Any experienced traditional bowhunter will rightly tell you that arrow speed isn’t everything. When appraising any traditional hunting bow, things like a good grip, a smooth draw, a forgiving nature, minimized handshock, a quiet shot and accuracy all must be added into the discussion. Yet arrow speed is something to consider. Within reason, arrow speed is a good thing. It is also one of the easiest performance criterion to empirically measure.
So I suppose it’s no wonder that a hunting buddy and I recently got into a spat over which of our favorite, classic 1960s Bear Kodiaks shot the fastest. He was convinced it was his smooth-drawing 1964 Kodiak. I was sure it was my striking 1967½ Super Kodiak. If there had been more bowhunter/collectors around, I’m sure other classic Kodiaks would have been championed.
So which 1960s Bear Kodiaks are the fastest?
To tell the truth, I’d never actually pulled out my chronograph and tested similar, classic Bear Kodiaks. We decided to rectify that, mostly for our own edification.
Pouring through my Kodiak collection, we pulled out four 60-inch Bear Kodiaks that were all marked with the same draw weight:
1. 1961 Bear Kodiak – 60 inches and 45 pounds
2. 1964 Bear Kodiak – 60 inches and 45 pounds
3. 1967-1/2 Super Kodiak – 60 inches and 45 pounds
4. 1969 Bear Super Kodiak – 60 inches and 45 pounds
An accurate digital scale confirmed each of the draw weights at 28 inches. I then set up a Competition Electronics Pro Chronograph and selected two specific arrows for our tests, a fairly heavy arrow and a reasonably light arrow. All test shots were made with those two arrows.
The heavier arrow was a 29.5-inch Easton aluminum 2216. Its total weight was 533 grains. Its shaft weighed 12.1 grains per inch. The second arrow was a much lighter Beman ICS 400 carbon arrow with a total weight of 390 grains. Its shaft weighed just 10.4 grains per inch.
We then proceeded to string up each of the bows, tuning each for a similar brace height (not identical but similar), one at which each bow shot quietly.
With as much care and consistency as possible, I next shot two ten-shot strings with each bow and with each arrow, and we recorded the results. What follows are the averages of that shooting, with the bows ranked from fastest to slowest.
1961 Bear Kodiak - (7-7/8 inch brace height) – 169.7 fps with the aluminum arrow and 188.3. fps with the lighter carbon arrow.
1967-1/2 Super Kodiak - (8 inch brace height) - 168.6 fps with the aluminum arrow and 187.5 fps with the lighter carbon arrow.
1969 Bear Super Kodiak - (8 inch brace height) – 166.8 fps with the aluminum arrow and 185.2 fps with the lighter carbon arrow.
1964 Bear Kodiak - (7-7/8 inch brace height) – 162.4 fps with the aluminum arrow and 184.3 fps with the lighter carbon arrow.
What is clear is that all four of these classic Bear Kodiaks shot well, and with remarkably similar arrow speeds. What is less clear is what all of this means.
Objectively comparing bows by arrow speed is not easy. The first thing that I should point out is that this comparison involved just four bows, one of each model. Statistically that is a very small sample. It is entirely possible that I have a particularly fast 45# 1961 Kodiak and that all 1961 Kodiaks are not this fast. It is also possible that other bows in this test were either particularly fast or particularly slow. The only way to work that out would be to blend the testing of a lot more 45# bows of these specific models into these results. Who knows what it might turn up. If all of you would just send me your classic 45# Bear Kodiaks...
Still, the results I achieved are interesting.
What I can also add to the speed results are the other impressions I formed while shooting these four bows head to head.
My particular 45-pound 1961 Kodiak is noticeably quick. Its lighter mass weight, however, makes it a bit flighty upon release in direct comparison to the other bows tested. It has the most handshock upon release.
My 45-pound 1964 Kodiak is easily the smoothest-drawing bow of this lot of 45-pound Kodiaks. My draw length is nearly 29 inches and this bow draws back with a silky smoothness that borders on astounding. Like all of the other bows tested, this bow is 60 inches in length. But were I blindfolded, I would almost swear that it was a 64-inch bow because of the silky-smooth way it draws. I suspect that ultra-smooth draw is a big part of the reason why so many call this their favorite shooting Kodiak.
The two SUPER Kodiaks I tested (1967-1/2 and 1969) were clearly the quietest bows in this distinguished Kodiak lot. They also exhibited the least amount of handshock upon release. The extra mass weight of all of that black Hi-Compression material in the risers obviously aids in their pleasant shootability. Both shoot with a dull thud, and with little or no bow movement or vibration. They feel great.
So, in this limited test, the 1961 Kodiak proved the fastest. The 1964 Kodiak drew the smoothest. The 1967-1/2 and 1969 Super Kodiaks were clearly the quietest with the least amount of handshock.
That’s what we found. Has anyone else done any head-to-head Kodiak speed comparisons?
In general, what have been your impressions of the shooting characteristics of your classic Bear Kodiaks? Which do you like best?
Topic: Which 1960s Bear Kodiak is FASTEST? (Read 2568 times)
