seboomook - Nice looking 49-50 Grizzly.
From the photograph, the grip looks like a tennis wrap leather grip to me.
Although I have never seen any Bear documentation showing the tennis wrap grip, I have seen a few other 49-50 Bear bows with a tennis wrap grip.
I have a 1950 Kodiak K-2 with a red tennis wrap grip. K-2 was a 62" Kodiak, which I have never found in any Bear advertisement for 1950. The grip is not in real good shape. It has probably been on the bow since 1950, but I can not say for sure that it is original to the bow. Have also seen one other that has the same red tennis wrap grip, so it makes me wonder even more.
A real close look sometimes reveals some evidence of a previous grip, a glue line, lighter or darker wood, finish missing, etc.
Looking at a 49-50 Grizzly with a normal grip will give you a good idea about where to look for evidence of a previous grip that may have been on your bow.
Sometimes, it is just hard to tell if a grip is original to a bow. If the original grip was shot, the tennis wrap is an easier replacement for most bowmen than the normal 1949-50 Grizzly grip. There is a possibility that the bow was refinished in the early 1950s, by someone other than Bear, and all the evidence of an earlier grip was removed during refinishing. There is always the possibility of the lunch box special, or the special order or special favor for an eccentric customer who just has to have that tennis wrap on their bow. Lots of possible explanations.
Unless we find some documented evidence from the 1949-50 era, we may never know if the 1949-1950 tennis wrap grips were put on by Bear.
Topic: Bear Grizzly Identification Guide 1949-1969 (Read 9333 times)
