Bear collectors, play my silly game!!

[ckruse]

Ladies and gents, this is our first installment of "what's under all that paint"! Gimme your best guess, and I'll give you the story as we go.

 

[ckruse]

Here's another shot, my elbow is throbbing just looking at all that nice green paint!!

 

[ckruse]

Numbers can sometimes be of help.
 Me to my wife: "Wow at 55# this thing will be worth a mint all cleaned up and restored."

Her reply: "That would only matter if you were going to sell it, you haven't sold one yet!"

Good point!

 

[Jason Lester]

I'll narrow the time frame or at least I'll guess. Its 59-61. It still has the leather grip and is setup for the quiver
(not sure of the years on that)

As far as model I'll guess grizzly. Of course I'm just learning the collecting thing.

[Jason Lester]

Ok if its worth a mint it must be a Kodiak 59ish

 

[ckruse]

Good guess, however Grizzly's of this era were 62" bows, they went to 58" in 1964. Then changed to 56" for 68-71, then back to 58". Thanks for playing, hang in there!

[ckruse]

Kodiak is moving in the right direction!

[Rich Baker]

I have a 1952 kodiak that looks nothing like that???? I think its a mag

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

With the aluminum coin and 60" I would say a 1960 Kodiak. You are right a 60" 55# 1960 would get a lot of attention on eBay. Great find and good luck with it.. Does look to be a Bowdoc candidate, but mineral spirits and 0000 steel wool has cleaned the paint off of more than one for me..
Check the limb tips. Red and white 59 black and white 60, Then the sight window for wood types
Good luck with and lets see it all dressed up for the dance.

[ckruse]

I was thinking 60 Kodiak when I forked over the money. I was wrong. I'll post some more pics later and the truth will be revealed! I've already been in contact with Bowdoc about this one... and by the way the three holes were no extra charge.LOL CKruse

[Iowa hawkeye]

I'd say it's a Kodiak Mag (52"), about a 59'- 64' model.

[ckruse]

Nope, re-check the above pics. AMO is 60". Stand by for more pics later on. I'm still cleaning!!

[ckruse]

First off, thanks to those who took a stab. This was just for fun, not to show anyone up. Two years ago you could put what I knew about old Bear bows in a thimble. I still have lots to learn, and do so daily.

Like Earl said, I figured I had just purchased a 1960 Kodiak (for 55 bucks, by the way!)and was anxious to get it cleaned off. As I began cleaning, I noticed the glass color was not right for a 60. So I thought maybe a 60 with 61 glass. No, not the right color glass for a 61 (avacado green). The glass was gray which would indicate a 62. The wood was the dark Brazilian rosewood, also indicative of a 62. Six line strike plate, also 1962. Now keep in mind 1960 was the last production year for a leather grip. The key to that is the word production, not special order. What I have is a 1962 Kodiak with a special order leather grip and quiver bushing.

 

[ckruse]

I spoke with Don Ward (aka Bowdoc) and he said he has seen 2 1961's with leather grips, but this is the first 62.

 

[ckruse]

It has the small arrowhead shaped tips like a 61 or 62 Kodiak Magnum. The glass in this pic looks a little green as I still have more cleaning to do.

 

[ckruse]

This picture shows the front of the riser and the "skived" factory leather grip.

 

[ckruse]

And this one shows the burl grain in the Brazilian rosewood. Bowdoc will eventually be getting this one to do his magic with. The up side of this one is it shoots wonderfully, no twist, no big dings on the limb edges, tight tips, and almost no stress. The down side are the three holes, coin is somewhat worn(kwicky kwiver mount), and the silks appear to have either never been there or were obliterated by the green paint.

 

[raghorn]

You are going to really enjoy shooting that bow. I have one at 60# and a leftie. Mine also has the small tips. If you ever get the chance to compare it  side by side to a 61, you should see that the 61 was slimmer in the grip & riser. I like the gray glass of the 62 but the 61 grip was a bit nicer for me. I  also had a 61 RH 55# that I sold so I could buy this 62.

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

And off of eBay yet,, You dog.. I just found this on closed auctions. Way to go

[ckruse]

Dang it Ken, quit stalking me! I was trying to not feel "dirty" about this! As if this wasn't a cool enough deal, below is a copy of an email I received from the seller after asking if he knew any history on the bow. I figured it was probably just an estate auction or yard sale deal, but found out quite the opposite. The fellow is off a few years on the date the bow was acquired, but the rest is very interesting. It also helps explain why it was a special order.  Again, I can't claim anything but being in the right place at the right time. Below is my inquiry and his reply:

Hi, I got the bow, it arrived in fine shape.Just wondering if you knew any history on it, where it came from, or who owned it. Thanks, Cameron

Hi Cameron,
Yes, the bow was a one owner, it belonged to Charlie Hocknell, who personally knew Fred Bear and was a shooter rep for the Bear Co. This bow
was one of the first (around 1957) that he acquired from Bear as a rep,later on after getting more bows, he turned it into his primary hunting bow.Back in 1958, when I was 13 years old, Charlie and his wife Angie took me along with them to the NFAA nationals at Grayling, Michigan, what a great experience that was, it was the largest NFAA tournament ever with 1402
shooters.I wish you luck with the bow, do you plan to use it as is or refinish it?
Regards,
Charlie