1960 Kodiak Deluxe Grand Slam

[Wade Phillips]

In the decade long search to find the 60" Kodiak Deluxe Serial Number IA001...

It was more than good fortune to fall into a trade for another missing Crystlight previously absent from this 1960 all star lineup...

Never dreamed of acquiring the monster of all Crystlights, the 100# Wedge Sight Window.

John, thanks so much for the trade. This photograph does not do this brute justice.

Not sure if these four should be called the Kodiak Deluxe Grand Slam or Crystlight Quadruplets ???

HA 001 - 56”
IA 723 - 60” - Yes, still looking for the 60" serial number IA 001
LA 001 – 64”
LA 408 – 64” 100# – Wedge Sight Window

   

[Horney Toad]

Wow! How is the glass on the 100# bow? Much stress or bubbling?

[jcar315]

Grand slam is a great name for the 4 of them. Really something to see together like that. You used the right word "brute" to describe that 100#! I am afraid I would pull something trying to string it up.

Wade, Not to be too dumb but what is the difference in the serial # prefixes: HA / IA / LA   What does this mean or signify? Thanks as always

[Wade Phillips]

The 100# has no stress at all.

No bubbling.

There is a little milk in the clear glass just below the Kodiak Deluxe Silk Screen and about the same spot on lower limb.

[Wade Phillips]

John - You ask a very good question about Bear serial numbers.

There are some patterns to the madness of Bear's Grayling serial numbers for certain years, but the patterns change, sometimes just into the year and other times in the middle of the year or at the end of the year.

In 1959 there was a serial number pattern that was established after production got rolling that apparently continued into at least part of 1960...

If you check down toward the bottom of the first page of the thread….  

Bear Kodiak Specials 1955-1967 Identification Guide   http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=002059#000000  

You will see in this pattern, the first letter designated the model of the bow and its length e.g.,

1959 62" Kodiak Special = V
1959 64" Kodiak Special = W
1959 66" Kodiak Special = X
1959 68" Kodiak Special = Y
1959 70" Kodiak Special = Z

Note again, there are exceptions clearly shown on the Kodiak Special Identification Thread which proves the point that in some instances, serial numbers can be as unreliable as using coins for dating Bear bows.

The second letter designated the order of the run that the bow was produced.

The three numbers designated the order within the run that the bow was produced.

WA001 would continue to WA999 then WB001 would run to WB999, etc...

For the 1960 model year, the design of Kodiak Deluxe bows shown above were produced and the designation for the different lengths of those bows were...

56" Kodiak Deluxe = H
60" Kodiak Deluxe = I
64" Kodiak Deluxe = L

During this period each model and length of Bear Bow that I am familiar with had its own single letter designation that was the first letter of its serial number.

At some point in 1960, this nice neat little letter/number scheme was turned upside down and inside out.

[jcar315]

Wade, Thanks for the insight into the serial #'s and letter designation. Just curious if you can shed any light on the whole serial # thing with Bear. Why was it so subject to change? As always thanks so much.

[sticknstring+]

Wow Wade!  You must have made up really sweet trade package to get that baby.  Awesome Grand Slam!

[Wade Phillips]

John - Sure wish I could give you a simple explanation for the changing of the serial numbers for the Grayling Bears but it is just possible for me to do that.

I never really cared for serial numbers because they changed so much from year to year and becasue there are so many exceptions. Al Reader tracked a lot of serial numbers and I felt comfortable that when the time came Al would lay out his years of findings with his always very logical explanations. Now that Al is gone, that certainly isn't going to happen.

After the thread for the TD serial number got started, and I stumbled across Frank Scott's old notes, I realized that we need to get the patterns of the serial numbers of the other Bear bows documented too.

I've been adding pages of my notes to Frank's and right now have a total of about 30 pages on serial numbers. Everything from Franks notes has to be checked against actual bows for accuracy, because lets face it, everyone makes mistakes, typoes, transpostions, etc.

