Black Widows which had painted risers (all did from '62 back). Fantastic designed bows, but the painted risers did little to show off the great design of the bows. However, a lot the best shooters shot them. Looks are important to me if I'm forking out money for the best.
Now glad to have a bunch of old Bears (Specials and Kodiaks) with Brazilian rosewood to look at and none of them cost me much compared to buying a new top end custom bow with fancy woods. These old Bear classics are a bargin for looks and performance.
Think I'm happy and very thankful with what I got ('59, '60, '62 Specials and '61, '62 Kodiaks and a few others).
Topic: What bow would you want back? (Read 2833 times)
