62 kodiak with Star

[huntnfool62]

I own a 62 Kodiak that I've had for about 30 yrs ,It has a star stamped in the serial # have been told differant reasons for this.I talked to Frank Scott personaly at the bear museum about 12 years ago and asked him, he commented on something about warranty but said he would have to see it. Anyone have an explanation? and is this a rare occurance ?    
" I'm learning everyday and if I'm lucky it will be painless "
Dean

[d. ward]

bows stamped with a star A B + X Y 2 and 2-2's were all sold to dealers at a discount price and or a few had factory blemishes again ID'ed by the stamp and sold at a discount price no warranty and they were stamped to make sure dealers did not try and return them to Bear for credit.Normaly sold to dealers towards the end of the year to make room for the new models.I've looked over lots of stamped bows and have never found any problems with any of them bd

[AALLFAB]

I have talked to a couple of the most respected and published Bear experts and they say there is no 100% documented proven or corroborated backed up story as to what the 22 stamp and the star stamp and the X stamp mean. It is commonly accepted that the 22 and star stamp means factory refinished and the X stamp means overstock discounted clearance with no warranty sale. Jim

[huntnfool62]

Thank you !! I also heard or read that the star was for a refinished bow something about delamination or bad finish . I always like to hear what others have learned .were there a lot of inconsistancies with Bear bows ? I also have a 56" grizzly with a 1969 serial # and I read that the 56" length was not offered until 1970. maybe I have a late 69 or early 70
Dean

[Jack Shanks]

The 56" Grizzly were offered in 68-70

[wadde]

Bow Doc is correct. Other manufacturers including Indian and Pearson also marked their bows with a 2 to identify a minor factory blemish and so the bow would not be returned under warranty. Sometimes the blemish was very minor but in most cases involved the glass on the limbs.

[d. ward]

holy smokes how many bows do your most respected guys think Bear Archery repaired delaminated limbs on and or refinished and then stamped a star into their new finish ? If that were true the bow would have a new one year warrenty also.Bear Archery did not refinish restore or repair bows because it was not cost affective they simply replaced the bow it was cheaper.
Blemished if you would look real good at the limbs on lots of stamped bows that were blemishes you'll see the limbs are painted to hide factory installed expansion cracks aka stress crack (blemished).You won't see the fiberglass texture but matching color paint real common from 1961 until 1966 bd

[AALLFAB]

Interesting info. The part about no documented definitive proof and factory mark down with no warranty came from the experts. The refinish part came from my limited experience gleaned from other non experts. Jim