Just Kodiaks from 1950 to 1966 and Kodiak Specials from 1955 to 1967 is well over 100 bows when you figure just the model years and the lengths and the riser styles.

I've been working on those two to start off with because I have a lot of them and know them better than the other Bears. I don't want to start on any other bows until those two are finished.

Have always been most interested in the era from the 1930s Grumleys to the end of the Kodiak or the Kodiak Specials 1967. For what I want to collect, my collection is pretty much complete for that era.

Never really had an interest in more than a couple of the 68 to 78 Grayling bows,  so may just wrap up the research at 1967 as originally planned and let others take it from there.

Bernie has the T/D stuff under control. I'm not a TD collector so glad to see that is being taken care of by a very capable person.

Rich - Will get photos of the 100# lams for you.

Greg - Glad you like the Deluxe Grand Slam. I've traded countless hundreds of items over the years and trading top of the line archery collectibles is always a lot of fun. At that point, each party wants something more than what they have. Would sort of be like if you traded off that 61 Kodiak Special for a bow you wanted more than the 61 (not sure what that might be).

[Wade Phillips]

Rich, Here is the 100# Kodiak Deluxe Lam photograph you requested...

Thought it would be best to have a reference so put the 31# 56" Kodiak Deluxe next to it for a comparison... Quite a difference...

   

[damascusdave]

I am going to bring this thread back around...that picture of the four Kodiak Deluxes is the stuff of legends

DDave

[eidsvolling]

If you got a big bear angry with a misplaced shot with the "brute", you could just rap him on the soft part of his nose with that tip. If that didn't do the job, club him over the head once with that riser …

What a wonderful pic to see again. Thanks for bringing it back up!

[damascusdave]

Hard to believe how thick the tips and the lams are on that bow...Dave Harby, the stepson of Al Reader, has quite a few of those wedge sight window heavyweights...incredible bows...just noticed that even Wade mislabelled the picture as Special Deluxes...easy to get mixed up with 1960 offering the Kodiak, Kodiak Special, Kodiak Deluxe, Kodiak Special Deluxe...truly a great year in Grayling

DDave

[cacciatore]

Dave,thanks for taking this thread up.
I really enjoyed visiting Wade' s bow arsenal,he is a great source of informations.

[Wade Phillips]

DDave - Good job!

Just edited the previously Mislabeled 2009 Image that you brought to our attention. Better to get it edited 5 years late than never. We don't want inaccurate text or images.

[damascusdave]

I will bring this back to the top for further reference to my Kodiak Deluxe numbers thread...once again thanks for posting this one Wade, lots of valuable information in a small space

DDave

[Wade Phillips]

DDave,

Also have the original and most different of all, fifth variation, which would make the group of five, the Kodiak Deluxe Grand Slam Plus One, or possibly the Crystlight Quintuplets?

[damascusdave]

Wade I remember when you were this nice fellow who would just post a picture of that "fifth variation" and put us out of our misery...on the other hand with the problems I have been having posting pictures lately I guess I should not be surprised you did not jump all over that chance...patience truly is a virtue...glad I brought this thread back up to make it easy to find (and to add to)

DDave

[Wade Phillips]

DDave,

I have posted several photographs of the "fifth variation" on several other threads.

I'm sure you can figure it out if you investigate the Kodiak Deluxe in exhaustive detail on this site.

It wouldn't be as much fun if was always easy.

[damascusdave]

Wade I will be 63 a week from tomorrow...investigating in exhaustive detail is a little more exhausting every year...on the other hand you make a great point...if it was easy we would just be ordinary folk doing ordinary things...Bear collectors, even minor players like me, are not ordinary folk

DDave

[Wade Phillips]

DDave -

Look at the Kodiak Deluxe in the 1960 Bear Catalog to see the 5th variation you asked about.

In reality it is the first and the original variation.