Kodiak Magnum - Year made?

[arrowslinger22]

My girlfriend bought me a surprise present.  I've been teaching her how to shoot trad bows.  Out of nowhere, she finds a Kodiak Mag, 52", 58#, in great shape, almost perfect, it has forest green glass and a copper or gold flush coin.  Serial #13CC20. Nice overlays and two woods in the riser with a stripe.  I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how to find the year it was made.  I've checked the stickbow collectors site and wasn't able to nail it down. Thanks!

[kodmag1]

Sound's like a 1964.  Is the stripe curved?  If so, then it is definitely a 1964.  Great bow.

[arrowslinger22]

Thanks alot guys.  I really appreciate your help. It does have the curved stripe and the woods certainly look like rosewood and bubinga. It's a great looking little bow, I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, too busy hunting and working.  Doesn't seem to have any finger pinch at 27".  Might be a good one to use in my ground blind.  Thanks again for the help.

[PAPALAPIN]

SPENCER

A '64 KOD MAG in the shape you describe should have a great collectors value,  AND...  In the uncommon heavy weight of 58#, it is certainly a rare bow.

The Kodiak Magnum first appeared in 1961.  The '61 & '62 miodel are very similar.  In '63 Bear came out with the DOGLEG design which was pretty much a bust.  The design that they came out with in '64 was a good one, to the point that it has not changed too much over the years.  Look at a brand new KODIAK MAGNUM and a '64 model.  Not a lot of difference other than the riser woods, accent striping and glass color.  The basic shape of the riser, limbs, and total cut of the bow pretty much remains the same.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Now this is not to take anything away from the '61, '62, or '63 models.

The '61's & '62's with their Brazilian Rosewood risers are beauties as well as great shooters.  The '63's are very good looking bows with the Bubinga risers, but they had a problem staying in one piece, especially in heavier weights.  Bear made three versions that year in an attempt to solve the cracking up problem.  The TYPE I,  TYPE II,  and TYPE III.

TYPE I is the more dramatic dogleg design and they started cracking up almos immediately.  Bear honored their warranty and replaced all that were turned in with  the ...

TYPE II, which had a less dramatic "dogleg" to it.  These performed better but did not totally solve the "crack-up" problem.  So Bear came out with the ...

TYPE III and these pretty much more solid bows qith much less problems.  These have the leaset dogleg design of the three

The main difference between the three is the abount of glass that contacted the wood of the riser, or rather the glass and the core lamination contact to the riser.  

In any case, after '63 Bear abandoned that design and came out with the '64 model which was a lot more dependable.

If I remember correctly, the '63 DOGLEG series (Kodiak, Kodiak Mag, Cub, Grizzley, ???) were the only Bear hunting bows that had no glass continuing all the way across the back of the riser.  All otheres either had a solid lamination of glass from tip to to, or accented laminations on the back of the risers, even though the Kodiak, Grizzley, and Cub did not have the bad reputation that plagued the '63 Kodiak Magnums.  

In my opinion, if you pick up a '63 Kodiak Magum Type I or II,  DON'T SHOOT IT!! = Don't even string it up.  The Type III is safe to shoot.

Sounds like you got a great bow.

[kodmag1]

PAPALAPIN,
   You are correct on everything above except that the '61 Kodiak Magnum was not rosewood.  It was typically Bubinga and sometimes had a purpleheart I-Beam section.  
   The '64, '65, '66, and '67 models all have the curved stripe through the riser, but only the '64 and '65 had contrasting woods.
   The '68 went back to a one piece wood riser with Shedua being the choice.  In '69, there were 4 versions of the Magnum produced, 1)Shedua with white tips 2) Shedua with black tips 3) Tigerwood with white tips 4) and Tigerwood with black tips.
  In 1970, Bear went back to the striped models with contrasting woods but, the stripe was straight up and down.  This continued until 1972, when the green futurewood version came out and ran until the Grayling plant closing in 1978.

[PAPALAPIN]

KODMAG1

I have to defer to your superior knowledge of the Bear bows, and humbly stand corrected.  I am never to old to learn, so thanks for the education.  

In my humble opinion, I feel that the '60's were the premier years for Bear Bows.  I have never been a fan of the "K" models of the '70's, although some folks may like them.  It was somewhere around that time that Bear  sold out to Victor Comptometer, Inc., and if I remember correctly, somewhere in there they were owned by Kidde Corp.  That may be about when the changes occured due to Bear losing complete control of the company.  In any case, when the "K" began to appear in the SN number, it started downhill.  When the raised plastic medallion replaced the flat coin, that was the final nail in the coffin.

I think at that time Bear started focusing more on them new fangled contraptions with wheels and pulleys.  In an effort to keep their place in the market, they let the recurve line suffer.  That is about when the Custom Kodiak Takedown met its demise and was replaced by the Minute Man type of takedowns.  Too bad because Bear was one of the best makers of recurves until that time.

Just my thoughts, and my opinions.

[kodmag1]

PAPALAPIN,
  Didn't mean to come off as trying to re-educate you but just to give what little I know about the subject.  I don't know everything and I am wrong quite often! As you can probably tell by my handle, I collect Kodiak Magnums.  I agree that the 1960's models, and in particular the curve stripe models, are very beautiful.  It's amazing the woods and workmanship that went into the 60's bows is similar to today's custom bows.

[PAPALAPIN]

KODMAG1

I did not intend to infer that you were being a know-it-all.  Like you, I feel that I know quite a bit about lots of things in Traditional Archery, but I know I don't know it all.  Like you, I like to share my knowledge, but I always like to learn something from someone that knows a bit more than me.  

I like the old saying  "A smart man is one that knows what he does not know".


Pleeaaase - feel free to correct any error I post.  Not only are you keeping the information accurate, you are helping me to learn a bit more.

I got into archery about 1955 at age 9, but that was just backyard stuff. My first bow was one hand made by the Cherokke Indians that I bought for $10.00 with three arrows.  You know, the cheap flat bows sold to the tourist. I progressedfrom there and in 1967 we formed a NFAA club and I really got into it big time.  After a long layoff I got back in about 1997 as a collector and that is where my accumulation of knowledge really started.  I don't pretend to be an expert and I always want to learn more.  So not only do I want you to feel free to correct me, I am requesting it.  

Any time I ever speak to someone like TOM TAYLOR ot STEVE SMITH about Bear bows, I tend to keep my mouth shut and listen rather than embarrass myself by making them aware of my lack of knowledge.

HEY!  That's what we are all here for.  To share our knowledge and interest for a sport that we all love.  That's why I come to TRAD GANG.

Even though the number one rule on the SITE is RESPECT for others, I have never seen a situation where disrespect was the order of the thread.

Great bunch of guys and gals here.  I don't even let my ego get in the way when it becomes obvious that some girl like KILLDEER might know something about Trad Archery that I don't.  Collectively, there is a lot of knowlede here and everyone seems to be willing to share it.

Keep the corrections and the information coming.  I really appreciated your thoughts.