Waiting Patiently for a '59 Kodiak? - Got it! It's a '60

[bctgrad]

I'm currently sitting and waiting for the doors to open on an estate sale for what looks to me like a '59 Kodiak.  The man putting on the sale and I have exchanged half a dozen emails since I saw the sale listing on Craigslist yesterday.  I'm second in line and the guy in first doesn't want the bow so things are looking good.  Here's what the seller told me about the bow - Bear Glass-Powered Kodiak, serial number 12P65, 60", 55#.  His asking price is very reasonable and the draw weight is ideal.  I feel like a kid before Christmas (only 2 more hours to wait).

Here's the picture that was posted with the estate sale listing:

 

Am I right?  Does this look like a '59?

Brian

[seboomook]

Looks like '59 to me Brian. Red/white overlays and tips?
Good luck, hope you get it.

[d. ward]

it looks like a 1960 Kodiak to me bd

[bctgrad]

Thanks for the reply guys.

How does the 60 stack up to the 59?

[seboomook]

The '60 will have black/white overlays and tips.
Both great shooters, shelf height a bit higher on the '60.

[bctgrad]

I zoomed in on the picture and the tips look black & white.

[d. ward]

the 1960 is a better shooter then the 1959 bd

[bctgrad]

Well, I got it.  Aluminum coin, black & white tips - I guess it's a 60.  Excellent shape.  Didn't see a stress crack anywhere.  Looks like the original strike plate and feather rest too.  I'm pumped!  I'll take some more pics and post them tonight.

Brian

[Wade Phillips]

Brian - Congratulations !!!

Yes, it is a 1960, easy to see the slightly more recurved limb tips that point almost straight down, where as the 1959 bow forms left the limb tips pointing just slightly outward. Rosewood Sight Window and Black and White Tip overlays are 1960 characteristics for sure.

The serial number 12P65 is a later 1960 serial number. The serial numbers of the first part of the 60" 1960 Kodiak run started with a "B", as a continuation of the 60" 1959 Kodiak serial numbers.

At 55# and 60", you have one of the most sought after length and weight combination 1960 Kodiaks that was ever produced.

I've used 1960 Kodiaks for years. They are the best in my book, with 1959 Kodiaks being second.

As a retired old fart, and a life long Bear hound, I'm still stuck in that 1959-1960 time warp.

But sure to post some close up photographs of both sides of the riser of your 1960. Some of the Brazilian Rosewood in those 1960 Kodiaks is stunning.

[bctgrad]

Thanks for the reply, Wade. Now I'm even more excited about it!  Do I need to worry about stringing and shooting it?  I have several other bows from the mid to late 60's and definitely haven't babied them, but do I need to be a little more careful with this one?

On a side note - I was in Omaha a couple of weeks ago and stopped in a store called Canfield’s that had a pretty nice collection of old recurves hanging on the wall.  Are you close to Omaha and have you been there?  They said they weren't interested in selling any of them though.

Brian

[Wade Phillips]

Brian -

The 1960 is a tuff Kodiak. The glass overlays don't need any TLC like the tip overlays of its 1959 brother. Just make sure there are no cracks along the glue seams, in the limb laminations or the riser. Check it over carefully with a 10X magnifying glass. An ounce of prevention can be worth more than 100 pounds of cures in this case.

I'm about 8 miles north and east of Canfields. Next time you are in town, stop in.

Canfields has some old target recurves on the wall left over from when they were the largest archery dealers in the area during the 60s and 70s. Like many shops, their archery stuff went downhill after that. They don't have any bows that are of interest to me.

Rick is the owner. His father started the business as a government surplus store. They had piles of old GI issue stuff. It was downtown in the 1950s when I was a kid. In the 1960s, they moved over by Creighton University and got into sporting goods too. Rick took over probably in the 80s. Over 10 years ago, they sold out to Creighton and bought the shopping center where they are located now.

In the 1960s and 1970s we bought a lot of archery stuff from them. They had a great selection of Bear bows 35 or 45 years ago. I don't think there is a bow for sale in the whole place now. They don't deal in government surplus anymore either.

Father time changes all.

[OldSkoolArcher]

That bow sounds and looks like a real beauty!! Congrats.

Jealous.

[d. ward]

DO NOT STRING THAT BOW send it to me and I'll test it out for you on a hunting trip next week.... problemo is I won't be returning it bd

[bctgrad]

Sorry, Doc I'm going to hold on to this one.  But here's some more pictures.  

This is how it looks before cleaning it up:

   

   

 

 

 

 

 

 


I'll clean it up tomorrow and post some more after all the dirt and goo is removed.

[K2]

Looks like you got a sweet deal.  Congrats.  Ken

[ksbowman]

Brian, I'm the guy that got upstairs second and you let look through the quiver. Unfortunately there was anything in it I wanted. That is a very nice bow and you really got a bargain! I hope it shoots as well for you as it looks.  Ben

[yellow bow]

very nice,you did real good.  

[bctgrad]

Hey, Ben - I figured you might have been a fellow Tradganger.  I should have introduced myself but things were a bit crazy in there.  I'm sorry that I beat you to it.  I hope you didn’t drive all the way from Paola just for the bow.  

Like I said earlier, as soon as I saw the picture, I emailed the seller.  We traded several emails and by the end I knew where the bow was in the house and the general layout of the house.  I got to the sale about 6:45 and was shocked that I was second in line.  Fortunately, the guy who was first was there for an autographed book.  I didn't pay much money for the bow, but paid a lot in lost sleep the night before and time waiting for the doors to open at 9:00.

Brian

[ksbowman]

Brian, Yes, I did drive up for the bow, but your drive from Grain Valley was just as long. I was curious what time you had to get in line. Wow 6:45 am! When we got in line I looked around and told my wife that you were probably there for the bow. I too had e-mailed the fellow running the sale and he said someone had been in contact with him about the bow. Maybe will see each other at at local 3d and shoot sometime.  Good hunting,  Ben

[bctgrad]

Allright, got her cleaned up and polished with Scratch Out.  
Turned out real nice and shiny.  A few beauty marks, but no cracks.  
Can't wait to see how it shoots.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for letting me share.

Brian